banner
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings
@elicumings.bsky.social
1.8K followers 410 following 8 posts
early modern literary scholar interested in bodies and their meanings | postdoc @ columbia | trying my best
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Eli Cumings
premthakker.bsky.social
Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 14d
Remarkable document: hundreds of European politicians are calling to mobilize European resources to protect the Sumud aid flotilla as it faces escalating attacks on its way to Gaza.

In other words: European politicians are trying to protect humanitarian volunteers *from Israel.*
11 260 690
Reposted by Eli Cumings
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Sep 8
Justice Sotomayor, not mincing words, also says that today's decision will lead to the "creation of [] a second-class citizenship status" for Latinos, who now will have the burden to "carry enough documentation to prove that they deserve to walk freely."
The concurrence relegates the interests of U. S. citizens and individuals with legal status to a single sentence, positing that the Government will free these individuals as soon as they show they are legally in the United States. Ante, at 8 (opinion of KAVANAUGH, J.). That blinks reality. Two plaintiffs in this very case tried to explain that they are U. S. citizens; one was then pushed against a fence with his arms twisted behind his back, and the other was taken away from his job to a warehouse for further questioning. More fundamentally, it is the Government’s burden to prove that it has reasonable suspicion to stop someone. The concurrence improperly shifts the burden onto an entire class of citizens to carry enough documentation to prove that they deserve to walk freely. The Constitution does not permit the creation of such a second-class citizenship status.
74 890 2.5K
Reposted by Eli Cumings
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Sep 8
🚨The Supreme Court today gives Trump a license to engage in racial profiling, with Justice Kavanaugh writing in concurrence to expressly endorse ICE and Border Patrol targeting any Latinos they observe in Los Angeles speaking Spanish and then demanding their papers.
Here, those circumstances include: that there is an extremely high number and percentage of illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area; that those individuals tend to gather in certain locations to seek daily work; that those individuals often work in certain kinds of jobs, such as day labor, landscaping, agriculture, and construction, that do not require paperwork and are therefore especially attractive to illegal immigrants; and that many of those illegally in the Los Angeles area come from Mexico or Central America and do not speak much English. Cf. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S., at 884-885 (listing "[a]ny number of factors" that contribute to reasonable suspicion of illegal presence). To be clear, apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion; under this Court's case law regarding immigration stops, however, it can be a KAVANAUGH, J., concurring "relevant factor" when considered along with other salient factors. Id., at 887. Under this Court's precedents, not to mention common sense, those circumstances taken together can constitute at least reasonable suspicion of illegal presence in the United States. Importantly, reasonable suspicion means only that immigration officers may briefly stop the individual and inquire about immigration status. If the person is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter. Only if the person is illegally in the United States may the stop lead to further immigration proceedings.
190 920 1.9K
Reposted by Eli Cumings
gianamar97.bsky.social
Gianamar Giovannetti-Singh 🍉🌻🟥 @gianamar97.bsky.social · Aug 7
So excited to share my new article in @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social:
"Colonial World-Making and Global Knowledges at the Early Modern Cape of Good Hope" (Open access)
academic.oup.com/past/advance...
first page of the article
8 42 150
Reposted by Eli Cumings
henrymance.ft.com
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · Jul 23
UK opinion on Gaza war (YouGov, July 2025)

18% support Israel’s actions in Gaza, 55% oppose
81% of those who oppose say it’s a genocide

Large margins in favour of:
- trade embargoes (48% to 20%)
- financial sanctions on individuals (52% to 19%)
- suspending arms exports to Israel (57% to 18%)
20 230 470
Reposted by Eli Cumings
theguardian.com
The Guardian @theguardian.com · Jul 23
‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza
‘We faced hunger before, but never like this’: skeletal children fill hospital wards as starvation grips Gaza
For months Israel kept food shipments to Gaza far below starvation rations. Now the death toll is rising rapidly * Starvation in Gaza is destroying communities – and will leave generational scars Mohammed’s skeletal arms stick out of a romper with a grinning emoji-face and the slogan “smiley boy”, which in a Gaza hospital reads as a cruel joke. He spends much of the day crying from hunger, or gnawing at his own emaciated fingers. At seven months old, he weighs barely 4kg (9lbs) and this is the second time he has been admitted for treatment. His face is gaunt, his limbs little more than bones covered in baggy skin and his ribs protrude painfully from his chest. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
44 270 300
Reposted by Eli Cumings
hsmurphy.bsky.social
Hannah Murphy @hsmurphy.bsky.social · Apr 30
FINAL PROJECT CONFERENCE! Register to attend Medicine, Slavery, and Race in the Atlantic World, bringing together longstanding project collaborators and exciting, new interlocutors. Spaces are *extremely* limited, so do sign up... see the programme at www.mmor.co.uk/events/confe...

