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Katharine Gerbner

@ktgerbs.bsky.social

940 followers 320 following 91 posts

Historian of religion & race, archives, media/tech/comm, politics of education. History Prof & Dir. of Religious Studies @ University of Minnesota. Au: Christian Slavery (2018) and Archival Irruptions (2025). www.katharinegerbner.com

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

I am THRILLED to announce that ARCHIVAL IRRUPTIONS is officially published with @dukepress.bsky.social! For those who would like to order the book, you can get 30% off using coupon code E25GRBNR at this link: www.dukeupress.edu/archival-irr...

Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

www.dukeupress.edu

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Reposted by Katharine Gerbner

Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 5h

One of my amazing former professors @ktgerbs.bsky.social has a new book out and even though I no longer need a curve (I barely survived—it was HARD and I am BARELY SMART), you can get it for 30% with code E25GRBNR. Enjoy, kids.

www.dukeupress.edu/archival-irr...

Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

www.dukeupress.edu

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 5h

Thanks so much Jason!!

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

Also, what he writes about the humanities is SO IMPORTANT TO HEAR!

"The true value of a liberal arts education is not learning a collection of facts, but learning how to learn."

Thank you David.

www.startribune.com/david-m-perr...

Meet David M. Perry, our new contributing columnist focused on history, disabilities and education

He moved back to Minnesota because it is a state that believes in serving the public good. But, he writes, Minnesota is not always at its best.

www.startribune.com

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

We are so lucky to have @lollardfish.bsky.social in the History dept at UMN and now we are even luckier to have his incredible voice and perspective as an Op-Ed contributor to the @startribune.com .

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 13h

I was asked to write a column about my columns, which I found an embarrassing experience. But ... I took the chance to wax rhapsodic about the value of studying the humanities. So that's nice.

Meet David M. Perry, our new contributing columnist focused on history, disabilities and education

He moved back to Minnesota because it is a state that believes in serving the public good. But, he writes, Minnesota is not always at its best.

www.startribune.com

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

If you're planning to teach it, there's an Open Access version so students can get a free e-copy. My goal was for this book to be both teachable AND accessible.

Also: I'm happy to zoom in & answer questions from students if you assign it - just message me!

read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/3...

Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

In 1760, following the largest slave revolt in the eighteenth-century British Empire, the Afro-Caribbean word Obeah first appeared in British colonial law.

read.dukeupress.edu

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

At just 145 pages, Archival Irruptions is intended to be a short, teachable book and I designed it with Historical/Archival Methods and Religious Studies courses in mind. My hope is that it can help students work ethically, creatively, and rigorously with colonial archives to tell new histories.

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

The result is a book about historical methods, ethics, and storytelling. Each chapter focuses on a different type of archival source and reads them for “irruptions” – ruptures in the colonial narrative that allow us to tell a new history that has otherwise been silenced.

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

Archival Irruptions tells a new history of Obeah, an Afro-Caribbean religion that was criminalized in 1760 after the largest slave revolt in the 18th century British Empire. Using previously unexamined German Moravian sources, I examine the meaning of Obeah BEFORE it became a crime.

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 12h

Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

www.dukeupress.edu

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Reposted by Katharine Gerbner

Calvin Schermerhorn @calscherm.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations and happy Pub Day to @ktgerbs.bsky.social "Archival Irruptions" tells a new history of Obeah, an Afro-Caribbean religion that was criminalized in 1760 after the largest slave revolt in the 18th century British Empire
www.dukeupress.edu/archival-irr...

Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

www.dukeupress.edu

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 16h

Thanks so much, Calvin!

Reposted by Katharine Gerbner

Brooke Newman @brookenewman.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations to @ktgerbs.bsky.social —her new book tracing how British colonial authorities in mid-18th c. Jamaica came to criminalize Obeah, a religious practice held by enslaved Africans, is out this month. Can’t wait to read and assign it!!

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · Aug 27

I'm excited to share that my new book ARCHIVAL IRRUPTIONS: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica is coming out with
@dukepress.bsky.social in October!

Book cover of Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks so much, Brooke!

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks Pippa!

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 14d

I'm thrilled that my book is coming out this month, and even more thrilled to be on this fall lineup from @dukepress.bsky.social - so many amazing authors and titles! Check out the whole fall lineup here: dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/n...

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 20d

@dukepress.bsky.social is running a new book promotion, and Archival Irruptions is 30% off!

Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 21d

Save 30% on #NewBook "Archival Irruptions," by @ktgerbs.bsky.social, which traces how British colonial authorities in mid-eighteenth-century Jamaica came to criminalize Obeah, a religious practice held by enslaved Africans. #LatAmStudies #BlackStudies buff.ly/da0hJg3

Cover of Archival Irruptions: Constructing Religion and Criminalizing Obeah in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica by Katharine Gerbner. Features an image of an old handwritten ledger or registry page with rows and columns filled with cursive names and annotations and what appears to be an ink smudge at the bottom. The title is overlaid in large black serif font with the subtitle below in smaller black text and the author's name is at the bottom. A vertical red stripe runs along the left edge of the cover.

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 22d

thank you!!

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 22d

Thanks so much! I'm a fan of your work :)

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 22d

Thank you!! Me toooo

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 22d

With a new book coming out, I finally got around to updating my website. I'm thrilled with the new design - plus, my bio now includes the accurate number of children! (Last edit to my previous website was 7 years ago...)

Check it out! www.katharinegerbner.com

Katharine Gerbner, Historian of Religion

Katharine Gerbner is a historian who examines how religion shapes – and is shaped by – race, politics, and technology.

www.katharinegerbner.com

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 23d

Yours arrived before mine!!

Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · 23d

Nothing quite like opening an unexpected package and finding your own book inside!

The official pub date isn't until mid-Oct, but Archival Irruptions @dukepress.bsky.social is now real and in 3D!

Photo of the book Archival Irruptions by Katharine Gerbner

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Reposted by Katharine Gerbner

Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · Sep 3

In "Archival Irruptions," @ktgerbs.bsky.social traces how British colonial authorities in Jamaica criminalized Obeah, a religious practice held by enslaved Africans. Read the introduction for free now. buff.ly/3JlgBEt

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · Aug 29

Come be my colleague at the University of Minnesota -- we are hiring! @umn-rels.bsky.social

The Religious Studies program at UMN is searching for a new TT position in Buddhist Studies. Please circulate widely!

Job posting for Buddhist Studies position at the University of Minnesota

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Katharine Gerbner @ktgerbs.bsky.social · Aug 28

Thanks Jenny!!!