Daniel Laurison
@daniellaurison.bsky.social
Sociologist at Swarthmore College, trans man. Wrote Producing Politics & The Class Ceiling & a bunch of articles on class & race & inequality &/or political participation.
DanielLaurison.com = me
WeAreHigherEd.org = standing up for education and democracy
DanielLaurison.com = me
WeAreHigherEd.org = standing up for education and democracy
Pinned
We've compiled all the instances we can find of academics standing up for higher education and democracy, as well as attacks, at WeAreHigherEd.org. Please visit, and sign our letter and/or others (bit.ly/DemocracyAndHigherEd - 13k people have signed one or more statements).
I don't post every email like this but this is an especially nice one - and it came just as I needed a little boost.
(The class, 7 years ago, was actually "The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness" bc part of what it was about was how "white working class" gets used in politics.)
(The class, 7 years ago, was actually "The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness" bc part of what it was about was how "white working class" gets used in politics.)
![Screenshot of an email:
Hi Professor Laurison!
I was just thinking of you because I started grad school this year (in an English PhD program [redacted]) and we had an assignment to grade each other's work from our first year of undergrad to prepare for teaching. I ended up pulling up one of my old paper's from our freshmen-year seminar on the White Working Class, which still to this day, was one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. I remember that you were the first professor that I spoke with about graduate school, and you took so much time to explain all of the very mysterious things about academia, and I wanted to let you know that it made a world of a difference for me and to thank you for helping me get to where I am today!
I hope you and your family are doing well!!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eivlsge4ug4jtvzsdftby3my/bafkreigl4kgu4fk7bpjewwu3o7e6urrg3fri37hvvdngz2kjqpcz65agvq@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I don't post every email like this but this is an especially nice one - and it came just as I needed a little boost.
(The class, 7 years ago, was actually "The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness" bc part of what it was about was how "white working class" gets used in politics.)
(The class, 7 years ago, was actually "The Working Class and the Politics of Whiteness" bc part of what it was about was how "white working class" gets used in politics.)
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Right, the answer isn't to abandon the party to these weasels.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Right, the answer isn't to abandon the party to these weasels.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Take the Democratic Party away from Democratic leadership.
I can't stress this enough as a super volunteer for the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates. This should prompt you to get MORE involved, not less. Show up and use the existing infrastructure to make it work for all of us. In my neck of the woods, we've seen a ton of local victories this way.
Right, the answer isn't to abandon the party to these weasels.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
The answer is to flood the party with people who will take it over and transform it.
November 10, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Take the Democratic Party away from Democratic leadership.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Like… people want affordable groceries, housing, and healthcare, *And* they want their friends and loved ones the be alive and safe and free from persecution.
These are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are in fact bound up together.
These are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are in fact bound up together.
Too many news outlets & pols framing Tuesday as affordability *Instead Of* "woke"/"DEI"/whatever the fuck when Mamdani & Sherrill both *explicitly* embraced trans & other LGBTQ+ rights, VA solidly rejected Republicans' virulent anti-trans attack adz, & a PA elected their 1st trans mayor. Be serious.
Pro-Equality Candidates Win, Anti-Trans Campaigns Lose Again, in Election 2025 | GLAAD
History was made, and repeated, in the 2025 election, with significant impacts for LGBTQ Americans and candidates who campaigned to support LGBTQ people. Virginia voters elected the Commonwealth’s fir...
glaad.org
November 9, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Like… people want affordable groceries, housing, and healthcare, *And* they want their friends and loved ones the be alive and safe and free from persecution.
These are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are in fact bound up together.
These are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are in fact bound up together.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Are you an activist? Will you be targeted under the #𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐀𝐜𝐭? As #Antifa? Or 'Extreme Trans'?
An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure.
Register for this free webinar, tomorrow.⤵️
An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure.
Register for this free webinar, tomorrow.⤵️
Preparing for the Domestic Terrorism Apparatus, Hosted by NLGR
Monday, November 10, 2025, 8:00pm ET / 7:00pm CT / 6:00pm MT / 5:00pm PT
As the administration moves to expand its domestic terrorism framework, new policies and rhetoric are raising alarm among social justice advocates.
Monday, November 10, 2025, 8:00pm ET / 7:00pm CT / 6:00pm MT / 5:00pm PT
As the administration moves to expand its domestic terrorism framework, new policies and rhetoric are raising alarm among social justice advocates.
November 9, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
My wife and I pay for life insurance even though we have never died. I pay for fire insurance even though my house has never burned down. That's not because we want to throw money at insurance companies. It's because THAT'S HOW INSURANCE WORKS.
November 10, 2025 at 3:44 PM
My wife and I pay for life insurance even though we have never died. I pay for fire insurance even though my house has never burned down. That's not because we want to throw money at insurance companies. It's because THAT'S HOW INSURANCE WORKS.
