Alizah Holstein

The lions of the Public Library looking serenely down on Democracy

Where food studies meets medieval history!

"The language that is being used has a specific resonance, which, historically, has been used to change regime type. It is important that the rights of human beings were violated. It is important that the rule of law was ignored. It is important that the executive is trying to define reality."

Oh my god

A veritable cornucopia of delights!

I’m glad to hear you think the connection is plausible. We’ve heard less in the past few months about the clash of civs/distorted medievalism than we did in the first T admin, but it’s still there. And alternative environments like video games may be influencing more than we know

Also, I’m eager to read Oathbreakers, which has been in my TBR pile for a while now

Hi! I just started writing a monthly column for them last month. So, pretty new to me too. But it’s an interesting site with excellent contributors. I’m a former romanista. An academic in recovery :-)

Cited a recent essay in Slate by @lollardfish.bsky.social and @profgabriele.com on the medievalism prevalent in the contemporary American visual imagination.

A Tale of Two Doges: An Uncertain History - 3 Quarks Daily by Alizah Holstein

I published an essay today in 3 Quarks Daily tracing a connection btwn DOGE and the late 12th/early 13th-century crusader Doge Enrico Dandolo who sacked Constantinople. The connection between them? Video games. 3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily...

Third time’s a charm…

I highly recommend Jill Ciment’s recent memoir HALF A LIFE. The first 10 or 15 pp offer a fascinating view of changes in lexicon over a 50-year span. The rest is compelling too…

Thanks to @annairosenberg.bsky.social for so beautifully encapsulating MY ROMAN HISTORY ✨

Thanks for this lovely review!

"For the first time in an election year, history as a category outsold politics (by two to one)."

Gisèle Pelicot has rewritten her story – and electrified women all over the world. But what about men? | Rebecca Solnit This was an extraordinary response to unimaginable crimes. Yet true change will only come when men engage with the culture that led us here, says Guardian US columnist Rebecca Solnit

"Until men engage earnestly and honestly with the pervasiveness of sexual assault and the aspects of the culture that celebrate and normalise it, not enough will change. The criminal justice system cannot change culture and consciousness; that happens elsewhere."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Also: there r different tiers of “responsibility” for the student/mentee: the mentor, the department, the univ. (or grad school) administration. As a student I was only aware of the 1st. I’ve been asking myself what responsibility a dept has for its students, and also, as in your case, a dean/admin.

Writing a book in which I was forced to confront it has helped me to see what happened with a great deal of clarity … but it took a huge effort to do so. Esp bc I began writing before #MeToo.

Alas, grad school did a great job of teaching me to doubt myself …

Thanks Rachel. My situation was (I think) less extreme than yours and I was also perhaps too young. But I valued the way you pushed back against binary thinking (“Must a field take sides?” “She was brilliant…She did a lot of damage.”) in a way that opens up room for conversation (and progress).

R. Mesch offers an important dimension to the difficult discussion re: abuse in #HigherEd mentoring. I struggled greatly when writing about graduate school in My Roman History, so I know how scary it is to write publicly. It can feel like a betrayal, but the questions Mesch poses are critical.

My Roman History My Roman History: A Memoir Alizah Holstein Viking (June 25, 2024), 348 pages Kindle edition $14.99, Amazon hardcover $25.49 I could not resist reading a book whose author uses C.P. Cavafy’s poem "Itha...

In "My Roman History" author Alizah Holstein writes about her love for the city of Rome and her fascination with Rome in the fourteenth century, the era of Dante.

#books #BookReview #nonfiction #history #Rome #Dante

mypointbeing.com/2024/08/26/m...

Depends what “worth it” means to you. It can be valuable to have people who’re willing to go to bat for you, a network of community knowledge, common contacts, etc.

Screenshot of a Facebook post from Philip Eil that reads: "A holiday-season reminder from your local author: independent bookstores are one of the things that make Providence -- and Rhode Island -- so special. If you're shopping for books, or other goodies that a bookstore might carry, I encourage you to support these wonderful shops: -Books on the Square [in Wayland Square in PVD] -Riffraff [in Olneyville in PVD] -Heartleaf Books [on Federal Hill in PVD] -Symposium Books [in downtown PVD] -Charter Books [in Newport] -Barrington Books -Stillwater Books [in West Warwick] -Paper Nautilus Books [in Wayland Square in PVD] -Ink Fish Books [in Warren] -Book Around [in Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket] -Island Books [in Middletown] -Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council [in downtown PVD] -Martin House Books [in Westerly] Amazon really doesn't need your money. But these local businesses absolutely do."

PSA: support indie bookstores this holiday season!

Here's a cheat-sheet of Rhode Island shops. 🎁 🎄🎅📚🕎❄️

La Spezia, ritrovate pagine originali della Divina Commedia: «Scoperta straordinaria» - Le foto Le pagine originali del capolavoro di Dante rinvenute durante i lavori di trasferimento dell'Archivio di Stato della città. Presto saranno esposte al pubblico

"During the transfer work of the State Archives of La Spezia, two authentic pages from the first edition of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, dating back to the 14th century, were found."

This course will be AI generated.

The more interesting point I will point out is that Prof. Stahujak is basically saying that the content of the course - literature - is ancillary to writing exercises, so I guess we're all doomed. #medievalsky

❤️ both of these!

Yes! Also loved that.

A semi-formal dance for freshmen? That’s cruel!

1st Bsky post + 1st radio appearance! My interview about my memoir #myromanhistory on @wbur.org ‘s Here & Now with the great Robin Young. We talk about #Dante, medieval Roman #history, #rome , the historical profession, and finding my way to #writing. tinyurl.com/2fkfzvmd @vikingbooks.bsky.social