Deborah McDowell
@dem8z.bsky.social
10K followers 3.3K following 2.7K posts
Reader, writer, teacher, gardener, seamstress, contrarian. Professor, @WoodsonUVA Alice Griffin Professor of English, University of Virginia. Please, no DMs unless I know you. For professional matters, please contact me via UVA.
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dem8z.bsky.social
Alice Walker, “The World We Want is Us”https://poets.org/poem/world-we-want-us
The World We Want Is Us
It moves my heart to see your awakened faces;
poets.org
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
vijayiyer.bsky.social
“There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.”

--Amiri Baraka (10/7/1934-1/9/2014)

(blurry photo by me)
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
ethnography911.bsky.social
I like to take the cold apple slices with me for my long ride to tennis practice. they were on sale.
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
ethnography911.bsky.social
all I know is that after I slowly shouted
HOW DARE YOU

she slinked away like the miserable asshat that she was.
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
ethnography911.bsky.social
no, ma'am. these are cosmic crisps.

"ma'am is this your first time shopping in a grocery store in the after-work hours?"
"your stupid ass!"
"what did you say?"
"you heard me, your stupid ass!"

I had time.
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
ethnography911.bsky.social
yeah, so I got into it with an older woman at the grocery store who decided to curse me (and my ass) for deigning to be in her general area to grab a few cosmic crisp apples. the breed is only important because she wondered aloud why MY ASS needed to be in her way, when apples are EVERY DAMN WHERE.
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
chadstanton.blacksky.app
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that all these data centers are going into communities that have been historically targeted for exploitation and have the least amount of civic power wielded by the people living there.

wordinblack.com/2025/09/alab...
Why Are Plans for This Alabama Data Center So Hush-Hush?
Officials in Bessemer, Alabama, are mum on Project Marvel, a proposed data center the size of 18 Walmart Supercenters.
wordinblack.com
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
drjlhazelton.bsky.social
I can't see how anyone can propose making a deal with this administration.
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
cantb.bsky.social
2/ Second, agree that we ultimately need a new social contract between higher education and society, I find it uncomfortable, or even arrogant, to suggest that a very small number of universities and enroll, a tiny segment of all students should establish that framework for the entire sector.
dem8z.bsky.social
Hard for me to believe that as astute a thinker as is Danielle Allen could possibly be “excited” about the proposed “compact.” And, if no university should sign it, why not dissociate herself from it?
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
cantb.bsky.social
1/ I admire Danielle Allen and I read this as a sub stack a few days ago. I think she misses the mark on two counts. First there is no one to negotiate with in the White House - I don’t understand how you can think The Compact is the starting place of some good faith activity.
Trump’s Imperfect Compact Is a Perfect Opportunity
Colleges shouldn’t sign. But they also shouldn’t dismiss the need for a new framework.
www.chronicle.com
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
profmarylewis.bsky.social
Danielle Allen has proposed many good things for Harvard, so I’m puzzled by her reading of the word “compact” here, as if this would be an agreement freely entered into. She rightly says that, as written, this shouldn’t be agreed to. Maybe leave it there? therenovator.substack.com/p/why-im-exc...
Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
Now we have a chance for collective action
therenovator.substack.com
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
nickseaver.website
adding to my "what the hell is danielle allen doing" file alongside that book promo event she did with curtis yarvin
profmarylewis.bsky.social
Danielle Allen has proposed many good things for Harvard, so I’m puzzled by her reading of the word “compact” here, as if this would be an agreement freely entered into. She rightly says that, as written, this shouldn’t be agreed to. Maybe leave it there? therenovator.substack.com/p/why-im-exc...
Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
Now we have a chance for collective action
therenovator.substack.com
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
fishkin.bsky.social
The collective action that thee nine universities need to take is to unequivocally reject the compact.

Danielle Allen, who is a wonderful and thoughtful person, seems to be imagining possibilities for good faith negotiations here that plainly do not exist. The government does not share her goal.
profmarylewis.bsky.social
Danielle Allen has proposed many good things for Harvard, so I’m puzzled by her reading of the word “compact” here, as if this would be an agreement freely entered into. She rightly says that, as written, this shouldn’t be agreed to. Maybe leave it there? therenovator.substack.com/p/why-im-exc...
Why I’m Excited About the White House’s Proposal for a Higher Ed Compact
Now we have a chance for collective action
therenovator.substack.com
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
dragonfish.bsky.social
Wow, who could've seen that coming except literally every trans person fucking ever???
lgbtqnation.com
Gavin Newsom vetoes gender education bill, declines to sign other trans protections - buff.ly/MTUAV85
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
stevenljohnson.org
Great essay, thank you for writing it
Reposted by Deborah McDowell
suddenlygarmo.bsky.social
ivy league schools are degree mills for rich people
dem8z.bsky.social
“The idea that an academic has to register their political affiliation, in the manner one might register one’s political party, is anathema to the vocation of learning, teaching, and research. Following the logic of the compact, the only way one might account for change would be via conversion.”