Nathan S. French
@innesseff.bsky.social
Researching & Teaching -- Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Religion & Law, Jihadi-Salafi Studies, 9/11
Baseball spectator.
Baseball spectator.
Let the reader (or film viewer) understand.
December 19, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Let the reader (or film viewer) understand.
As someone working in Middle East and Islamic studies, and who worked thorugh the closure of a religion program, what is occurring at UNC is unthinkable and unconscionable. Our fields will be the worse for this loss. But, there's something else (1/3)
dailytarheel.com/article/univ...
dailytarheel.com/article/univ...
UNC cuts all six area studies research centers, effective 2026
As part of the University's plan to make $70 million in budget cuts across the institution, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations Nate Knuffman projected that cutting 14 centers and institutes in...
dailytarheel.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
As someone working in Middle East and Islamic studies, and who worked thorugh the closure of a religion program, what is occurring at UNC is unthinkable and unconscionable. Our fields will be the worse for this loss. But, there's something else (1/3)
dailytarheel.com/article/univ...
dailytarheel.com/article/univ...
Oof. Real.
No it’s ok we can cut all the area studies programs. We’ll just hire one “global studies“ Prof with a degree in English literature.
December 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Oof. Real.
I love this. Love it. I would add, though, a few frictions:
1) Publish less — Almost all in academia feel pressure to publish more. This might be b/c of administrative “metrics”, labor contract. For some publishing is the profession. AI in academic publishing will accelerate erosions. Publish less.
1) Publish less — Almost all in academia feel pressure to publish more. This might be b/c of administrative “metrics”, labor contract. For some publishing is the profession. AI in academic publishing will accelerate erosions. Publish less.
"We envision a resistance that is...a repudiation of the efficiencies that automated algorithmic education falsely promises: a resistance comprising the collective force of small acts of friction."
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
"How to Resist AI in Education" by me & @cnygren.bsky.social
www.publicbooks.org/four-frictio...
Four Frictions: or, How to Resist AI in Education - Public Books
We are calling for resistance to the AI industry’s ongoing capture of higher education.
www.publicbooks.org
December 17, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I love this. Love it. I would add, though, a few frictions:
1) Publish less — Almost all in academia feel pressure to publish more. This might be b/c of administrative “metrics”, labor contract. For some publishing is the profession. AI in academic publishing will accelerate erosions. Publish less.
1) Publish less — Almost all in academia feel pressure to publish more. This might be b/c of administrative “metrics”, labor contract. For some publishing is the profession. AI in academic publishing will accelerate erosions. Publish less.
Lessen the demand for "productivity" and watch how quickly these fake citations begin to dissipate into the ether. Why? Because they will be caught by peer reviewers. Because faculty won't feel pressure to "produce" for "metrics."
Academics and technologists are sounding the alarm about a growing crisis in scholarship as we know it: AI-generated citations of nonexistent papers that have infested real journals. Despite being fake, the sources are widely assumed to be authentic the more they appear in published literature.
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Lessen the demand for "productivity" and watch how quickly these fake citations begin to dissipate into the ether. Why? Because they will be caught by peer reviewers. Because faculty won't feel pressure to "produce" for "metrics."
Reposted by Nathan S. French
Guest Post: Academic Publishing Is Not Fit for the Future – If We Don’t Act Now, The Vital Role Research Plays in Society Is at Risk scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/12/11/g...
Guest Post: Academic Publishing Is Not Fit for the Future – If We Don’t Act Now, The Vital Role Research Plays in Society Is at Risk - The Scholarly Kitchen
Academic publishing ia reaching a breaking point. Unless we redesign it, we risk stalling the very progress we seek – with consequences impacting research, education and public trust in academia.
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
December 11, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Guest Post: Academic Publishing Is Not Fit for the Future – If We Don’t Act Now, The Vital Role Research Plays in Society Is at Risk scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/12/11/g...
Relieved to see a managing director at Cambridge University Press recognize the problems that have beset academic publishing.
1) Too many publications, specifically journal articles
2) Academics need to press for fewer publications of higher quality
1) Too many publications, specifically journal articles
2) Academics need to press for fewer publications of higher quality
Guest Post: Academic Publishing Is Not Fit for the Future – If We Don’t Act Now, The Vital Role Research Plays in Society Is at Risk scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/12/11/g...
Guest Post: Academic Publishing Is Not Fit for the Future – If We Don’t Act Now, The Vital Role Research Plays in Society Is at Risk - The Scholarly Kitchen
Academic publishing ia reaching a breaking point. Unless we redesign it, we risk stalling the very progress we seek – with consequences impacting research, education and public trust in academia.
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
December 11, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Relieved to see a managing director at Cambridge University Press recognize the problems that have beset academic publishing.
