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Cord J. Whitaker

@profcwhit.bsky.social

200 followers 55 following 40 posts

Professor and author at Wellesley. Substacker at DIVERSITY DIFFERENTLY: https://diversitydifferently.substack.com; Consultant at https://sagelycreative.com.

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Sep 8

diversitydifferently.substack.com/p/the-story-...

The Story of Your Morning Coffee

And what you can do about it

diversitydifferently.substack.com

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · 13d

Philly area folks, Major benefit concert next weekend! With some of my fave ppl singing and benefiting my fave community orgs @calvaryumcphilly.bsky.social & Calvary Ctr for Culture & Commy. Come! Support Love!

Poster for Benefit Concert Sat, Oct 4, 1 pm for Calvary. At 4801 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia. Songs of Justice & Inclusion

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · 21d

It was a VERY good time. Thanks to all who came!

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · 23d

Thursday 7 ET/ 4 PT. Join us for Myth Making, Myth Breaking: California at 175. I’ll be speaking on California as Medieval Dream.

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Sep 8

Or on Apple at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

The Story of Your Morning Coffee

Podcast Episode · Diversity Differently Podcast · 09/08/2025 · 37m

podcasts.apple.com

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Sep 8

diversitydifferently.substack.com/p/the-story-...

The Story of Your Morning Coffee

And what you can do about it

diversitydifferently.substack.com

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Sep 8

New logo. New season. New pod. Diversity Differently is back! Episode 1: The Story of Your Morning Coffee: and what you can do about it--is available now. Link in the comments.

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Aug 5

This was one of my favorite projects to be a part of in recent memory. Get your syllabus ready for the fall. Check out Throughlines today.

Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies @acmrs.bsky.social · Jul 31

Tomorrow is August 🤯 is your syllabus ready??
Throughlines carries several exemplar syllabi to help inspire you for the semester ahead. We are also proud to announce new pedagogical resources from Patrica Akhimie and Geraldine Heng are now available. Start here: www.throughlines.org

Throughlines — Race in the premodern classroom

Created by field-leading scholars, Throughlines’ pedagogical approaches offer accessible and critical ways to incorporate discussions of race in the premodern studies classroom.

www.throughlines.org

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Jul 5

sagelycreative.com/july

July Inclusive Leadership Advanced Course — Sagely

Join us for this summer class, meeting four Tuesdays in July with weekly reflections and feedback.

sagelycreative.com

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Jul 5

From my favorite commentator on the soul, culture, and life: my wife!-on the #Fourth and never asking permission for what’s already yours.

Title: “Freedom Cut Me Loose.”
Hello and Happy Friday,
In the United States, today is a day that we celebrate our country’s Declaration of Independence from its colonial power, England. This year, as with many before, a lot of people do not feel like celebrating.

As an academic, I could tell you lots of stories about the concept of nation, how humans tend to use it to categorize themselves and others, what has worked and what hasn’t in history as far as peaceful coexistence. But I don’t want to go into all of that. You’d certainly stop reading quickly. Instead, I want to talk about Beyoncé.

This summer, Beyoncé is touring the world claiming her southern, cowboy heritage, draping herself in the American flag, and stating proudly that you should “never ask permission for what already belongs to you.” It’s genius. And she’s doing work at a level that we can all contribute to. She’s changing what we call in French “l’imaginaire” - the broad common cultural conception of what’s possible. Instead of accepting something the way it is, she’s inserting herself into it and therefore transforming it. She’s saying: “why not me? What if I was never not part of this?”

I often read lamentations on social media about how hard it is to be okay at a time when things feel oppressive and harsh. There is a very normal and common tendency for us to match or mirror the experience of others in order to show care. Most of us are trained to do it so early in our lives that we have never not done it.

But, what’s powerful, is that when you actually allow yourself to be okay, to claim joy, to stand steady in the knowing of what already belongs to you, then you become a resource. Your okayness works at the level of the imaginary—that’s where seeds grow.

What is it to be free now?

If you’d like to know more about this practice, follow the links below. We’re starting our easy-access one-month class on July 15th. Leadership coaching is available as well and we’re starting a new program for healthcare and medical professionals soon.

Have a lovely weekend,

Lesley

“If I could not be peaceful in the midst of danger, then the kind of peace I might have in simpler times is meaningless.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 26

punkrockflea.market/livestream/4...
If you’re a vintagehead like me, check out my buddy The Captain’s live sale going on right now!

