Cara Burnidge
@burnidge.bsky.social
Historian of religion and politics in the US specializing in Gilded Age and Progressive Era, reform movements, and religious debates about American democracy.
Views are my own, not my employer’s. Likes and reposts are not endorsements.
Views are my own, not my employer’s. Likes and reposts are not endorsements.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
This autumn is the 10th anniversary of the publication of Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure.
It came out during a heartbreaking time, my mom’s passing.
I worked on copy edits and proofs from her living room, between medical appointments.
uncpress.org/978146962771...
It came out during a heartbreaking time, my mom’s passing.
I worked on copy edits and proofs from her living room, between medical appointments.
uncpress.org/978146962771...
Written/Unwritten
The academy may claim to seek and value diversity in its professoriate, but reports from faculty of color around the country make clear that departments and ...
uncpress.org
October 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM
This autumn is the 10th anniversary of the publication of Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure.
It came out during a heartbreaking time, my mom’s passing.
I worked on copy edits and proofs from her living room, between medical appointments.
uncpress.org/978146962771...
It came out during a heartbreaking time, my mom’s passing.
I worked on copy edits and proofs from her living room, between medical appointments.
uncpress.org/978146962771...
It doesn’t require a company to run! These have been popular events at my campus, partnering with a local watering hole (the place serves food, not just alcohol to drink). We call it “Pint with a Prof”
So apparently there’s a company that runs events where profs (mostly STEM) do “fun” topical lectures in bars and it’s a way of enticing burnt out gen-Z folks who want to escape brainrot and I love this and feel like we humanists could significantly undercut them…
October 3, 2026 at 10:11 PM
It doesn’t require a company to run! These have been popular events at my campus, partnering with a local watering hole (the place serves food, not just alcohol to drink). We call it “Pint with a Prof”
JZ Smith, Map Is Not Territory (Chicago, 1993)
Amy Deregotis, Moral Geographies: Maps, Missionaries and the American Frontier (Columbia, 2003)
@econroykrutz.bsky.social Hierarchies of Heathenism: Missionaries Map the Globe, Diplomatic History 42.1 (2018)
Amy Deregotis, Moral Geographies: Maps, Missionaries and the American Frontier (Columbia, 2003)
@econroykrutz.bsky.social Hierarchies of Heathenism: Missionaries Map the Globe, Diplomatic History 42.1 (2018)
The U.N. has backed a new map showing Africa in its true relative size, with the U.S. standing alone in opposition. n.pr/4cq8Sdp
The U.N. backs a new world map showing Africa in its true relative size
The U.N. has backed a new map showing Africa in its true relative size, with the U.S. standing alone in opposition.
n.pr
September 5, 2026 at 2:57 AM
JZ Smith, Map Is Not Territory (Chicago, 1993)
Amy Deregotis, Moral Geographies: Maps, Missionaries and the American Frontier (Columbia, 2003)
@econroykrutz.bsky.social Hierarchies of Heathenism: Missionaries Map the Globe, Diplomatic History 42.1 (2018)
Amy Deregotis, Moral Geographies: Maps, Missionaries and the American Frontier (Columbia, 2003)
@econroykrutz.bsky.social Hierarchies of Heathenism: Missionaries Map the Globe, Diplomatic History 42.1 (2018)
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
This is a must-read by @vox-magica.bsky.social and @profgabriele.com that sets the dismantling of their outstanding Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech in the broader context of the assault on the Humanities.
“Taking from students the analytical tools to recognize the often invisible or unarticulated ways that religion influences their lives is tantamount to rendering them unable to recognize the forces that are working across societies around the world” www.liberalcurrents.com/religion-hum...
Religion, Humanities, and the Public Good
The right wing's assault on Religion and Humanities programs is an assault on our ability to understand the world, from Hindutva abroad to Christian Nationalism at home.
www.liberalcurrents.com
September 3, 2026 at 2:06 PM
This is a must-read by @vox-magica.bsky.social and @profgabriele.com that sets the dismantling of their outstanding Department of Religion and Culture at Virginia Tech in the broader context of the assault on the Humanities.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
"The university—especially the public university—has never been an “ivory tower,” but rather where we help create the public sphere we want to see in the world. Centering the public good means offering to our students the same robust intellectual environment their elite private-school peers enjoy."
"Our modern Western understanding of 'religion' views it primarily as an interiorized discourse—that is, concerned with personal beliefs rather than with community or society. We are living in the world that 19th-century Europeans made by…defining 'religion' in terms of their own Protestantism."