1) Too many publications, specifically journal articles
2) Academics need to press for fewer publications of higher quality
1) Too many publications, specifically journal articles
2) Academics need to press for fewer publications of higher quality
Reposted by Nathan S. French
“A Catholic school without at least one full-time theology and religious studies faculty member will find it harder to live out its Catholic identity and distinguish itself from other private schools and even secular public schools.”
religionnews.com/2025/12/02/w...
religionnews.com/2025/12/02/w...
When Catholic colleges cut theology majors, what happens to Catholic identity?
(RNS) — Just 63% of Catholic higher education institutions have theology or religious studies departments, down from 69% in 2016.
religionnews.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“A Catholic school without at least one full-time theology and religious studies faculty member will find it harder to live out its Catholic identity and distinguish itself from other private schools and even secular public schools.”
religionnews.com/2025/12/02/w...
religionnews.com/2025/12/02/w...
December 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
As a kid, when someone told me about “IT,” I set my hopes on “interstellar transport.” For a week, I thought I might be old enough to see humans explore beyond lunar orbit.
Then this two-wheeled thing rolled out.
(Cue the “Charlie Brown” music for existential reflection.)
Then this two-wheeled thing rolled out.
(Cue the “Charlie Brown” music for existential reflection.)
Younger people who didn't witness it cannot fathom the hype around the Segway. Every news station agreed it would revolutionize the entire social fabric of the Earth. That all future humans would divide history between the savage days of the past, and the soon to be new era of zoom zoom scoot scoot.
December 3, 2025 at 8:11 PM
As a kid, when someone told me about “IT,” I set my hopes on “interstellar transport.” For a week, I thought I might be old enough to see humans explore beyond lunar orbit.
Then this two-wheeled thing rolled out.
(Cue the “Charlie Brown” music for existential reflection.)
Then this two-wheeled thing rolled out.
(Cue the “Charlie Brown” music for existential reflection.)
Reposted by Nathan S. French
Here's a link to the memo that identifies the cases in which the flowchart is to be followed:
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...
It isn't applicable to *every* syllabus, but it's still the beginning of the end.
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...
It isn't applicable to *every* syllabus, but it's still the beginning of the end.
Adobe Acrobat
acrobat.adobe.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Here's a link to the memo that identifies the cases in which the flowchart is to be followed:
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...
It isn't applicable to *every* syllabus, but it's still the beginning of the end.
acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...
It isn't applicable to *every* syllabus, but it's still the beginning of the end.
Will the signatories on the "Letter on Justice and Openness" care to weigh in on this?
After all, as they wrote in the document they signed, "if we won’t defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the state to defend it for us."
harpers.org/a-letter-on-...
After all, as they wrote in the document they signed, "if we won’t defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the state to defend it for us."
harpers.org/a-letter-on-...
December 2, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Will the signatories on the "Letter on Justice and Openness" care to weigh in on this?
After all, as they wrote in the document they signed, "if we won’t defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the state to defend it for us."
harpers.org/a-letter-on-...
After all, as they wrote in the document they signed, "if we won’t defend the very thing on which our work depends, we shouldn’t expect the public or the state to defend it for us."
harpers.org/a-letter-on-...
Did the University of Oklahoma even *consult* with the faculty in its Department of Religious Studies before issuing this decision? You know, those *experts* whom they employ who understand first amendment issues and religious arguments better than anyone because they teach at a public university?
December 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Did the University of Oklahoma even *consult* with the faculty in its Department of Religious Studies before issuing this decision? You know, those *experts* whom they employ who understand first amendment issues and religious arguments better than anyone because they teach at a public university?
Reposted by Nathan S. French
Unclear to what extent people out there have realised that university staff are running on empty
December 1, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Unclear to what extent people out there have realised that university staff are running on empty
Reposted by Nathan S. French
Anyone wishing to pontificate about changes in the demand for a college education should be forced to stare at this graph for a bit first
We first note that hand-wringing about the decline in US college enrollments has mistakenly linked such declines to the price of four-year colleges.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
But the decline is entirely driven by two-year community colleges (and by for-profit colleges). The four-year sector is the dog that didn't bark.
December 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Anyone wishing to pontificate about changes in the demand for a college education should be forced to stare at this graph for a bit first
A friendly reminder that the author of the U.S. pledge of allegiance, Francis Bellamy, was many things -- but among them was that he identified as a Christian socialist.
Chas. Monroe Sheldon, credited with popularizing "What would Jesus do?"
Also a Christian socialist.
Chas. Monroe Sheldon, credited with popularizing "What would Jesus do?"
Also a Christian socialist.
Rep. Salazar, apparently referring to socialism, says Dems have been “infiltrated by an ideology that is completely foreign to the American values — the Judeo-Christian values.”
Religion note: Myriad debates around it aside, there's a long history of U.S. Christian and Jewish support for socialism.
Religion note: Myriad debates around it aside, there's a long history of U.S. Christian and Jewish support for socialism.
