Anca Wilkening
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historianca.bsky.social
Anca Wilkening
@historianca.bsky.social
Religious Studies, Indigenous Studies, Queer Studies. Ph.D. Candidate @Harvard by day/night, forager at heart. Archival and Mushroom Nerd and Chronic Former Gifted Kid.
Pinned
Finishing up a piece about one of my favorite archives today: The letters of Rachel Post, a Mohican woman married to a German Moravian missionary in the 1740s. Rachel would dictate in English and he would transcribe them phonetically according to the sounds he heard. E.g. creator becomes "kröter."
Phil Deloria and @maxperrymueller.bsky.social in conversation was the perfect treat to round up #aarsbl
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 AM
My #aarsbl ride-or-die from day one.
@chancebonar.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I am officially pledging that I will do my best to not become a "I went through this therefore you need to go through it" type of senior scholar down the line. It is exhausting and prevents us from building healthier scholarly communities.

#sblaar
November 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
ICYMI: other Harvard economists, as Larry Summers’s colleagues and protégés, are again defending him publicly just like they did in ‘05/‘06.

Two of his most public defenders within the department, then and now, teach what is historically the largest course at Harvard.

www.wbur.org/news/2025/11...
Despite controversies, Larry Summers has kept a hold in elite circles
Larry Summers has seen his share of controversy, and up to now, he's always bounced back. But the scandal engulfing those with ties to Jeffrey Epstein is, for now, derailing the high-profile economist...
www.wbur.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Harvard will open a new probe into former University President Lawrence H. Summers’ connections with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein, a Harvard spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night.

Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard To Launch New Investigation Into Epstein’s Ties to Summers, Other University Affiliates | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard will open a new probe into former University President Lawrence H. Summers’ connections with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein, after newly released documents revealed the two…
www.thecrimson.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:53 AM
It’s almost like anyone who isn’t a rich white dude would get put under intense scrutiny (and probably fired) for something that looks like a major false claim on a CV
🤣
"orgs listed on Summers’ résumé disputed his involvement ... Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank, said Tuesday that Summers 'is not & has not been a member' of the org’s Board of Trustees, which Summers’ résumé listed him as serving on since '02."
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
November 19, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
🤣
"orgs listed on Summers’ résumé disputed his involvement ... Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank, said Tuesday that Summers 'is not & has not been a member' of the org’s Board of Trustees, which Summers’ résumé listed him as serving on since '02."
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
November 19, 2025 at 12:58 AM
I was slated to present at #SBLAAR on “The Site of Higher Education and the Formation of Religious-Political Identity,” but withdrew my paper due to safety concerns following doxxing and attacks on international students’ free speech. Still happy to chat if you see me around.
November 18, 2025 at 6:38 PM
"Summers stood for many things, but most importantly he represented the interests of our students." - David Laibson
"my extremely long friendship with the most notorious child sex trafficker of modern times has caused me to withdraw from public life. that said, I'm excited to teach your children next semester" — larry summers
November 18, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Just a reminder that students protested Comaroff’s classes when Harvard allowed him to continue teaching

And that some of Summers’s most vocal defenders during his presidential scandal are in high positions of power within Harvard, even considered for the College Dean position
November 18, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Still fulfilling "his teaching obligations" and continuing to run a research center? Harvard gonna Harvard.
November 18, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Many thanks to UVA’s Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation for hosting this wonderful panel on my recent book “Convert, Migrant, Missionary” and even more so to these awesome respondents who took such time and care to delivery feedback!
@historianca.bsky.social @mikkibrock.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Jaw dropped. Trump Administration Removes Report on Missing and Murdered Native Americans, Calling It DEI Content
Trump Administration Removes Report on Missing and Murdered Native Americans, Calling It DEI Content - Oklahoma Watch
The Trump administration removed a congressionally mandated report on missing and murdered Native Americans from the DOJ website, citing compliance with an executive order against DEI. Senators who ch...
oklahomawatch.org
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I was going to draw a Venn diagram of “Larry Summers or his fans” and “people who’ve anointed themselves the moral referees of the Harvard–antisemitism discourse,” but the overlap is so total it’s basically one big circle
November 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Harvard custodians launched a strike at 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.

Hugo C. Chiasson and Amann S. Mahajan report.
Harvard Custodians Begin Two-Day Strike for New Contract | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard custodians launched a strike shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday after union negotiations broke down on the eve of their contract’s expiration, their first strike in at least 50 years.
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:07 PM
#JustMoravianScholarThings
So grateful that I got to talk about @kkaelin.bsky.social's amazing work and book last week. Now unto reading my copy of @ktgerbs.bsky.social's new book that @chancebonar.bsky.social just got me as a surprise gift.
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Getting flashbacks this morning to the prospective male adviser in a PhD program who was all nice and sweet until I said no and has been a jerk to me ever since because he clearly doesn't like being rejected.
November 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
Religion and Slave Revolts in the Roman Mediterranean is under contract with the @uwiscpress.bsky.social!

Looking forward to sharing thoughts on the roles of religious cultures in catalyzing & suppressing slave revolts + how Roman writers selectively characterized the religiosity of the enslaved.
November 14, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
"'I’m not sure what we’ve learned from it all,' Walter Johnson, a professor of History and African and African American Studies, wrote in a statement. 'I think Larry Summers told us who he was a long time ago.'"

Professor Johnson knows wassup.
Harvard Faculty Disturbed by Revelations of Summers’ ‘Cozy Friendship’ With Epstein | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard professors responded with outrage to a tranche of emails showing a close yearslong correspondence between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, reop...
www.thecrimson.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
BREAKING: Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president's assault on the rule of law.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Happy Halloween from this non-resident alien turned American immigrant.
October 31, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
GenAut seminar recording | Chance Bonar •Onesimus: Apostle and Martyr in Eastern Mediterranean Literature•

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnUReJ23W8

The program: genaut.univie.ac.at/?page_id=671
GenAut | Chance Bonar "Onesimus: Apostle and Martyr in Eastern Mediterranean Literature"
YouTube video by The GenAut Project
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Anca Wilkening
“Trump’s compact is the greatest single incursion into the freedom & autonomy of higher education to ever happen in this country.” — Todd Wolfson, AAUP President

#DefendHigherEd
‘Students Are Terrified’: How Trump’s Higher Education Compact Puts Queer Students at Risk
The heavy-handed document promises federal funding in exchange for ideological compliance. So far, it's unpopular.
rewirenewsgroup.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Stepping away from Res Life has been wonderful for my writing and work–life balance, but I truly miss my students. This is my first semester without any teaching or advising, and I miss the everyday moments of connection and the relationships that grew from them.
October 30, 2025 at 12:38 PM