Religion, Humanities, and the Public Good
The right wing's assault on Religion and Humanities programs is an assault on our ability to understand the world, from Hindutva abroad to Christian Nationalism at home.
www.liberalcurrents.com
September 3, 2026 at 2:58 PM
"The university—especially the public university—has never been an “ivory tower,” but rather where we help create the public sphere we want to see in the world. Centering the public good means offering to our students the same robust intellectual environment their elite private-school peers enjoy."
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
As I show in this paper, when public institutions become (financially and reputationally) dependent on privileged people, they lose the incentive to equitably enforce the rules.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Avoiding Us versus Them: How Schools’ Dependence on Privileged “Helicopter” Parents Influences Enforcement of Rules - Jessica McCrory Calarco, 2020
As privilege-dependent organizations, U.S. public schools have an interest in catering to higher-SES White families. But, what happens when privileged families’...
journals.sagepub.com
August 29, 2026 at 3:38 PM
As I show in this paper, when public institutions become (financially and reputationally) dependent on privileged people, they lose the incentive to equitably enforce the rules.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Our University Does Not Require Books, Paper, or Human Knowledge www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
Woof. This satire is hitting hard
Woof. This satire is hitting hard
Our University Does Not Require Books, Paper, or Human Knowledge
“Such a radical shakeup in learning has never happened before, as far as I know. Is there even a way to learn about whether or not something has happened bef...
www.mcsweeneys.net
August 26, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Our University Does Not Require Books, Paper, or Human Knowledge www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/our...
Woof. This satire is hitting hard
Woof. This satire is hitting hard
I was not prepared for this day 😭 Dolly Parton fans: are we wearing butterflies while in mourning? 🦋
August 25, 2026 at 7:06 PM
I was not prepared for this day 😭 Dolly Parton fans: are we wearing butterflies while in mourning? 🦋
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
The conflict between AI and accommodations is *the* pedagogical issue of the moment. But there's no real leadership on this. It's all delegated to faculty to work out on their own, with occasional assists (or resistance) from disability offices. It's untenable, terrible for both students + faculty.
I spent years fighting for tech in the classroom for disability access reasons, arguing that no, accommodation wasn't enough, go for universal design.
I've given up. I've lost. AI humping motherfuckers ruined it. As they ruin everything.
I've given up. I've lost. AI humping motherfuckers ruined it. As they ruin everything.
My undergrad large-lecture syllabus is now ready. Here's all of what I had to do to fend off AI:
-Physical copy of the textbook is required (so material can't be auto-summarized). The mechanism for this is that tests and quizzes are open book, but only the physical copy can be used.
-Physical copy of the textbook is required (so material can't be auto-summarized). The mechanism for this is that tests and quizzes are open book, but only the physical copy can be used.
August 11, 2026 at 5:35 PM
The conflict between AI and accommodations is *the* pedagogical issue of the moment. But there's no real leadership on this. It's all delegated to faculty to work out on their own, with occasional assists (or resistance) from disability offices. It's untenable, terrible for both students + faculty.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
As @disabilitystor1.bsky.social observes, there's no institutional help--and this is coming from the faculty who *want* to support all students who need accommodations. Faculty need thought partners, but most disability offices are under-resourced and, ime, appear baffled by faculty frustrated w/AI.
This actually is the root of a lot of my anger and frustration, and yes, grief. I spent years crafting accessible classrooms, advocating for tech, and now every measure I use for access is misused by (mostly able-bodied) students who want to cheat with gAI. And our institutions are no fucking help.
I spent years fighting for tech in the classroom for disability access reasons, arguing that no, accommodation wasn't enough, go for universal design.
I've given up. I've lost. AI humping motherfuckers ruined it. As they ruin everything.
I've given up. I've lost. AI humping motherfuckers ruined it. As they ruin everything.
August 11, 2026 at 5:41 PM
As @disabilitystor1.bsky.social observes, there's no institutional help--and this is coming from the faculty who *want* to support all students who need accommodations. Faculty need thought partners, but most disability offices are under-resourced and, ime, appear baffled by faculty frustrated w/AI.
Seconded. I don’t think it’s a mystery why several journals in my field no longer have a backlog.
