Orel Beilinson
@orelb.bsky.social
Historian of modern Europe in its Eurasian context. Education, youth, social structure, and family life. Comparative and transnational history. PhD, Yale; currently a postdoc fellow at the Polonsky Academy.
I personally find it very cool that the National and University Library of Iceland allows you to browse its catalog in English, Icelandic, and... Polish.
November 17, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I personally find it very cool that the National and University Library of Iceland allows you to browse its catalog in English, Icelandic, and... Polish.
Grammarly rarely understands the metaphors I try to inject into my writing--but this paraphrase is really remarkably off the mark. Also: chronology!
(I was talking about the end of serfdom + paternalistic ideologies of ruler-subjects relations...)
(I was talking about the end of serfdom + paternalistic ideologies of ruler-subjects relations...)
November 13, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Grammarly rarely understands the metaphors I try to inject into my writing--but this paraphrase is really remarkably off the mark. Also: chronology!
(I was talking about the end of serfdom + paternalistic ideologies of ruler-subjects relations...)
(I was talking about the end of serfdom + paternalistic ideologies of ruler-subjects relations...)
I needed to add a reference to one piece of legislation by Joseph II, which I thought would be easy to locate -- until I opened this book, candidate for the world's least helpful Table of Contents, that seems to mock me directly 🗃️
November 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I needed to add a reference to one piece of legislation by Joseph II, which I thought would be easy to locate -- until I opened this book, candidate for the world's least helpful Table of Contents, that seems to mock me directly 🗃️
The best postdoctoral fellowship in Israel is now open for applications. The money is entirely sufficient for subsistence, the facilities are utterly stunning, and the administrative staff is friendly and supportive. I am happy to answer questions... 🗃️
November 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The best postdoctoral fellowship in Israel is now open for applications. The money is entirely sufficient for subsistence, the facilities are utterly stunning, and the administrative staff is friendly and supportive. I am happy to answer questions... 🗃️
Surprisingly, I haven't been to Barcelona yet. I'll be expanding my article in JESHO, which asked whether guilds beyond Europe really had journeymen. Now I'll move from "Islamic" guilds to Russian guilds -- asking more explicitly how the Russian Empire shaped artisanal life in its borderlands...
October 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Surprisingly, I haven't been to Barcelona yet. I'll be expanding my article in JESHO, which asked whether guilds beyond Europe really had journeymen. Now I'll move from "Islamic" guilds to Russian guilds -- asking more explicitly how the Russian Empire shaped artisanal life in its borderlands...
This seems broadly applicable to me: perhaps I should let white ants serve as peer reviewers for my faltering article manuscripts...
From the diaries of Swiss artist Alice Boner, Varanasi (India), 1941.
🗃️
From the diaries of Swiss artist Alice Boner, Varanasi (India), 1941.
🗃️
October 25, 2025 at 7:38 PM
This seems broadly applicable to me: perhaps I should let white ants serve as peer reviewers for my faltering article manuscripts...
From the diaries of Swiss artist Alice Boner, Varanasi (India), 1941.
🗃️
From the diaries of Swiss artist Alice Boner, Varanasi (India), 1941.
🗃️
Tomorrow's the first day of classes, and I am very excited to open the semester with a graduate seminar, "Global and World History: Approaches and Recent Studies." Here's our reading list! 🗃️
October 25, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Tomorrow's the first day of classes, and I am very excited to open the semester with a graduate seminar, "Global and World History: Approaches and Recent Studies." Here's our reading list! 🗃️
I am writing an article to convince American high school teachers to adopt recent historiography on nationalism in 19th-century Europe in their classrooms. This screenshot from an immensely popular test-prep book for AP World History demonstrates how confused and blurry the curriculum is.
October 24, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I am writing an article to convince American high school teachers to adopt recent historiography on nationalism in 19th-century Europe in their classrooms. This screenshot from an immensely popular test-prep book for AP World History demonstrates how confused and blurry the curriculum is.
"Passing through here, one feels for the first time that this segment of Europe is interwoven with those unknown, secret mysteries of life which France, England, or Spain have never touched."
-- The Indian writer Nirmal Verma on Central Europe, the 1960s.
-- The Indian writer Nirmal Verma on Central Europe, the 1960s.
October 22, 2025 at 7:14 AM
"Passing through here, one feels for the first time that this segment of Europe is interwoven with those unknown, secret mysteries of life which France, England, or Spain have never touched."
-- The Indian writer Nirmal Verma on Central Europe, the 1960s.
-- The Indian writer Nirmal Verma on Central Europe, the 1960s.
I even have a faculty photo and everything!
October 20, 2025 at 9:59 AM
I even have a faculty photo and everything!
As a Habsburgist, I was *very* glad to find out during my walks around Delhi that some of my favorite buildings in the city, including the Yugoslav embassy and buildings in the Jamia Milli Islamia, were designed by an Austrian architect, Karl Malte von Heinz -- a Bauhaus refugee from Nazi Germany. 🗃️
October 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
As a Habsburgist, I was *very* glad to find out during my walks around Delhi that some of my favorite buildings in the city, including the Yugoslav embassy and buildings in the Jamia Milli Islamia, were designed by an Austrian architect, Karl Malte von Heinz -- a Bauhaus refugee from Nazi Germany. 🗃️
My friend in Thekkady, too, is worried about the state of humanity.
October 11, 2025 at 4:22 PM
My friend in Thekkady, too, is worried about the state of humanity.