Same same.
Reasonable and good people can disagree about how best to get there from here, and how best to organize/manage/fund a system that accomplishes those goals, and what some tradeoffs or downsides might be.
But not so much about whether anyone deserves poverty and hunger and so on.
Reasonable and good people can disagree about how best to get there from here, and how best to organize/manage/fund a system that accomplishes those goals, and what some tradeoffs or downsides might be.
But not so much about whether anyone deserves poverty and hunger and so on.
I just want everyone to have the experience of living in dignity with access to sufficient food, safe housing, needed medical care, high quality education, and time to engage with what sparks their curiosity and spirit
this should not be controversial 🫠
this should not be controversial 🫠
November 10, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Same same.
Reasonable and good people can disagree about how best to get there from here, and how best to organize/manage/fund a system that accomplishes those goals, and what some tradeoffs or downsides might be.
But not so much about whether anyone deserves poverty and hunger and so on.
Reasonable and good people can disagree about how best to get there from here, and how best to organize/manage/fund a system that accomplishes those goals, and what some tradeoffs or downsides might be.
But not so much about whether anyone deserves poverty and hunger and so on.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Republicans complaining that government money is going to "private health insurance" is going to yeet me into orbit. Then let Americans opt-in to Medicare! Let people on a national health insurance plan! Oh not like that? You meant working people should shoulder the burden or go without? Got it.
November 10, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Republicans complaining that government money is going to "private health insurance" is going to yeet me into orbit. Then let Americans opt-in to Medicare! Let people on a national health insurance plan! Oh not like that? You meant working people should shoulder the burden or go without? Got it.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Check out how the UNFCCC is policing the language of civil society at #COP30 along with limiting their access from Zero Hour ED. Tune in to #COPOut to watch the entire episode also with Ingmar Rentzhog from @wedonthavetime.bsky.social & @magnoliae.bsky.social cece.american.edu/cop-out-epis...
November 10, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Check out how the UNFCCC is policing the language of civil society at #COP30 along with limiting their access from Zero Hour ED. Tune in to #COPOut to watch the entire episode also with Ingmar Rentzhog from @wedonthavetime.bsky.social & @magnoliae.bsky.social cece.american.edu/cop-out-epis...
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
I would not say the voicemails I just left for Wyden and Merkley were particularly charming or articulate but I do think my panic was clear, as a freelancer who only has access to healthcare at all because the ACA exists
If you have a Dem senator and you're seeing this right now, CALL THEM RIGHT NOW and tell them NO. If you don't know anyone who would be affected by this, call them for my friend Lisa. She cannot afford insurance without ACA subsidies and without health insurance I'm terrified she will die.
! A key group of Senate Democrats is leaning toward voting for a deal to end the shutdown, provided final details can be worked out like worker protections (Gift link)
(Deal does NOT include an ACA extension.)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
(Deal does NOT include an ACA extension.)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
November 9, 2025 at 11:22 PM
I would not say the voicemails I just left for Wyden and Merkley were particularly charming or articulate but I do think my panic was clear, as a freelancer who only has access to healthcare at all because the ACA exists
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Not enough of these guys fear primaries.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Not enough of these guys fear primaries.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Unacceptable. There are 189,000 people in my district who will be paying 50–300% more for the same, and in many cases worse, healthcare.
I won’t do that to the people I represent. I’m a NO on this “deal.”
I won’t do that to the people I represent. I’m a NO on this “deal.”
November 9, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Unacceptable. There are 189,000 people in my district who will be paying 50–300% more for the same, and in many cases worse, healthcare.
I won’t do that to the people I represent. I’m a NO on this “deal.”
I won’t do that to the people I represent. I’m a NO on this “deal.”
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Every disaffected Dem & swing focus group we do begins with people asking what's real. They hear, at times, this is authoritarian takeover threatening lives & livelihoods. But perceive most "leaders" not acting as if this were so.
November 9, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Every disaffected Dem & swing focus group we do begins with people asking what's real. They hear, at times, this is authoritarian takeover threatening lives & livelihoods. But perceive most "leaders" not acting as if this were so.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
They call themselves the pro-family party, but they're threatening to punish states for feeding hungry parents and kids.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Trump Administration Live Updates: Officials Demand States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamp Benefits
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
They call themselves the pro-family party, but they're threatening to punish states for feeding hungry parents and kids.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
it’s very difficult at this point to figure out if there is actual movement towards a Dem cave or just a Republican whisper campaign to Axios to make it seem like there’s a Dem cave and I’m going to hold my fire on any of it until something actually happens (or not)
November 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
it’s very difficult at this point to figure out if there is actual movement towards a Dem cave or just a Republican whisper campaign to Axios to make it seem like there’s a Dem cave and I’m going to hold my fire on any of it until something actually happens (or not)
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
LAST CALL! #Sociology Professorships in Copenhagen, Denmark!