There are several contributing factors, but one that deserves attention is how we are still in the wake of COVID impacts on scholarly pipelines. It’s been one 6-year t&p cycle if you started fall 2020
There are several contributing factors, but one that deserves attention is how we are still in the wake of COVID impacts on scholarly pipelines. It’s been one 6-year t&p cycle if you started fall 2020
I sometimes think about the gender disparities that became apparent among academics amid the COVID Public Health Emergency.
Men who weren't caregiving / had lower advising, teaching, and service loads were able to "focus" on research, while women were more likely to see slowed research productivity
Men who weren't caregiving / had lower advising, teaching, and service loads were able to "focus" on research, while women were more likely to see slowed research productivity
August 7, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Seconded. I don’t think it’s a mystery why several journals in my field no longer have a backlog.
There are several contributing factors, but one that deserves attention is how we are still in the wake of COVID impacts on scholarly pipelines. It’s been one 6-year t&p cycle if you started fall 2020
There are several contributing factors, but one that deserves attention is how we are still in the wake of COVID impacts on scholarly pipelines. It’s been one 6-year t&p cycle if you started fall 2020
“Higher education, and the press that reports on it, both tend to look disproportionately at the Ivies for guidance and leadership. But the Ivies don’t represent the circumstances and conditions at the vast majority of institutions in this country….”
My op-ed about Harvard and its new grade cap is out today in The Hill. I’d love to hear what you think. thehill.com/opinion/educ...
Harvard’s new cap on ‘A’ grades is doomed to fail
We know now from decades of research that grades are not scientific or objective measurements of student learning.
thehill.com
June 18, 2026 at 4:36 PM
“Higher education, and the press that reports on it, both tend to look disproportionately at the Ivies for guidance and leadership. But the Ivies don’t represent the circumstances and conditions at the vast majority of institutions in this country….”
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Exciting update from our program, where @burnidge.bsky.social is going great work
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/26/u...
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/26/u...
University of Northern Iowa to lead collaborative religious studies initiative • Iowa Capital Dispatch
UNI professor Cara Burnidge will lead a collaborative religious studies initiative with University of Iowa and Iowa State University faculty.
iowacapitaldispatch.com
May 27, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Exciting update from our program, where @burnidge.bsky.social is going great work
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/26/u...
iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/26/u...
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Tomorrow (May 22) at 6:00 pm EDT, Judson Memorial Church welcomes @wmstell.bsky.social, author of Born Again Queer. He'll discuss his history of the rise and fall of evangelical gay activism, shining a light on this largely forgotten chapter in American evangelicalism.
Learn more: buff.ly/GtWaEMm
Learn more: buff.ly/GtWaEMm
May 21, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Tomorrow (May 22) at 6:00 pm EDT, Judson Memorial Church welcomes @wmstell.bsky.social, author of Born Again Queer. He'll discuss his history of the rise and fall of evangelical gay activism, shining a light on this largely forgotten chapter in American evangelicalism.
Learn more: buff.ly/GtWaEMm
Learn more: buff.ly/GtWaEMm
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
It's not brainstorming if you don't use your brain to do it.
“Use AI to brainstorm but not to write.”
“Use AI to help you outline but not to write.”
These are commonly proposed as “ethical” ways for undergrad students to use AI, but I’m sorry, brainstorming & outlining are just as integral to writing as the actual construction of sentences.
“Use AI to help you outline but not to write.”
These are commonly proposed as “ethical” ways for undergrad students to use AI, but I’m sorry, brainstorming & outlining are just as integral to writing as the actual construction of sentences.
April 28, 2026 at 7:01 PM
It's not brainstorming if you don't use your brain to do it.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
AND further evidence of confusion about what teaching (and even knowledge) actually is.
Knowledge is NOT a synonym for information.
Teaching is not just communicating information.
Knowledge is NOT a synonym for information.
Teaching is not just communicating information.
Not only is this "Atomic" bullshit from ASU precisely and exactly the wrong way to go about using "AI" to develop course materials, it is in fact a culmination of many of my nightmare scenarios.
April 28, 2026 at 3:53 PM
AND further evidence of confusion about what teaching (and even knowledge) actually is.
Knowledge is NOT a synonym for information.
Teaching is not just communicating information.
Knowledge is NOT a synonym for information.
Teaching is not just communicating information.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
There has to be some interesting philosophy about how the Internet is both forever, and also a remarkably fragile storage medium for knowledge and history.
Journalists know that losing the Wayback Machine would be a nightmare: www.wired.com/story/the-in...
