Beth Shakman Hurd
@bethhurd.bsky.social
Professor of Global Politics & Religion at Northwestern. New book: Heaven Has a Wall
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo248382196.html
Elizabethshakmanhurd.com
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo248382196.html
Elizabethshakmanhurd.com
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
A friendly reminder that submissions to American Religion's annual dissertation prize are due in THREE days by Sunday August 30!!
For further information see: www.american-religion.org/announcements
For further information see: www.american-religion.org/announcements
Announcements — American Religion
www.american-religion.org
August 27, 2026 at 7:28 PM
A friendly reminder that submissions to American Religion's annual dissertation prize are due in THREE days by Sunday August 30!!
For further information see: www.american-religion.org/announcements
For further information see: www.american-religion.org/announcements
“At the end of the day it’s not radical to believe that people should be able to afford their groceries,” he told NBC’s Meet The Press. “It’s not radical to believe that you should have healthcare in this country.“
Abdul El-Sayed embraces Trump claim he represents ‘very different’ America
Michigan nominee, who spoke to Obama after primary win, vows to fight inequality as president ‘makes billions off you’
www.theguardian.com
August 10, 2026 at 2:23 AM
“At the end of the day it’s not radical to believe that people should be able to afford their groceries,” he told NBC’s Meet The Press. “It’s not radical to believe that you should have healthcare in this country.“
What’s really going on in Ceuta? Read this.
A border spectacle
When thousands of young Moroccans stormed Ceuta last week, it was not an invasion, but the latest in a five-year pattern of coercive migration diplomacy on a border with five centuries of colonial his...
africasacountry.com
August 9, 2026 at 12:46 PM
What’s really going on in Ceuta? Read this.
What can borders tell us about democracy?
Alessandro Ferrari.
Alessandro Ferrari.
"From the Sacred Wall to the Rights-Permeated Border: Reading Heaven Has a Wall from Mediterranean Europe" by Alessandro Ferrari - Canopy Forum
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, visited the migrant hotspot in Lampedusam, Italy © European Union, 2026 (CC BY 4.0). I would like to read Elizabeth Shakman Hurd’s Heaven Ha...
canopyforum.org
August 5, 2026 at 2:02 PM
What can borders tell us about democracy?
Alessandro Ferrari.
Alessandro Ferrari.
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
🧵on the AAUP endorsement of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary, the first-ever electoral endorsement in the organization's 110-year history.
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July 31, 2026 at 2:10 AM
🧵on the AAUP endorsement of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for U.S. Senate in the Michigan Democratic primary, the first-ever electoral endorsement in the organization's 110-year history.
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The title says it all.
The Men Who Made Theory French
French theory, as taught in American classrooms, has acquired a reputation of forbidding difficulty and hauteur. A new history seeks to surface its human side.
www.newyorker.com
July 27, 2026 at 12:15 PM
The title says it all.
According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans now hold a negative view of Israel, including majorities of adults under the age of 50 in both political parties. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, that number rises to 80%.
Mamdani Calls Netanyahu a ‘War Criminal’ and Calls on U.S. to Arrest Him
Mayor Zohran Mamdani challenged the United States to execute an international arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, which New York itself cannot do.
www.nytimes.com
July 22, 2026 at 12:53 PM
According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans now hold a negative view of Israel, including majorities of adults under the age of 50 in both political parties. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, that number rises to 80%.
When I lecture about Hobby Lobby and the Museum of the Bible people are often puzzled by a story in which government, finance, and religion are so tightly interwoven. Reading Blanding’s book makes the combination of these elements in Hobby Lobby seem not just understandable but inevitable.
Michael Blanding’s The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby
When I began this blog back in 2017, the mysteries surrounding Hobby Lobby and its biblical manuscripts were really driving some aspects of my research. Over the last decade, there has been thoroug…
brentnongbri.com
July 22, 2026 at 12:33 AM
When I lecture about Hobby Lobby and the Museum of the Bible people are often puzzled by a story in which government, finance, and religion are so tightly interwoven. Reading Blanding’s book makes the combination of these elements in Hobby Lobby seem not just understandable but inevitable.
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
The estimated $200 billion we’ve spent on the war in Iran could have paid for everyone on Medicare to get free dental, vision, and hearing care for six years. It could have paid for a check to every American household for $1,500. It could do school lunches for all kids for 18 years.
July 20, 2026 at 12:33 PM
The estimated $200 billion we’ve spent on the war in Iran could have paid for everyone on Medicare to get free dental, vision, and hearing care for six years. It could have paid for a check to every American household for $1,500. It could do school lunches for all kids for 18 years.
Joan Scott on the dismal situation at Princeton.
Academic Freedom and the Palestine Exception at Princeton
BY JOAN W. SCOTT Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber has carefully curated his public reputation as a defender of free speech and academic freedom against the wanton attacks by the…
academeblog.org
July 17, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Joan Scott on the dismal situation at Princeton.
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
When the U.S. brokered a ceasefire last year, Israel controlled half of Gaza. Now Israeli forces have pushed deeper, and Palestinians are paying a deadly price.
9 months into a ceasefire, Israel now controls nearly 70% of Gaza
When the U.S. brokered a ceasefire last year, Israel controlled half of Gaza. Now Israeli forces have pushed deeper, and Palestinians are paying a deadly price.
n.pr
July 10, 2026 at 4:35 PM
When the U.S. brokered a ceasefire last year, Israel controlled half of Gaza. Now Israeli forces have pushed deeper, and Palestinians are paying a deadly price.
This Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza was proposed by American Academy of Religion members and then debated and adopted (98% vote in favor) during the Annual Business Meeting on June 23, 2026.
Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza - AAR
The Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza was proposed by AAR members and then adopted during the Annual Business Meeting on June 23, 2026.
aarweb.org
June 29, 2026 at 8:43 PM
This Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza was proposed by American Academy of Religion members and then debated and adopted (98% vote in favor) during the Annual Business Meeting on June 23, 2026.
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
Many thanks to Amy Fallas for this generous and thorough review of “Martyrs and Migrants” for American Religion!
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
June 24, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Many thanks to Amy Fallas for this generous and thorough review of “Martyrs and Migrants” for American Religion!
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
Stephanie Saldaña reviews Heaven Has a Wall for The Christian Century.
The bipartisan religion of the US border
Borders are not only political spaces, argues Elizabeth Shakman Hurd. They are also sacred...
www.christiancentury.org
June 18, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Stephanie Saldaña reviews Heaven Has a Wall for The Christian Century.
A different understanding of what it means to be American, from the left but for everyone.
Opinion | The Left’s Reckoning on Gaza, Elites and American Power
www.nytimes.com
June 10, 2026 at 11:44 AM
A different understanding of what it means to be American, from the left but for everyone.
“faculty criticized what they view as Columbia’s implication that all Jews identify with the state of Israel as “textbook antisemitism”, and argued that by repressing pro-Palestinian speech in the name of Jewish safety, the university turned Jews into “scapegoats”.
‘We were attacked as bad Jews’: Columbia faculty who supported Gaza protests file claims with Trump’s antisemitism fund
Faculty who support Palestinian rights are applying for compensation, claiming they faced harassment as Jews for their positions
www.theguardian.com
June 4, 2026 at 11:14 AM
“faculty criticized what they view as Columbia’s implication that all Jews identify with the state of Israel as “textbook antisemitism”, and argued that by repressing pro-Palestinian speech in the name of Jewish safety, the university turned Jews into “scapegoats”.
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
In our current @Theosthinktank Reading our Times series on the rise of religious nationalism, we come to one of the most difficult topics, in conversation with Hannah Strømmen, namely how the far right weaponises the Bible. Sober listening. tinyurl.com/2nr9893a
How does the Far Right weaponise the Bible? In conversation with Hannah Strømmen
Podcast Episode · Reading Our Times · 2 June · 42min
tinyurl.com
June 3, 2026 at 9:58 AM
In our current @Theosthinktank Reading our Times series on the rise of religious nationalism, we come to one of the most difficult topics, in conversation with Hannah Strømmen, namely how the far right weaponises the Bible. Sober listening. tinyurl.com/2nr9893a
“Section 224 lays the groundwork for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.“
AmericaIsrael.
AmericaIsrael.
Congress quietly moves to integrate US and Israeli militaries
In the first step towards shifting aid further into the shadows, the House's 2027 NDAA would all but fuse the two countries' armed forces together
responsiblestatecraft.org
May 31, 2026 at 12:22 PM
“Section 224 lays the groundwork for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation.“
AmericaIsrael.
AmericaIsrael.
The voices of ordinary seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
Stranded in the Strait of Hormuz
www.nytimes.com
May 29, 2026 at 11:35 AM
The voices of ordinary seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
NEW: Alex Pretti Student Support Fund
Created in memory of alumnus Alex Pretti (BA '11), this fund will provide debt relief and emergency support for students in the Department of Geography, Environment & Society at the University of Minnesota.
Created in memory of alumnus Alex Pretti (BA '11), this fund will provide debt relief and emergency support for students in the Department of Geography, Environment & Society at the University of Minnesota.
Donate to the University of Minnesota
There are many ways to give that not only help create excellence at the U, but also contribute to your own personal and financial goals.
makingagift.umn.edu
May 12, 2026 at 12:28 PM
NEW: Alex Pretti Student Support Fund
Created in memory of alumnus Alex Pretti (BA '11), this fund will provide debt relief and emergency support for students in the Department of Geography, Environment & Society at the University of Minnesota.
Created in memory of alumnus Alex Pretti (BA '11), this fund will provide debt relief and emergency support for students in the Department of Geography, Environment & Society at the University of Minnesota.
Spread the word: Postdoc at the Institute for Religion, Culture & Public Life at Columbia. Preference to projects that seriously engage with the theme of religion and at least one of the other two dimensions.
If I could go back in time…
If I could go back in time…
Postdoctoral Research Scholar — Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life
www.ircpl.columbia.edu
May 6, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Spread the word: Postdoc at the Institute for Religion, Culture & Public Life at Columbia. Preference to projects that seriously engage with the theme of religion and at least one of the other two dimensions.
If I could go back in time…
If I could go back in time…
Reposted by Beth Shakman Hurd
A forthcoming @dukepress.bsky.social book I will be reading. "According to Islamic tradition, God has at least ninety-nine names. In Ninety-Nine, Amira Mittermaier presents ninety-nine short chapters based on her fieldwork and interviews with over one hundred Egyptians about who God is to them."
May 4, 2026 at 2:18 PM
A forthcoming @dukepress.bsky.social book I will be reading. "According to Islamic tradition, God has at least ninety-nine names. In Ninety-Nine, Amira Mittermaier presents ninety-nine short chapters based on her fieldwork and interviews with over one hundred Egyptians about who God is to them."