On 18 August 1936, Federico García Lorca was killed on the orders of (Franco’s) rightwing military authorities in Granada. Lorca’s defiance of oppression inspired many Arab poets. These beautiful lines are from Darwish’s “I Have a Sky Behind the Sky” (translated by Fady Joudah).

New series! Islamic Sources / Maṣādir Islāmiyya will publish text editions of primary sources of the Arab-Islamic heritage. It covers all periods and regions of the Islamic world and is open to works from all disciplines. More info and how to submit: brill.ws/ismi

Iranian brick workers are superhuman Woof Shadow Building in Tehran by Tachra Design

An Arabic proverb, added by the French orientalist Antoine Galland (1646-1715), with Latin translation, to the front flyleaf of an Ottoman manuscript: “Whoever has no notebook in their sleeve will not establish wisdom in their heart.” Bnf, ms Turc 245. gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv…

Some of the most gorgeous, bizarre and wonderful things in literature: Clarice Lispector’s Crônicas. Read them, love them, then reread them immediately.

Interlibrary loan staff appreciation tweet. Today and always. Stanford University Libraries 🩷

Toni Morrison on making art during dark times is some comedy wisdom

Sol LeWitt, All ifs ands or buts connected by green lines (1973)

France v Spain England v Netherlands? Next week might feel like 1652

A Camel resting in the shade of a tree, Socotra Island, Yemen.

Prouder than punch to launch the public-facing explorations of substances-with-bodily effect in the past on DALME. Explore the new Historical Pharmacopeias collection, and read about the global medical marketplace in this month's featured mini-essay. dalme.org/features/apoth…

An antique Persian tile depicting the Virgin Mary & Child.

Excited to share a glimpse of a network graphic derived from the Ottoman fiscal codex (Muhallefat/Zimemat defteri, 1808-1840), which Fatma Oncel (Fatma Öncel), Fikret Yilmaz, and I have been working on for the past five years (with me working on it for at least 10 years!) as

'Garden of Eden' by Iraqi painter Suad Al-Attar

HUMANS: A MONSTROUS HISTORY drops on Feb 4, 2025 and is now available to preorder! So grateful to University of California Press and to Dr Lindsey Fitzharris, Philip Ball, Annalee Newitz is @[email protected] and Tamara J. Walker for their blurbs. 1/2 #Twitterstorians #histsci #earlymodern shorturl.at/7p42c

Forthcoming in October with the CSMBR Online Lecture Series #CSMBR #alFarabi #onlinelectures

What a joy it was to talk about Empire of Refugees (Stanford Press, 2024) with Ottoman History Podcast and to record that episode in person in Istanbul! And what an honor it is to open their new season! Many thanks to Chris Gratien and Can Gümüş-İspir.

Labors of Love traces the political power of motherhood and childrearing in Arabic thought. Susanna Ferguson reveals how debates around raising children became foundational to feminist, Islamist, and nationalist politics alike. #ReadUP sup.org/books/title/?i…

(Perhaps a bit late, but!) If you're teaching about the modern Middle East/Ottoman Empire and want to include recent takes on and work within the field, consider my Yıllık essay, "Arap Bacı’nın Ara Muhaveresi: Under the Shadow of the Ottoman Empire and Its Study."