We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.
Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!
Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!
jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.
Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!
Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!
jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
Call for two or more open-rank academic positions in Sociology
jobportal.ku.dk
November 9, 2025 at 8:08 AM
LAST CALL! #Sociology Professorships in Copenhagen, Denmark!
We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.
Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!
Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!
jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.
Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!
Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!
jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Reagan-appointed federal judge: "justice is supposed to be administered...equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now....Day after day, I observed in silence as President Trump, his aides, & his allies dismantled so much of what I dedicated my life to."
“What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.” — recently retired federal judge
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why I Am Leaving the Federal Bench
A judge explains his reasons for resigning.
www.theatlantic.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reagan-appointed federal judge: "justice is supposed to be administered...equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now....Day after day, I observed in silence as President Trump, his aides, & his allies dismantled so much of what I dedicated my life to."
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
New article out at Publius: State Identities and Civic and Political Engagement in the United States
academic.oup.com/publius/adva...
academic.oup.com/publius/adva...
November 9, 2025 at 5:12 PM
New article out at Publius: State Identities and Civic and Political Engagement in the United States
academic.oup.com/publius/adva...
academic.oup.com/publius/adva...
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Reminder: Today at 11 am Eastern I'll be streaming "The Long Dark" to raise money for NY Common Pantry! With giveaways for each goal! Let's see how long I last.
www.twitch.tv/nkjemisin
If you don't feel like watching the game, you can also donate directly at tiltify.com/@nkjemisin/s...
www.twitch.tv/nkjemisin
If you don't feel like watching the game, you can also donate directly at tiltify.com/@nkjemisin/s...
nkjemisin - Twitch
nkjemisin streams live on Twitch! Check out their videos, sign up to chat, and join their community.
www.twitch.tv
November 9, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reminder: Today at 11 am Eastern I'll be streaming "The Long Dark" to raise money for NY Common Pantry! With giveaways for each goal! Let's see how long I last.
www.twitch.tv/nkjemisin
If you don't feel like watching the game, you can also donate directly at tiltify.com/@nkjemisin/s...
www.twitch.tv/nkjemisin
If you don't feel like watching the game, you can also donate directly at tiltify.com/@nkjemisin/s...
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Democrats' 2025 election wins go beyond the big races:
In Pennsylvania, Dems swept the top "row offices" in Bucks County, electing the county's first-ever Democratic DA and defeating an incumbent Republican sheriff.
Dems notched victories in county executive races in Erie, Lehigh and Northampton.
In Pennsylvania, Dems swept the top "row offices" in Bucks County, electing the county's first-ever Democratic DA and defeating an incumbent Republican sheriff.
Dems notched victories in county executive races in Erie, Lehigh and Northampton.
November 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Democrats' 2025 election wins go beyond the big races:
In Pennsylvania, Dems swept the top "row offices" in Bucks County, electing the county's first-ever Democratic DA and defeating an incumbent Republican sheriff.
Dems notched victories in county executive races in Erie, Lehigh and Northampton.
In Pennsylvania, Dems swept the top "row offices" in Bucks County, electing the county's first-ever Democratic DA and defeating an incumbent Republican sheriff.
Dems notched victories in county executive races in Erie, Lehigh and Northampton.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Note: according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the US government will pay $138 billion this year on ACA subsidies. The US population is 347 million. If Trump sends that money to citizens to pay for their own doctors and surgeries and pills, that works out to $397.70 per person.
www.crfb.org
November 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Note: according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the US government will pay $138 billion this year on ACA subsidies. The US population is 347 million. If Trump sends that money to citizens to pay for their own doctors and surgeries and pills, that works out to $397.70 per person.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
Mamdani got 1,036,051 votes and had 108,000 volunteers. One out of ten people who voted for him also built the campaign. Amazing.
All of us olds live in constant PTSD about Obama's campaign purposefully unwinding its volunteer army in 2009.
Good news: Mamdani's team says it's doing the opposite.
All of us olds live in constant PTSD about Obama's campaign purposefully unwinding its volunteer army in 2009.
Good news: Mamdani's team says it's doing the opposite.
November 9, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Mamdani got 1,036,051 votes and had 108,000 volunteers. One out of ten people who voted for him also built the campaign. Amazing.
All of us olds live in constant PTSD about Obama's campaign purposefully unwinding its volunteer army in 2009.
Good news: Mamdani's team says it's doing the opposite.
All of us olds live in constant PTSD about Obama's campaign purposefully unwinding its volunteer army in 2009.
Good news: Mamdani's team says it's doing the opposite.
Reposted by Daniel Laurison
"overwhelming defeat" is when you lose by a point and a half (historically narrow) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
"overwhelming defeat" is when you lose by a point and a half (historically narrow) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/u...