#EarlyModern 🗃️
Select tickets – MMoR Conference: Medicine, Slavery, and Race in the Atlantic World – The Council Room, King's College London
After four full years, the initial funded stage of Medicine and the Making of Race comes to a close in September 2025. To mark ...
www.tickettailor.com
1 31 40
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 25
thank you so much for your generous reading and these kind words. and please keep me updated on your research—it sounds fascinating!
1
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
what a pleasure to know that you’ve read and enjoyed it!! esp since you heard early drafts of these thoughts at the pity workshop many moons ago
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
thank you so much, Brandi! hoping that you’re well too :)
1
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
ohh, thank you Eleanor! so lovely to hear from you 💛
2
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
www.journals.uchicago.edu/eprint/IIVBN...
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu
2 1
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
a little piece of my phd project has found a home in one of my favourite journals! it’s the product of long, sad thinking about some perennial research interests: providential punishment, bodily legibility, and the limits of empathy. link below if you care to read :)
The first page of a journal article, with black text on a white background. The first line of text says “Eli Cumings”. The second line of text gives the title “Famine in Faeryland”. Beneath this, the following abstract is presented in a block: Emaciated bodies appear frequently in Edmund Spenser’s Legend of Holiness, and indeed throughout The Faerie Queene (1590, 1596). This tendency is typically attributed to the poet’s traumatic memories of the Munster famine, vividly memorialized in A View of the Present State of Ireland (ca. 1598). This article instead proposes reading Spenser’s allegorical engagement with emaciation in the context of broader textual traditions that interpreted starvation as a providential punishment, a just outcome of legitimate warfare, and a laudable expression of piety. Both within and beyond the poem world, I argue, starvation—often violently enforced—is presented as both consequence of and remedy for moral inadequacy. Crucially, the alleged pedagogic and spiritual value of starvation determines not only how human affliction and suffering are interpreted and responded to but also how violence itself is understood and justified.
2 5 17
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Apr 24
you’re too too kind! thanks for this and for your help with the article 💞💞
1 2
Reposted by Eli Cumings
emilyrowe1.bsky.social
Emily Rowe @emilyrowe1.bsky.social · Apr 4
What ethical responsibilities do we bear when we write about war? This is one of the questions we’re posing in our June colloquium on early modern war narratives. CFP here and the deadline is 11th April! Please share widely and consider submitting an abstract!
kingsearlymodern.co.uk/events/lamen...
Early Modern War Narratives - Annual CEMS Colloquium — CEMS KCL Blog
Join CEMS for our annual colloquium. This year's theme is early modern war narratives. CfP deadline: 11th April.
kingsearlymodern.co.uk
6 46 88
Reposted by Eli Cumings
joshuajfriedman.com
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · Apr 2
NEW: Tufts files a declaration in support of Rümeysa Öztürk: "The University has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention." www.tufts.edu/president/sp...
4. With her consent, the University can confirm that Ms. Oztürk is a third-year doctoral student in good academic and administrative standing. Her research focuses on how young adults can use social media in positive, prosocial ways and she is described by her faculty as a hard-working student dedicated to her studies and the Tufts community. The University has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention. The University has seen an outpouring of support for Ms. Öztürk over the last week from Tufts students, faculty and staff. These individuals have described Ms. Öztürk as a valued member of the community, dedicated to her academic pursuits and committed to her colleagues.
22 1.6K 6.3K
elicumings.bsky.social
Eli Cumings @elicumings.bsky.social · Mar 8
on thursday I counted 9 nypd vans on my 3 min walk to campus. yesterday I read about govt plans to use AI to identify students to expel/deport and heard ICE were raiding Columbia residences (inc. my own building). and admin’s response is to reiterate its compliance w govts bad faith directives :)
jbenmenachem.com
jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · Mar 7
Email from Columbia President Armstrong makes clear that admin still has no idea what it’s dealing with. No amount of “serious action to combat antisemitism” (read: punish Palestine activists) will satisfy the Nazis. They see universities as an enemy institution to crush underfoot.
Columbia’s mission is to teach, create, and advance knowledge. For over 270 years, that mission has been grounded in an enduring and essential commitment to freedom of expression, open inquiry, and generous, respectful debate. Today, we were notified of federal action from Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University. The federal agencies cite “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care. But let me be very clear: Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously. I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns. To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus.
3 32 73
Reposted by Eli Cumings
jacobtlevy.bsky.social
Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · Mar 7
The choice of Columbia in particular shows that there's *no* amount of suppression of pro-Palestinian speech a university can engage in that will insulate and protect it; so might as well try to do the right thing, which Columbia has determinedly avoided since October 7.

www.gsa.gov/about-us/new...
DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that through their coordinated efforts they would i...
www.gsa.gov
25 310 950