Austin Benson
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austinbenson.bsky.social
Austin Benson
@austinbenson.bsky.social
130 followers 190 following 40 posts
UVA Medievalist. Dad. Philologist. Language collector. Mediocre chess player.

Medieval lyric—English, French, Latin, Welsh, Irish, and Hebrew.

I like manuscripts.
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austinbenson.bsky.social
Having children and a long commute to their preschool has destroyed my Spotify wrapped
December 4, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
phil-lol-ogist.bsky.social
Babe, look, early Christian monasticism is back
December 3, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
profgabriele.com
fwiw this has not been my experience at all
jesbattis.bsky.social Jes Battis @jesbattis.bsky.social · 6d
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 12:44 PM
austinbenson.bsky.social
85% of what I know about English grammar I learned in high school and college Latin. Glad to see it’s not just me!
phdhurtbrain.bsky.social Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 7d
Still think about my Latin professor who 5 weeks into the semester realized that the class didn’t know English grammar well enough for him to be able to explain Latin, so the class suddenly became a simultaneous English grammar & Latin class
November 28, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
liber-ray.bsky.social
The @rialibrary.bsky.social Book of Ballymote (MS 23 P 12) is a fantastic 14th-century compilation of biblical texts, saints’ lives, topographical works, and even a table of the Ogham alphabet! Love the fun initials and illustration possibly depicting Noah’s ark 📜🎉
November 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
matttomic.bsky.social
Nobody:

John McVie:
The bass riff from The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
dieworkwear.bsky.social
A friend who teaches theology shared with me a post about CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, which discusses foundational Christian logic across denominations. It reminded me of Dale's tweet below, and I wanted to share some thoughts here regarding modesty and respectability, which are often hot topics.
Dale Partridge on Twitter writes: "Feminist media is BIG mad about me saying that women shouldn’t wear underwear (leggings and sports bras) as outerwear. As Pearl says, “It’s amazing how hard women will fight to be naked.” Immodest ladies, read 1 Tim. 2:9, repent, and follow Christ." Attached are two images. Image 1 headline: “Outraged pastor slams worker at quaint coffee shop for wearing ‘sinful’ leggings and sports bra in front of kids” Image 2 headline: “‘Make sin shameful again’: Pastor sparks row after sports bra complaint”
November 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
chanda.blacksky.app
What an absolutely stunning opening statement the first two tracks are
November 21, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
janetspittler.bsky.social
Teaching post-doc position in UVa’s College, renewable for up to three years total. Apply!
Post-doctoral Research Associate and Lecturer - Engagements, College of Arts & Sciences in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America | Research at University of Virginia
Apply for Post-doctoral Research Associate and Lecturer - Engagements, College of Arts & Sciences job with University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America. Research at Un...
jobs.virginia.edu
November 20, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
rogueclassicist.bsky.social
Earliest Latin translation of 'Tao Te Ching' published
news.cgtn.com/news/2025-11...
Earliest Latin translation of 'Tao Te Ching' published
The book launch for the transcription of the earliest Latin translation of the
news.cgtn.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:50 PM
austinbenson.bsky.social
First 10k in three years, after a major foot injury and new baby together took me off of running for the long term. Was it on a treadmill and was my pace basically a crawl? Sure. I’ve a long way to go from here to get back to where I was, but it feels good to be on my way
November 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
sireviscerate.myatproto.social
All the scrolls in the Library at Alexandria could probably have fit on a 16 GB hard drive, how important could it have been, honestly
August 28, 2023 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
dicknixon.bsky.social
Mar Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, also born in Chicago, gave Pope Leo a Cubs jersey.
Mar Awa III, in red cassock, smiles as he gives the jersey to Leo, who looks as though he's been given a bomb to hold
October 28, 2025 at 2:13 AM
austinbenson.bsky.social
This is such a tragedy. Danya was a once-in-a-generation teacher whose knowledge and passion helped make his sport accessible to everyone. I owe my love for chess in part to him, and will miss him terribly.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · Oct 20
Daniel Naroditsky, a chess grandmaster, the highest title given to competitors by the International Chess Federation, and a former Junior World Champion, has died at 29.
Daniel Naroditsky, Chess Grandmaster, Dies at 29
He earned the highest title in the chess world as he built a career as an accomplished chess teacher, commentator and author.
nyti.ms
October 21, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
phdhurtbrain.bsky.social
I don't think students should be asked to rhetorically analyze poetry in a class before they get practice experiencing poetry without imagining it as a rhetorical structure.