Vintage T-shirts Live Sale!

Shop @captainsvintage's stream on District

punkrockflea.market

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 25

In some exciting medieval manuscript news! This makes me downright happy... bbc.com/future/artic...

Lost manuscript of Merlin and King Arthur legend read for the first time after centuries hidden inside another book

For centuries, an intriguing sequel to the tale of Merlin has sat unseen within the bindings of an Elizabethan register. Cutting-edge techniques have revealed it for the first time.

bbc.com

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

11/ We may even suggest that it’s in fact not God—but some things rather more earthly—that she sees in it instead.

Will she write back? We shall see.

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

10/ I’ll close by saying that many, many of us practicing, deeply committed Christians are on the same side of the narrative table as Kate’s stereotyped “progressive” friends. We are asking what of God she can possibly see in Trump’s approach to government.

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

9/ Christians’ “progressive” friends or their conservative friends who are not Christian. The apparent lack of complexity in the narrative suggests this is not the show on which to pin arguments about representation, even if—as it seems you do—you like the way it represents people you identify with.

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

8/ These are central among many values that progressive Christians hold dear and consider profoundly holy.// It seems that a show like White Lotus does not offer—and is perhaps not interested in—more complex representations of conservative Christians, progressive Christians,...

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

7/ that our shared humanity is more important than manmade national borders; thoughtful non-extractive stewardship for God’s creation; and that there is dignity to be had in work and expertise even while a person’s intrinsic value precedes their work and expertise. It is God-given.

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

6/ The fact is that millions upon millions of Christians in the U.S. are political progressives—the very progressives your essay says are so “out of touch.” For many of us, our Christian theology teaches respect and love for all God’s children regardless of gender, race, orientation or nation;...

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

5/ What’s more, Kate too is being stereotyped—and this seems a stereotype your essay leans into—that going to church means she embraces conservative values and even Trump (and his decidedly NOT conservative approach to government.)

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

4/ they can’t believe she goes to church and doesn’t have three eyes!. Many, many progressives do not feel this way about someone who goes to church—especially someone they count as a friend. This is oversimplification for the purposes of entertainment.

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

3/ ... and embrace conservative” ideas. Throughout, you seem to equate going to church with conservative ideas. // Your essay seems not to recognize that the TV show may be portraying the character’s “progressive” friends according to stereotypes:...

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

2/ You write “The friends are clearly surprised to hear that Kate and her husband attend church each week…”, that “they attend church and hold largely traditional values, but they defy the stereotypes that progressives…,” and “we also go to church, have families...

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

I am not in the habit of replying to op-eds, but today I just HAD to. I sent the following to the author, and I reproduce it here: 1/ Dear Ms. Russell, In reply to your “‘White Lotus reflects new reality” essay: you make several erroneous conflations regarding Christian identity....

Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 17

I ran across this opinion piece today, and it irked me--for a few reasons. Mainly its breezy and self-assured association of Christianity with the political right. Nah, that's not gonna fly anymore. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

'White Lotus' reflects new reality. We voted for Trump − and we're not weird. | Opinion

A scene from HBO's 'The White Lotus' highlighted a vibe shift in America, where even the entertainment industry has to admit that conservatives exist.

www.usatoday.com

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Reposted by Cord J. Whitaker

U.S. Representative Al Green @algreen.house.gov · Mar 16

Mary Prince escaped in 1828, sharing her story and those of enslaved women. In 1831, The History of Mary Prince became the first account of a Black enslaved woman’s life published in the UK, inspiring the anti-slavery movement. 158 days to Slavery Remembrance Day. #CountDowntoSRD

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Cord J. Whitaker @profcwhit.bsky.social · Mar 4

The objective of Premodern Critical Race Studies distilled: “….Let us be necromancers of the past in order to steward lives in the present. It is in rising up that revolution breaks out of orbit and creates universes entirely new.”

Rose A. McCandless @rosemccandless.bsky.social · Mar 4

LIMITED scholars on medievalism/race and medieval studies to follow/check out:

@isasaxonists.bsky.social and @erikkaars.bsky.social; @profcwhit.bsky.social; @jonathanhsy.bsky.social; David Matthews (in particular Medievalism: A Critical History, 2017);

and the journal "postmedieval."

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Medieval studies: the stakes of the field - postmedieval

postmedieval -

link.springer.com