Ellen Muehlberger
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emuehlbe.bsky.social
Ellen Muehlberger
@emuehlbe.bsky.social
Michigander with ideas about ancient history, writing, cats, bikes

I'm probably gonna ask you what you're writing

Things Unseen, available open access from University of California Press: https://luminosoa.org/books/m/10.1525/luminos.253
Pinned
I say this enough that I should just make a permanent pinned post, but people: if you're feeling down, just go get yourself a hit of other people's good news---it's the richest espresso, the driest prosecco, the warmest sunshine, the gooey-ist brownie
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
This is a late ancient (5-7th c.?) Greek account of the life of a rich woman who was raised Jewish, converted to Christianity when her parents died, lived for 20 years as a male monk named John, was discovered & made head of a woman's monastery, & was later martyred
well, what the heck. it's the tuesday before thanksgiving, and whoever is on here deserves a treat: the first new translation I've posted in a long while: the Life and Martyrdom of Susanna:

andrewjacobs.org/translations...
Life and Martyrdom of Susanna
andrewjacobs.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
My short Elements book "Literate Workers and the Production of Early Christian Literature" is now available on Cambridge Core. It was a lot of fun to learn from the exciting scholarship that's been happening and I hope that it's a useful resource for people. www.cambridge.org/core/element...
Literate Workers and the Production of Early Christian Literature
Cambridge Core - History of Religion - Literate Workers and the Production of Early Christian Literature
www.cambridge.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I got out of both high school and college without learning any languages; I moved to Italy to marry a man and, to my surprise, was fluent in four months; other realizations and languages followed
What’s the lore behind choosing your career path ?
November 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
November 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Such a thrill to get to the book exhibit and see the cover for Things Unseen up on the big board---stop by the @ucpress.bsky.social booth to get a copy!
November 24, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Back home from my first AARSBL since the Before Times, and that was lovely---so good to see you all!
November 24, 2025 at 1:47 PM
See you soon, nerds! #AARSBL25 #SBLAAR25
November 21, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
If you are headed to #SBLAAR25 #AARSBL25 Gender Violence will be available at 40% off! Stop by the @ucpress.bsky.social booth and pick up a copy! If you would like to grab coffee to talk about the book or other things, send me a DM! www.ucpress.edu/books/gender...
Gender Violence in Late Antiquity by Jennifer Barry - Hardcover
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
www.ucpress.edu
November 20, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
Head to a Pavement location instead! Boston business w/ unionized baristas. Their shops on Newbury St and Boylston are both just a couple of blocks from Hynes Convention Center.
On your way to AAR/SBL? Skip the Starbucks, the baristas are on strike

I mean, skip it anyways, but
November 20, 2025 at 2:15 PM
On your way to AAR/SBL? Skip the Starbucks, the baristas are on strike

I mean, skip it anyways, but
November 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Listen, my brother, Virginia Tech *was* the sexy and cool place to go---back when you had a Religious Studies department
"we gotta make Virginia Tech the sexy and cool place to go"
November 19, 2025 at 10:24 PM
My best advice for other writers: read everything and anything you want!

www.ucpress.edu/blog-posts/a...
Author Ellen Muehlberger on Building a Book
Author Ellen Muehlberger on her path to writing THINGS UNSEEN.
www.ucpress.edu
November 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
It's not even a morality issue---it's an equity issue.

In essence, about half the student body has to manage the prospect that approaching the professor for help, professional advice, guidance, or feedback is going to go sideways.

Women in his classes are not getting the same class.
I know that at this point it's a subplot in the Epstein files drama, but I feel compelled to point out, once again, that Larry Summers HAS NO BUSINESS teaching students at ANY university ever again!

My latest cries into the abyss, in @thenation.com

www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why Is Larry Summers Still Employed?
The revelations about the economist’s attempts to pressure a women into a “relationship”—with guidance from Jeffrey Epstein—should finally disqualify him from teaching students.
www.thenation.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
okay, friends, let's do something community-oriented and helpful. #sblaar25 veterans, drop your best conference advice for first-time attendees. be sure to signal boost so folks across bluesky can add on/peruse.
November 19, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
Current* conditions near Gary, IN:
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
The fact that no one in the room stood up for her says a lot about how we got here bsky.app/profile/pale...
"Quiet! Quiet, Piggy."
November 18, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
We don't take teaching seriously enough.
Update from The Harvard Crimson on Summers: he’ll step back from public commitments, but remain in the classroom, continue his directorship of a center, & keep his University Professorship. How is this in any way holding him accountable for his actions? www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Summers To Step Back from Public Commitments Amid Epstein Scandal | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawerence H. Summers will step back from all public commitments in an effort “to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me,” he wrote in a statement...
www.thecrimson.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
July 9, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
New issue of Studies in Late Antiquity Vol. 9, No. 4 (2025) online.ucpress.edu/SLA/issue/9/4 Paleoscience and the Study of Late Antiquity @ucpress.bsky.social @janetekay.bsky.social @shakenbeck.bsky.social @r-c-jackson.bsky.social
Volume 9 Issue 4 | Studies in Late Antiquity | University of California Press
online.ucpress.edu
November 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
in addition to Young's (predictably) excellent introduction to Nicaea and its contours, the forum includes 10 "paired" scholars reflecting on the meaning and legacy of the council from various denominational perspectives
November 17, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
Here's a fun little something I put together on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reflections on Nicaea at 1700: A Forum on the Legacy of the Council and the Creed | Church History | Cambridge Core
Reflections on Nicaea at 1700: A Forum on the Legacy of the Council and the Creed
www.cambridge.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Ellen Muehlberger
I had a great conversation about this phenomenon with some sociologists at ASA once. A colleague took me to task for failing to see how they KNOW the reference. They aren’t misreading literary references — they are wielding them to demonstrate their power to shape our ethics.
November 17, 2025 at 2:08 PM
I am strongly in favor of survivors speaking up and I also note: look---look!---who has to be public and who gets to be private

and then ask yourself: if there are around a thousand survivors, how many rapists are just going about their morning, privately
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.

Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
I know like maybe two women in academia who haven't gotten one of these "You need something from me and oh yeah sleep with me," implicitly or explicitly
November 17, 2025 at 12:37 PM