Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Jason Kuznicki @jkuznicki.bsky.social · 23h

Articles found to have fake citations should be retracted. Citations to such articles should be disqualifying for future publications. Cordon off the bad information.

1 9

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 13h

Dinner with the Doktorvater!

85 years old. Still iconic. 👓

4

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 21h

Here, we analyze the Cathedral of Notre-Dame as a nodal point in the "Judeo-Christian" secular network, a monumental anchor that defines some groups as inside the fold of western modernity and others on the outs.

1 1

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 21h

This is part of a book project we've been working on that looks at the way the secular--assumed to be just a set of beliefs and ideas--also manifests as a material culture drawing on objects, bodies, places, practices, and affects/emotions.

1 1 2

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 21h

"Cultural Christianity's Secular Cathedral"

Thrilled to have this new piece out with the Political Theology Network, written with my collaborator Yasemin Ural at the University of Leipzig!

politicaltheology.com/cultural-chr...

Cultural Christianity’s Secular Cathedral | Political Theology Network

Macron’s speech in Notre Dame on the occasion of its reopening was a transgression of the principles of French laïcité, confirming the worldwide tendencies towards the increasing culturalization of…

politicaltheology.com

1 3 8

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 1d

what if Keebler elf but bakes lies instead of cookies

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Mike Johnson: "Let me look right into the camera and tell you very clearly: Republicans are the ones concerned about healthcare. Republicans are the party working around the clock everyday to fix healthcare. This is not talking points for us: we've done it."

1

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 1d

And here's the blog post where I wrote up some of my findings about how white Southerners in the late 19th c tried to use cosmopolitan art world prestige to redeem the Confederacy.

uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2025/09...

London, Paris, Richmond: The Cosmopolitan Sensibility of Lee Monument

Confederate monuments are often defended on the grounds that they provide an educational function. Both enthusiasts and critics of the Confederacy who take this position see Confederate monuments as a...

uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com

1

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 1d

Very excited to be giving this virtual talk on Wednesday at noon, covering some of the research on Confederate monument societies I did at the Library of Virginia in May!

lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/15295882

Virtual Virginia Humanities Fellow Talk | Nationalism & Cosmopolitanism in the Creation of Richmond’s Confederate Monuments

Join us for a virtual presentation from Donovan Schaefer, a Virginia Humanities Fellow, on his research project “Nationalism & Cosmopolitanism in the Creation of Richmond’s...

lva-virginia.libcal.com

1 2 6

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 2d

I’m telling you: ridicule works. These guys are supposed to intimidate the citizenry and it’s very hard to do that when a guy in a frog suit is just staring you down and daring you to do something that makes it look like you’re afraid of a cartoon

dan sinker @dansinker.com · 2d

Portland never stops being Portland.

competentposter @competentposter.bsky.social · 3d

wizard frog is insane

110 1.9K 9.3K

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 2d

Visionary.

Uplift and inspire people personally, activate and awaken them politically.

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

1

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 3d

1

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 3d

Meat is a blind spot for people who care about climate. When I used to have dinner with my colleague Wally Broecker, the climate scientist who coined the term “global warming”, he would always order a steak.

The climate movement’s biggest weakness

What the climate movement is getting dead wrong.

www.vox.com

53 130 580

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 3d

I went to a conference on “climate-smart agriculture” in 2014 where seven (7) types of meat and fish (mostly meat) were served at the fancy welcome dinner.

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 3d

Meat is a blind spot for people who care about climate. When I used to have dinner with my colleague Wally Broecker, the climate scientist who coined the term “global warming”, he would always order a steak.

The climate movement’s biggest weakness

What the climate movement is getting dead wrong.

www.vox.com

8 27 130

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 3d

Bartender says
"We don't serve robots"
And the robot says
"Oh but
Someday you will."

the silver jews - the frontier index

YouTube video by Drew Greene

www.youtube.com

1

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 4d

Peitato, Pokahnto

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 4d

Perfect light for the I.M. Pei towers in Society Hill.

Three Brutalist towers in golden sunlight

1 3

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 7d

Enjoyed doing this write-up of some work I did during my Virginia Public Humanities Fellowship residency at the Library of Virginia!