Rep. Maria Salazar: "The GOP is also a morally sound party"
November 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM
A friendly reminder that the author of the U.S. pledge of allegiance, Francis Bellamy, was many things -- but among them was that he identified as a Christian socialist.
Chas. Monroe Sheldon, credited with popularizing "What would Jesus do?"
Also a Christian socialist.
Chas. Monroe Sheldon, credited with popularizing "What would Jesus do?"
Also a Christian socialist.
Reposted by Nathan S. French
My department is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world. Please circulate!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - History of Art & Architecture | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
November 19, 2025 at 1:19 AM
My department is hiring a tenure track assistant professor in in the visual arts, architecture, and/or material culture of the Islamic world. Please circulate!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Not the only faculty member facing this. Lots of former students seeking a letter of recommendation for graduate school having been laid off from their USAID, State Dept, War Dept., and other positions. Demoralizing.
Smart people in whom the US gov't invested with their careers derailed for what?
Smart people in whom the US gov't invested with their careers derailed for what?
November 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Not the only faculty member facing this. Lots of former students seeking a letter of recommendation for graduate school having been laid off from their USAID, State Dept, War Dept., and other positions. Demoralizing.
Smart people in whom the US gov't invested with their careers derailed for what?
Smart people in whom the US gov't invested with their careers derailed for what?
It's hilarious watching ChatGPT 5.1 absolutely faceplant on Arabic PDFs. When asked, I received the following responses (see below). What made me laugh is when it said that this "wasn't real Arabic text."
Uh, it is. I'm working on a set of fatwas from the Minbar al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad. 1800, really.
Uh, it is. I'm working on a set of fatwas from the Minbar al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad. 1800, really.
November 14, 2025 at 2:33 AM
It's hilarious watching ChatGPT 5.1 absolutely faceplant on Arabic PDFs. When asked, I received the following responses (see below). What made me laugh is when it said that this "wasn't real Arabic text."
Uh, it is. I'm working on a set of fatwas from the Minbar al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad. 1800, really.
Uh, it is. I'm working on a set of fatwas from the Minbar al-Tawhid wa-l-Jihad. 1800, really.
Some of us love it enough to use it as a profile photo. Honestly, this Esquire cover is one of the most haunting baseball images I've ever seen: Joe DiMaggio hitting in a suit in an empty Yankee Stadium in 1960.
November 6, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Some of us love it enough to use it as a profile photo. Honestly, this Esquire cover is one of the most haunting baseball images I've ever seen: Joe DiMaggio hitting in a suit in an empty Yankee Stadium in 1960.
Reposted by Nathan S. French
Acknowledging that NYC mayor elections are a Whole Thing, this is easily one of the most robust faith outreach operations I've ever seen for a mayoral race.
"…(Mamdani) has attended Friday prayers, Diwali celebrations in Queens, Baptist church services in Harlem and Sukkot observances in Hasidic Williamsburg."
…
"On the final Friday before Election Day, volunteers from the campaign and other organizations canvassed at 210 of the city’s 300 mosques…"
…
"On the final Friday before Election Day, volunteers from the campaign and other organizations canvassed at 210 of the city’s 300 mosques…"
Truly brilliant @rns.org team reporting here from @ulaakuzi.bsky.social, @fiona-ndre.bsky.social and @richakarma.bsky.social:
Inside Zohran Mamdani's bid to win over religious New Yorkers —> religionnews.com/2025/11/04/i...
Inside Zohran Mamdani's bid to win over religious New Yorkers —> religionnews.com/2025/11/04/i...
November 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Acknowledging that NYC mayor elections are a Whole Thing, this is easily one of the most robust faith outreach operations I've ever seen for a mayoral race.
Me, a scholar studying jihadism, whenever I hear someone call a politician a Marxist jihadi:
“Please use your theory of communist Islamist jihadism to explain this image.”
“Please use your theory of communist Islamist jihadism to explain this image.”
November 5, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Me, a scholar studying jihadism, whenever I hear someone call a politician a Marxist jihadi:
“Please use your theory of communist Islamist jihadism to explain this image.”
“Please use your theory of communist Islamist jihadism to explain this image.”
Reposted by Nathan S. French
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The #1 lesson from yesterday’s blowout:
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Humanities majors killed on the job market
1) Mamdani- Africana Studies
2) Spanberger -French
3) Sherill - Global History
Really interesting results here -- but a note on how this might be framed. The category "other" likely captures Muslim, Hindu voters -- definitely religious! Equally, "None" might include "spiritual, but not religious" and any form of non-institutional or anti-institutional practice.
November 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Really interesting results here -- but a note on how this might be framed. The category "other" likely captures Muslim, Hindu voters -- definitely religious! Equally, "None" might include "spiritual, but not religious" and any form of non-institutional or anti-institutional practice.
It’s funny how many Americans think Trump will care about the Blue Jays winning the World Series.
November 2, 2025 at 3:55 AM
It’s funny how many Americans think Trump will care about the Blue Jays winning the World Series.