Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rafael Walker

@rafaelwalker.bsky.social

2.4K followers 340 following 980 posts

I write on literature and issues in higher ed || Associate Professor at Baruch College, CUNY || Editor of Nella Larsen’s *Passing* for Broadview Press https://tinyurl.com/2s3kt7w9 || Still fun! 🎡 🌈 baruch.academia.edu/RafaelWalker

tinyurl.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Mar 20

Elated to announce that my baby, "Realism after the Individual," has a stunning cover and is available for preorder! University of Chicago Press remains undefeated for making beautiful books.
press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Realism after the Individual

A study of the transformation of the realist novel in the hands of early-twentieth-century American writers, who adapted this quintessentially nineteenth-century genre to the conditions of their age. ...

press.uchicago.edu

8 8 77

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 5h

A clear-eyed explanation of the dangers to universities posed by the push for "viewpoint diversity," written by one of the clearest-eyed analysts of argumentation, Amanda Anderson.
www.chronicle.com/article/when...

Opinion | When Viewpoint Diversity Means Conformity

Trump’s compact isn’t just coercive. It’s incoherent.

www.chronicle.com

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 1d

And stay tuned for one more while we await the ad to come through!

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 1d

In BLS, we're hiring at the intersection of tech (algorithms, AI, etc.) and Black Studies.

cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/...

Jobs | City University of New York

cuny.jobs

1 1

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 1d

Happy to announce that both my departments—English and Black & Latino Studies (BLS)—are hiring for TT positions this year!

In English, we're hiring in Anglophone South Asian.
cuny.jobs/new-york-ny/...

Jobs | City University of New York

cuny.jobs

1 7 9

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 19d

Remember that every IG photo you see taken on a busy Manhattan street was taken at the expense of people trying to get somewhere. DO NOT PRESS THE “LIKE” BUTTON!!!

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · 26d

Surely, this is the worst-aging book of this century. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/302858...

The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker: 9780143122012 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

“If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this—the most inspiring book I've ever read." —Bill Gates A provocative history of violence—from the New York Times...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

1 6

Reposted by Rafael Walker

Sheila Liming @seeshespeak.bsky.social · Aug 12

My friend John died this morning.

I mention him in HANGING OUT and, in light of his passing, I can’t help but indulge in memories of our annual backcountry dinner parties.

Text from a book: “This is
true of all of us except John and Candace, who are camp gourmets.
They are the ones who taught me how to pack herbs like basil and
tarragon so that they’ll keep fresh over several days and also how to
carry eggs up a mountain, because a nice egg, soft-poached in boil-
ing water over a camp stove, is handy meal booster. We never have
wine to go with our meals because the bottles would be too heavy.
Sometimes we have whiskey, but even when we don’t, or when the
first night’s enthusiasm causes us to run out of it too quickly, we
have other sedatives.
We have the high, still mountain air, which, particularly on the
eastern slope of the Cascades, grows tawny as the day tilts toward
dusk. We have our exhaustion and all the miles we’ve already
sweated now behind us. We have each other and a good year’s
worth of conversation to catch up on. And, most importantly, we
don’t have anything else: no screens to divert our attention when
the conversation lags, nowhere else to be, no concerns apart from
sore muscles and maybe the search for ground that is flat enough to
accommodate a tent. Sometimes it rains and we hunker down and
project our conversations through tent walls, searching each other
out. Sometimes it’s clear and warm and perfect and we sit in a circle
with our backs propped against logs or trees or our empty packs.
And sometimes the bugs are too bad, or the ashes from nearby for-
est fires, and the dinner party ends early in the hopes of better
conditions to follow on the next night.
I love this dinner party, which happens on repeat for about four
or five nights in a row each year.”