Like, cooking is so much better if you begin by first developing a relationship to the pleasure of food.
October 20, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
stevenljohnson.org
UVA says no to the compact
To the University of Virginia community: On Monday of last week, Rector Rachel Sheridan and I shared a message with the community regarding the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We were asked to provide comments on the proposal no later than October 20. Today, I sent the letter below to the Secretary of Education and to White House officials. The letter confirms our core values and commitments while expressing our view that federal research funding should be based on merit. I want to thank personally the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Council, and many other members of our community who expressed their opinions on the proposed Compact, through the online form we provided and other means. Your thoughtful feedback shows a profound care for the University and a strong commitment to its future. We will continue to work to strengthen free expression and free inquiry, protect academic freedom, ensure affordability , promote intellectual pluralism, and maintain institutional neutrality in an increasingly polarized world. I am grateful for your continued dedication to the University and I look forward to working with you on these vital projects. Paul Mahoney Interim President University of Virginia October 17, 2025 The United States Department of Education Washington, DC 20202 Dear Secretary McMahon, Ms. Mailman, and Mr. Haley, Thank you for your letter inviting comment on the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We wholeheartedly agree that “American higher education is the envy of the world.” We also agree with many of the principles outlined in the Compact, including a fair and unbiased admissions process, an affordable and academically rigorous education, a thriving marketplace of ideas, institutional neutrality, and equal treatment of students, faculty, and staff in all aspects of university operations. Indeed, the University of Virginia leads in several of these areas and is committed to continuous improvement in all of them. We seek no special treatment in exchange for our pursuit of those foundational goals. The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship. A contractual arrangement predicating assessment on anything other than merit will undermine the integrity of vital, sometimes lifesaving, research and further erode confidence in American higher education. Higher education faces significant challenges and has not always lived up to its highest ideals. We believe that the best path toward real and durable progress lies in an open and collaborative conversation. We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education. Sincerely yours, Paul Mahoney Interim President University of Virginia
October 17, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
eriklinstrum.bsky.social
UVA says NO to the "compact"
October 17, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
johnholbein1.bsky.social
BREAKING: UVA rejects the Trump Administration's Compact.
October 17, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
janetspittler.bsky.social
WAHOOOWA www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...
U.Va. rejects Trump administration Compact for Academic Excellence
The University has rejected the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which he received from the White House and Department of Education Oct. 1, according to a community statement rel...
www.cavalierdaily.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
knottkatherine.bsky.social
And now UVa rejects the compact.
white words on a black background October 17, 2025 The United States Department of Education Washington, DC 20202 Dear Secretary McMahon, Ms. Mailman, and Mr. Haley, Thank you for your letter inviting comment on the proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. We wholeheartedly agree that “American higher education is the envy of the world.” We also agree with many of the principles outlined in the Compact, including a fair and unbiased admissions process, an affordable and academically rigorous education, a thriving marketplace of ideas, institutional neutrality, and equal treatment of students, faculty, and staff in all aspects of university operations. Indeed, the University of Virginia leads in several of these areas and is committed to continuous improvement in all of them. We seek no special treatment in exchange for our pursuit of those foundational goals. The integrity of science and other academic work requires merit-based assessment of research and scholarship. A contractual arrangement predicating assessment on anything other than merit will undermine the integrity of vital, sometimes lifesaving, research and further erode confidence in American higher education. Higher education faces significant challenges and has not always lived up to its highest ideals. We believe that the best path toward real and durable progress lies in an open and collaborative conversation. We look forward to working together to develop alternative, lasting approaches to improving higher education. Sincerely yours, Paul Mahoney Interim President University of Virginia
October 17, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
petertarras.bsky.social
Mind-numbing how many layers of history there can be to a single manuscript page: Syriac upper text (10th c.), Armenian undertext (pre-10th c.), Arabic material used for binding (11-12th c.?), Coptic foliation in the margin (date?), modern foliation at the bottom. Image: Leiden UL Or. 14236, link ⬇️
Opened palimpsest codex (Leiden UL Or. 14236) with Syriac upper text and Armenian undertext. The upper text is written in black and red ink and decorated braided band patterns. There's also a fragment with Arabic on it between the two pages of the opened codex.
October 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
hadas.bsky.social
how it feels to inquire about the status of your manuscript
September 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Austin Benson
sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com
do you want a picture of the human future? imagine someone posting this at their friends about a third person who isn't even in the room, forever.
September 27, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Austin Benson
sharonk.bsky.social
Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it; it brings about consent and reconciliation with things as they really are.

—Hannah Arendt, Men in Dark Times
September 24, 2025 at 9:24 PM