The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril
As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.
www.wired.com
April 13, 2026 at 12:07 PM
There has to be some interesting philosophy about how the Internet is both forever, and also a remarkably fragile storage medium for knowledge and history.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
Super weird that broad bipartisan support for violently crushing student protest was effective. Really makes you think
As President Donald Trump’s unauthorized war on Iran with Israel entered into its second month, some Democratic officials were looking around and wondering: Where are the anti-war protests this time around? And why are college campuses so quiet?
@lauren-egan.bsky.social takes a look.
@lauren-egan.bsky.social takes a look.
April 9, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Super weird that broad bipartisan support for violently crushing student protest was effective. Really makes you think
Yes, and this pattern pre-dates MAGA by 200+ years
religious liberty in the US has consistently made assumptions about “good” religion (deserving of religious freedom) & “bad” religion (those that aren’t bc they are perceived as “foreign,” coercive, or incompatible with democracy)
We see that here
religious liberty in the US has consistently made assumptions about “good” religion (deserving of religious freedom) & “bad” religion (those that aren’t bc they are perceived as “foreign,” coercive, or incompatible with democracy)
We see that here
Is it possible that MAGA types really don't see the difference between:
"I want more religion in public schools"
-and-
"I want more of MY religion in public schools."
[gift link]
"I want more religion in public schools"
-and-
"I want more of MY religion in public schools."
[gift link]
Fight Over Funding Islamic Schools in Texas Exposes G.O.P. Tensions
www.nytimes.com
April 8, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Yes, and this pattern pre-dates MAGA by 200+ years
religious liberty in the US has consistently made assumptions about “good” religion (deserving of religious freedom) & “bad” religion (those that aren’t bc they are perceived as “foreign,” coercive, or incompatible with democracy)
We see that here
religious liberty in the US has consistently made assumptions about “good” religion (deserving of religious freedom) & “bad” religion (those that aren’t bc they are perceived as “foreign,” coercive, or incompatible with democracy)
We see that here
Girls be like “I needed this” and it’s @kkdumez.bsky.social historicizing white Christian women.
Thrilled to finally be at this point—LIVE LAUGH LOVE releases in September and it’s now available for preorder!
Live Laugh Love is about exactly what you think it is…
open.substack.com/pub/kristind...
Live Laugh Love is about exactly what you think it is…
open.substack.com/pub/kristind...
Announcing...LIVE LAUGH LOVE
At long last...available for preorder!
open.substack.com
April 7, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Girls be like “I needed this” and it’s @kkdumez.bsky.social historicizing white Christian women.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
10 years. A love letter to diversity workers. And gratitude for my complaint collective. substack.com/@feministkil...
Sara Ahmed (@feministkilljoys)
Ten years ago this month, I resigned from my post and my profession in protest at the failure of my institution to deal with the problem of sexual harassment. It was a lot to give up. But it was neces...
substack.com
April 1, 2026 at 7:38 PM
10 years. A love letter to diversity workers. And gratitude for my complaint collective. substack.com/@feministkil...
And this, my friends, is why we will always need to study the Humanities. The human condition don’t quit.
*sees a group of neighbors fighting ICE*
“We are going to win!”
Five minutes later. *sees someone post a disclaimer on Facebook that Meta doesn’t have permission to use their photos.*
“Oh, yeah, no we gonna die.”
“We are going to win!”
Five minutes later. *sees someone post a disclaimer on Facebook that Meta doesn’t have permission to use their photos.*
“Oh, yeah, no we gonna die.”
March 20, 2026 at 6:27 PM
And this, my friends, is why we will always need to study the Humanities. The human condition don’t quit.
Almost as unpleasant as watching people newly interested in the phenomenon they didn’t see coming writing and being cited over the highly knowledgeable people who did.
“Who could’ve seen this coming?” is highly unpleasant when the answer is “most people who know anything about this big topic and they’ve been saying so for years.”
March 10, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Almost as unpleasant as watching people newly interested in the phenomenon they didn’t see coming writing and being cited over the highly knowledgeable people who did.
Reposted by Cara Burnidge
The danger to my job from AI isn't that AI can do my job, it's that my job is made even more precarious by the way AI is shaping ideas of the value of work. It can't do my job, but it can be part of convincing people (incorrectly) that my job isn't necessary.
March 9, 2026 at 8:03 PM
The danger to my job from AI isn't that AI can do my job, it's that my job is made even more precarious by the way AI is shaping ideas of the value of work. It can't do my job, but it can be part of convincing people (incorrectly) that my job isn't necessary.