My morning walk in Kerala passed through 4 churches, a mosque with a madrasa, a hammer and sickle, an invitation to "Che's Martyrdom Day" celebrated by the Communist Party's youth wing, and a massage parlor presenting Jesus, the Ka'abah, and the locally revered Ayyappan together.
October 11, 2025 at 9:34 AM
My morning walk in Kerala passed through 4 churches, a mosque with a madrasa, a hammer and sickle, an invitation to "Che's Martyrdom Day" celebrated by the Communist Party's youth wing, and a massage parlor presenting Jesus, the Ka'abah, and the locally revered Ayyappan together.
Started my first morning in Delhi with a guided tour, perhaps a pilgrimage, to see the hotel's peacock. A staff member took me there after I expressed my excitement over the squirrels climbing over tables at the outdoor café...
October 3, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Started my first morning in Delhi with a guided tour, perhaps a pilgrimage, to see the hotel's peacock. A staff member took me there after I expressed my excitement over the squirrels climbing over tables at the outdoor café...
Revisiting Lévi-Strauss on Indian cities. If one accepts his characterization of Calcutta and the underlying difference in European vs Indian urbanity, it must testify to the transformation of European urban life--his description would've rung familiar to many Europeans a century+ beforehand.
October 1, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Revisiting Lévi-Strauss on Indian cities. If one accepts his characterization of Calcutta and the underlying difference in European vs Indian urbanity, it must testify to the transformation of European urban life--his description would've rung familiar to many Europeans a century+ beforehand.
Deepavali/Diwali season began at Singapore's Indian Heritage Centre. The museum is free on weekends, featuring festive activities such as free henna, tea/snacks, and dress-up opportunities. A wonderful place (best paired with Ar-Rahman's roti prata at Tekka Centre nearby).
September 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Deepavali/Diwali season began at Singapore's Indian Heritage Centre. The museum is free on weekends, featuring festive activities such as free henna, tea/snacks, and dress-up opportunities. A wonderful place (best paired with Ar-Rahman's roti prata at Tekka Centre nearby).
The Straits Times, in Singapore, weighing in on Yugoslavia's fate, July 1991:
September 25, 2025 at 11:26 AM
The Straits Times, in Singapore, weighing in on Yugoslavia's fate, July 1991:
The best triangle of Singapore: the National Archives, the Children's Museum, and the Armenian Church/Street. Those who genuinely wish to be world historians -- in the sense of historians of everywhere -- should learn Armenian... 🗃️
September 25, 2025 at 7:51 AM
The best triangle of Singapore: the National Archives, the Children's Museum, and the Armenian Church/Street. Those who genuinely wish to be world historians -- in the sense of historians of everywhere -- should learn Armenian... 🗃️
Alas, another ancient craft has fallen prey to mechanization. At least it accepts Apple Pay.
September 24, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Alas, another ancient craft has fallen prey to mechanization. At least it accepts Apple Pay.
The building behind me used to be Singapore's only private and Chinese-language university. The institution eventually merged into the National University of Singapore, whereas the building is in the territory of Nanyang Technological University. There's a small museum inside that's worth visiting.🗃️
September 23, 2025 at 7:33 AM
The building behind me used to be Singapore's only private and Chinese-language university. The institution eventually merged into the National University of Singapore, whereas the building is in the territory of Nanyang Technological University. There's a small museum inside that's worth visiting.🗃️
Spent my first sunset in Singapore watching Malaysia from across the bridge. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit one day...
September 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Spent my first sunset in Singapore watching Malaysia from across the bridge. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit one day...
Ha! I uploaded the wrong screenshot. Now *that's* the research proposal I submitted this morning, hoping to fund a few M.A. and one Ph.D. students to work with me on the literary and political history of youth movements in nineteenth-century Europe...
("Non-Asian words" is such a bizarre metric.)
("Non-Asian words" is such a bizarre metric.)
September 18, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Ha! I uploaded the wrong screenshot. Now *that's* the research proposal I submitted this morning, hoping to fund a few M.A. and one Ph.D. students to work with me on the literary and political history of youth movements in nineteenth-century Europe...
("Non-Asian words" is such a bizarre metric.)
("Non-Asian words" is such a bizarre metric.)
I am very pleased that I could find an online copy to order -- a bilingual edition! -- for my State, Society, and Science in the Atomic Age class this Spring...
September 12, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I am very pleased that I could find an online copy to order -- a bilingual edition! -- for my State, Society, and Science in the Atomic Age class this Spring...
Today, I had a Hindi lesson and gave a talk about exam anxiety & parent-child relationships in 19th-century Europe, so it's the perfect day to discover that the Prime Minister of India has written a children's book since then holds a yearly meeting with parents/teachers/children on this very topic
September 4, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Today, I had a Hindi lesson and gave a talk about exam anxiety & parent-child relationships in 19th-century Europe, so it's the perfect day to discover that the Prime Minister of India has written a children's book since then holds a yearly meeting with parents/teachers/children on this very topic
Every time that I read about a nineteenth-century traveler who returned from faraway lands with hundreds of books, I certainly feel envious of the logistical assistance they must have enjoyed... Goodbye, Berlin!
August 30, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Every time that I read about a nineteenth-century traveler who returned from faraway lands with hundreds of books, I certainly feel envious of the logistical assistance they must have enjoyed... Goodbye, Berlin!