My finding: white Southerners putting up Confederate monuments wanted to plug in to an intern'l art world network to redeem the prestige of the fallen Confederacy.

The False Image of History Project @falseimage.bsky.social · 8d

Our PI Donovan Schaefer has a new blog post up on the Library of Virginia's "Uncommonwealth" series, discussing how the False Image of History Project fits in with archival research into Confederate commemorative societies.

uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2025/09...

London, Paris, Richmond: The Cosmopolitan Sensibility of Lee Monument

Confederate monuments are often defended on the grounds that they provide an educational function. Both enthusiasts and critics of the Confederacy who take this position see Confederate monuments as a...

uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com

2 4 11

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks for the link, Richard!

Great to meet you, Dan--would be fun to connect when I'm in Oxford again next spring!

1 1

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 4d

Religious Studies folks: If you know any students thinking about applying for the PhD program at Penn, please send them this invitation to our online information session on Oct. 13!

Penn Religious Studies @upennrels.bsky.social · 5d

Interested in applying for the PHD program in Religious Studies at Penn? Join graduate chair Donovan Schaefer and graduate coordinator Katelyn Stoler for this online information session and Q&A on Oct. 13!

No registration required. Details at this link!

rels.sas.upenn.edu/events/2025/...

RELS Information Session for Prospective Doctoral Students | Department of Religious Studies

rels.sas.upenn.edu

6 4

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Derek Beres @derekberes.bsky.social · 4d

Science: Several hundred trials on mifepristone since FDA approval in 2000, with adverse events occurring in fewer than 0.3% of cases; safety confirmed in 800k+ real-world cases; research confirms the pill is safer than many prescribed medications and even childbirth itself (AMA).

RFK Jr:

1 4 15

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Jolyon Thomas @jolyonbt.bsky.social · 5d

If you are thinking of applying to our program, DEFINITELY attend this session. It will help you determine if the PhD is right for you and will also include tips on how to craft a competitive application.

Penn Religious Studies @upennrels.bsky.social · 5d

Interested in applying for the PHD program in Religious Studies at Penn? Join graduate chair Donovan Schaefer and graduate coordinator Katelyn Stoler for this online information session and Q&A on Oct. 13!

No registration required. Details at this link!

rels.sas.upenn.edu/events/2025/...

RELS Information Session for Prospective Doctoral Students | Department of Religious Studies

rels.sas.upenn.edu

2 3

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 4d

Religious Studies folks: If you know any students thinking about applying for the PhD program at Penn, please send them this invitation to our online information session on Oct. 13!

Penn Religious Studies @upennrels.bsky.social · 5d

Interested in applying for the PHD program in Religious Studies at Penn? Join graduate chair Donovan Schaefer and graduate coordinator Katelyn Stoler for this online information session and Q&A on Oct. 13!

No registration required. Details at this link!

rels.sas.upenn.edu/events/2025/...

RELS Information Session for Prospective Doctoral Students | Department of Religious Studies

rels.sas.upenn.edu

6 4

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 5d

Heads up, Cambridge folks. Wish I could join this!

Orlaith Darling @darlingorlaith.bsky.social · 5d

www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/48078...
I will be hosting a reading group on the work of Lauren Berlant Oct.-Nov. @crasshlive.bsky.social. Berlant's writing on sentimentality and the public sphere has lots to say to the current moment we're living through + anyone in Cambridge should please join us!

Lauren Berlant: A Michaelmas Reading Group - CRASSH

In an early talk about Cruel Optimism, Lauren Berlant describes their critical object: namely, the “desire”, which they perceive as endemic to capitalism, “to have a cluster of feelings in lieu of hav...

www.crassh.cam.ac.uk

3

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Chad Shomura @hellochadcat.bsky.social · 5d

Recently made a Substack so I can have a fake job to avoid doing my real job. First writing here open.substack.com/pub/hellocha...

1 1

Reposted by Donovan Schaefer

Donovan Schaefer @feelingtheory.bsky.social · 6d

Hard to overstate how transformative Jane Goodall was as a scientist.

She took the best of the scientific method--empirical observation--and used it to push back on existing scientific orthodoxies.

1 13 42