Text from a book: “I make a lot of sacrifices — plane of enduring multiple cross-country flights in hiking boots—
in order to secure my annual place at it. And I never regret the
cost, though the climb can be arduous, the weather punishing, and,
sometimes, when we emerge from the mountains via the wrong
trailhead, I’m the one who gets stuck with the responsibility of flag-
ging down a stranger’s car and hitchhiking back to the right one. (I
have done this, quite recently, and it took a lot of crying to convince
the person to let me ride with them—another sacrifice, of dignity
in this particular case.) But each time I do it, I know that I’m seiz-
ing one more link on a finite chain of possible moments. The oldest
members of our little party are in their seventies. We will not be
able to do this forever, so we have to do it now, to the best of our
abilities. For “When shall we live, if not now?” asks Fisher.12 She is
paraphrasing the stoic philosopher Seneca here, yet she is asking
what is perhaps the most important rhetorical question about time
of all time. When shall we seize and take that time for ourselves, if
not in the short space of time that is to be found in a day—in this
day, perhaps?”

12 1 42

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Aug 12

💜

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Aug 12

As I watch Cuo-NO’s campaign pivot to free transit for NYers who earn under a certain amount—essentially signing on to a program that exists already (peak desperation!)—I wonder afresh at the audacity of a person who had a big job, fucked up that big job, and thinks he should have another big job.

Reposted by Rafael Walker

Ian S. Pumpkins @icpetrie.bsky.social · Aug 7

BLOCKED AND REPORTED

Dr. Jess Hamlet (she/her) @jesshamlet.bsky.social · Aug 7

Everything is ready to go for fall—syllabi printed, Canvas shells up, lesson plans are prepped. So I'm doing what any normal person does: starting course prep for fall 2026. 🤦‍♀️ Why am I Like This?

2 1 16

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jul 23

And all that they could find on Obama is that he wore a tan suit. 😔

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · Jul 23

Exclusive: The Justice Department told President Trump in May that his name is among many in the Epstein files.

Justice Department Told Trump in May That His Name Is Among Many in the Epstein Files

Bondi told president at the meeting that Justice also decided to not release more Jeffrey Epstein documents because of the presence of child pornography and the need to protect victims.

on.wsj.com

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jul 3

I did not know that Bruno Mars has 16 Grammys.

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 26

Forgot about this moment in George Schuyler's 1931 novel *Black No More*, but whoa! 🤯

"You can't deport citizens, silly," Buddy remonstrated.

"That don't stop you from advocating it. This is politics, Big Boy."

1 14

Reposted by Rafael Walker

Steven W. Thrasher is finishing The Overseer Class @thrasherxy.bsky.social · Jun 26

Mamdani wins the primary with hearty support from the Jewish left, cross-endorses with Brad Lander, wins the Upper West Side, wins Dan Goldman's district, gets Jerry Nadler's endorsement

The NYT:

29 280 1.4K

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 25

Call me a pessimist, but I'm not rejoicing yet. If Cuomo runs as an independent, he gets both his initial Dem supporters (a considerable number) AND Republicans.

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 20

Congrats! 👏🏾

Reposted by Rafael Walker

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Jun 17

you know shit's bad when kathy's cursing

Arthur Gies (he/him) @aegies.bsky.social · Jun 17

Yeah you’ve got hochul uploading an official nygov social video calling lander’s arrest, and I’m quoting here, “bullshit.” They think the feds have overreached and are vulnerable.

20 230 1.5K

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 17

Oh, God! Looks like DOGE missed a spot!

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 17

TFW the IRS mails you a certified letter because you owe them $5.23. 🙄

1 6

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 3

OMG, Bruce Robbins activates full BEAST mode in this interview!

1 3 22

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · Jun 2

The Sky-hive has lied to you.

1 4

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · May 13

It happened to be the first post I saw when I logged in, but maybe it was fate.

Also, as you know surely, martinis are anything but a new craze for me!

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · May 13

Slightly dirty, Tanqueray, olives.

1 2

Rafael Walker @rafaelwalker.bsky.social · May 3

I'm so sad that this will be the final season!

1 2

Reposted by Rafael Walker

Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · Apr 21

📍WED. 4/23 at 10:00am ET: @ramyakrishnan.bsky.social will appear before a federal court in our challenge to Trump's policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty who participate in pro-Palestinian protests. Register to listen:
forms.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-sign...

Request for Courtroom Seating/Audio Access

forms.mad.uscourts.gov

1 9 20