The dual curriculum model ubiquitous to Orthodox Jewish day schools in North America typically bifurcates into religious (Judaic) studies and general studies. While most classes generally fit into one of those two halves of the curriculum, some classes are not intuitively categorized as wholly belonging to one part over the other. One of those…[Read more]

This essay explores Maimonides’ explanation of the Bible’s rationale behind the ritual sacrifices, namely to help wean the Jews away from idolatrous rites. After clearly elucidating Maimonides’ stance on the topic, this essay examines his view from different angles with various possible precedents in earlier rabbinic literature for such an under…[Read more]

Text of my keynote talk at Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) about video game cultures, focusing on the global south.

Text of my keynote talk at Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) about video game cultures, focusing on the global south.

Spanish Abstract: Una película indonesia sobre la pareja heterosexual en el ambiente social indonesio, sobre el patriarcado atmosférico—y sobre el Islam (valga la redundancia). Poner tierra por medio, o mejor no casarse si aún estás a tiempo, es la recomendación de la directora para las mujeres. Ay, si fuera tan fácil… Pero en su context…[Read more]

Vae terrae et mari! * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

WARNING! * PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

ALARM BELLS! * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

Silent Bells! * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

Giggle Bells! * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

little GREEN men * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

OPPRESS!ON * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

Spanish abstract: ‘Ucho’ (La oreja), película de Karel Kachyňa (1970) es una prefiguración de ‘La vida de los Otros’ sobre la Cheka checa, pero con una estética peculiar—una película entre el realismo documental y lo grotesco, algo así como un cruce entre ‘1984’ y ‘Quién teme a Virginia Woolf ‘, combinando la sátira política con la cinematogr…[Read more]

How could the ideal of a universal brotherhood of mankind be realized in an age of nationalism, colonialism and culture wars? “With God, for fatherland and humanity?” is the first comprehensive study of masonic internationalism. It explores, with a focus on England, France, Germany, and Italy, how European masonic associations promoted or opposed…[Read more]

The Irish Sea which separates Great Britain and Ireland has often been written about in terms of divisions, threats, and hazards. Facing each other across that sea, the coast of Wales and Ireland’s eastern seaboard have a more complex story to tell, one characterised by intimate if troubled lines of connection. A place of passage for centuries, t…[Read more]

MMQR * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

BLACK AND WHITE * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

Good Mourning, Burma! * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC-BY-NC-SA

ABSURDISTAN * QRt by PRURITUS MIGRANS * CC: BY-NC-SA

Interview with Thomas Hill on The Library Cafe out of Vassar