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.
Reposted by Orel Beilinson
About to kick off a peer review workshop with our brilliant @sriucl.bsky.social PhD students right now. Thanks to my colleague Alina Pelikh for hosting and I wish something like this was available when I started out.
November 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM
About to kick off a peer review workshop with our brilliant @sriucl.bsky.social PhD students right now. Thanks to my colleague Alina Pelikh for hosting and I wish something like this was available when I started out.
So, you think calculus is hard? Good luck making sense of the right to vote in Habsburg Austria
(from a wonderful article by Birgitta Bader-Zaar) 🗃️
(from a wonderful article by Birgitta Bader-Zaar) 🗃️
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 PM
So, you think calculus is hard? Good luck making sense of the right to vote in Habsburg Austria
(from a wonderful article by Birgitta Bader-Zaar) 🗃️
(from a wonderful article by Birgitta Bader-Zaar) 🗃️
Halldór Laxness is my spirit animal. So relatable at such a young age.
November 25, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Halldór Laxness is my spirit animal. So relatable at such a young age.
Submitted my course proposals for next year, including a seminar on what Ibsen called "life-lies," the self-deceptions that sustain one's happiness, in nineteenth-century Europe: bourgeois, aristocratic, rustic idylls and those who tried to shatter them. 🗃️
November 24, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Submitted my course proposals for next year, including a seminar on what Ibsen called "life-lies," the self-deceptions that sustain one's happiness, in nineteenth-century Europe: bourgeois, aristocratic, rustic idylls and those who tried to shatter them. 🗃️
I met with a university press editor 1.5 years ago -- and the advice she gave me for revising my dissertation into a book manuscript is one of the documents I use daily. It is really amazing how transformative these random strikes of generosity can be.
November 23, 2025 at 4:26 PM
I met with a university press editor 1.5 years ago -- and the advice she gave me for revising my dissertation into a book manuscript is one of the documents I use daily. It is really amazing how transformative these random strikes of generosity can be.
הזכרתי בכיתה השבוע את הנריק פונטופידן, סופר דני שזכה בפרס הנובל ב-1917. הבטחתי לסטודנטים שאתרגם להם קצת כי אין בעברית. הנה קטע קצר גם לכם, קצת אחרי שהגיבור הנוצרי וארוסתו היהודייה, בטיול בלתי מתוכנן אל האלפים, מגלים שהם חולקים סלידה, עוד מילדות, מפעמוני כנסייה:
November 21, 2025 at 4:39 PM
הזכרתי בכיתה השבוע את הנריק פונטופידן, סופר דני שזכה בפרס הנובל ב-1917. הבטחתי לסטודנטים שאתרגם להם קצת כי אין בעברית. הנה קטע קצר גם לכם, קצת אחרי שהגיבור הנוצרי וארוסתו היהודייה, בטיול בלתי מתוכנן אל האלפים, מגלים שהם חולקים סלידה, עוד מילדות, מפעמוני כנסייה:
The mark of a great book: a write-up by the inimitable Holly Case.
A wise review by Holly Case of an excellent book by Iryna Vushko.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Holly Case · Thin Pink Glaze: Habsburg Legacies
We still live in the long shadow of Habsburg disintegration. In addition to the lingering legacy of 19th-century state...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
The mark of a great book: a write-up by the inimitable Holly Case.
Reposted by Orel Beilinson
surrogacy in #Georgia has plenty of evidence of the slide in basic governance standards across the board -- yes, profits being made, and probably some happy stories, too, but also LOTS of women left very vulnerable.
Helena Bedwell for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/recent-contr...
Helena Bedwell for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/recent-contr...
Recent controversies spark concern in Georgia’s booming surrogacy industry
In recent years, Georgia has emerged as a major global fertility hub — yet there is no proper regulatory framework, leaving surrogates at risk.
oc-media.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
surrogacy in #Georgia has plenty of evidence of the slide in basic governance standards across the board -- yes, profits being made, and probably some happy stories, too, but also LOTS of women left very vulnerable.
Helena Bedwell for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/recent-contr...
Helena Bedwell for @ocmedia.bsky.social
oc-media.org/recent-contr...
Today I spent hours crafting three paragraphs on a sermon that "hints at what other sermons do not even mention," only to do one more Google Books search, just to be sure, and find a sermon that addresses the topic clearly and forcefully. Time to call it a day.
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Today I spent hours crafting three paragraphs on a sermon that "hints at what other sermons do not even mention," only to do one more Google Books search, just to be sure, and find a sermon that addresses the topic clearly and forcefully. Time to call it a day.
Mini career milestone: signed my first form as someone's Ph.D. advisor!
November 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Mini career milestone: signed my first form as someone's Ph.D. advisor!
The good news: My ESTA to enter the US was rejected due to a scribal error—some details I filled out did not match my previous visa, but that was because they entered the wrong data for my student visa.
The bad news: "It might take a while for the request to fix the erroneous details to go through."
The bad news: "It might take a while for the request to fix the erroneous details to go through."
November 18, 2025 at 10:26 PM
The good news: My ESTA to enter the US was rejected due to a scribal error—some details I filled out did not match my previous visa, but that was because they entered the wrong data for my student visa.
The bad news: "It might take a while for the request to fix the erroneous details to go through."
The bad news: "It might take a while for the request to fix the erroneous details to go through."
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.
Due to consular issues and the university's reasonable concern about the inability to resolve them on time or being deported at the border, I will have to miss ASEEES. See you next year!
November 17, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Due to consular issues and the university's reasonable concern about the inability to resolve them on time or being deported at the border, I will have to miss ASEEES. See you next year!
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 🗃️
Ever since I was 10 and got my first phone, I've been used to people calling and asking for Dr. Beilinson,"-- my dad. Today someone called, and I said, "That's his son." Turns out they were from my university's research authority, and I had to confess I am still new to being Dr. Beilinson, too...
November 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Ever since I was 10 and got my first phone, I've been used to people calling and asking for Dr. Beilinson,"-- my dad. Today someone called, and I said, "That's his son." Turns out they were from my university's research authority, and I had to confess I am still new to being Dr. Beilinson, too...
The legacy of the Eastern Bloc is that today, as I struggled to find the right word in Arabic, I could retrieve its equivalent in Russian, and the ceramics seller in East Jerusalem understood: his father had studied in the USSR and had forced him to learn some Russian as a child.
November 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The legacy of the Eastern Bloc is that today, as I struggled to find the right word in Arabic, I could retrieve its equivalent in Russian, and the ceramics seller in East Jerusalem understood: his father had studied in the USSR and had forced him to learn some Russian as a child.
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... 🗃️
Reposted by Orel Beilinson
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
It is my book and I'll pluralize ethos as "ethe" or "ethea" but not "ethoses" if I'd like (but I'll definitely not insist on that when the editor pushes back), even though typing "ethe" made my computer think I was typing in Albanian (where "ethe" means fever).
November 2, 2025 at 9:53 PM
It is my book and I'll pluralize ethos as "ethe" or "ethea" but not "ethoses" if I'd like (but I'll definitely not insist on that when the editor pushes back), even though typing "ethe" made my computer think I was typing in Albanian (where "ethe" means fever).
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.
Dominique and Peter are such a gift to our field.
Twenty participants of the July 2025 Central European History Convention in Vienna wrote blogs about what they thought about the event: what it gave, what it promises, what it didn’t. Read what they think! (There’s a little intro to the forum by Peter Becker + myself). cehc.hypotheses.org
Looking back- looking ahead
cehc.hypotheses.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Dominique and Peter are such a gift to our field.