Paula Krebs

“Having one's book banned is not a prize. It's an assault on the right to read. And, worse, official acts of censorship beget quiet censorship, done in anticipation of criticism. As frequently banned author Malinda Lo writes, "Self-censorship is possibly the most difficult kind of censorship to fight because it is generally not publicly admitted. It's done quietly, in private. If nobody knows it's happening, how can anyone object?"” "Being Banned Is Not an Award" Philip Nel Bookbird A Journal of International Children's Literature Volume 63, Number 3, 2025 Read free thru 31 October 2025 Illustrated with the cover art from the new issue of Bookbird

Philip Nel warns against the ways institutional book banning efforts lead to self-censorship

Read "Being Banned Is Not an Award" in the new issue of Bookbird

Free on @projectmuse.bsky.social thru 31 October

tinyurl.com/3hy62uye

#AcademicSky #BannedBooksWeek

Non-majors like Mary Seacole, or at least they used to when I was teaching. Pre-health majors especially.

The cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities go far deeper than any of these agencies - almost 70% of 179 people were terminated, despite no change to the agency's budget.

There were no savings here - only idealogical destruction. #NEH

It’s such torture.

Toronto skyline, looking particularly fetching

Preconvention half-day workshops for you. Train with excellent colleagues to be an external reviewer or work on banned books or writing studies research or AI. It’s worth coming early to #MLA26 in Toronto. www.mla.org/Events/2026-...

Sign up to come work on teaching banned books with me and Rozina Johnson!

should be working, but hanging on your every post

Check out the preconvention half-day workshops. Train to be an external reviewer or work on such topics as banned books or and writing studies research or the perennial favoite--AI. Worth coming early to #MLA26 in Toronto. www.mla.org/Events/2026-...

Make the most of #MLA26. Sign up for a Thursday workshop, such as Planning for What's Next for AI on Your Campus. led by members of the MLA's Task Force on AI. www.mla.org/Events/2026-...

If you'd like some training in how to do external reviews for English or language departments, sign up for preconvention workshops at #MLA26 that'll get you certified. Learn how to look for equitable employment practices, what data to request, and more. www.mla.org/Events/2026-...

Supporting Faculty Research in Difficult Times - MLA Webinars Join us for this free webinar to learn from panelists with experience in a variety of roles who are dedicated to sustaining academic research in an uncertain funding landscape.

Supporting Faculty Research in Difficult Times. Webinar, one hour from now. Register here: webinars.mla.org/webinar/supp...

Goal met!

Paula at rest stop of City to Shore ride

Just $70 short of my goal, in case Multiple Sclerosis research is a cause you support. #BikeMS events.nationalmssociety.org/participants...

Rest stop for MS ride

City to shore ride #bikems

Happy to share this article that just came out in ‘Hispania’ @modernlanguage.bsky.social @projectmuse.bsky.social @paulakrebs.bsky.social

How One University Is Reimagining a Humanities Ph.D. Program Carnegie Mellon is turning its literary and cultural studies Ph.D. program into one focused on computational cultural studies. The reframe comes as many humanities graduate programs face an uncertain ...

Those w/ skills in cultural and computational analysis will play a vital role in tech, says @paulakrebs.bsky.social, commenting on CMU's new PhD: "These graduates will be the translators, who enable companies to make ethical decisions and keep people in mind.” www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

Are you a humanities faculty member who has worked with your campus government realtions office? If so, let me know--I could use you on a panel at #mla26

The taco – from working-class staple to transnational icon | Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado on Taco (Object Lessons) What are the origins of the taco and what is an authentic taco? Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado argues their cultural ambiguity is the perfect symbol of modern Mexico.

Bloomsbury published today some tidbit of my forthcoming book taco. You can read here! www.bloomsbury.com/us/discover/...

The Professional Development Hub is one of those ways! We’ll be offering a mini workshop on writing for the public, discussion groups on advocacy strategies, 1:1 mentoring, and lots of information about MLA resources #MLA26

Really excited about all the advocacy and strategy sessions we are seeing in the Just-in-Time sessions at #MLA26 in Toronto. Plenty of ways to get together outside of sessions, too. Thousands of us who value higher ed and the humanities will be there at the same time; use this opportunity.

@ehayot.bsky.social

Penn State's Eric Hayot knew he could make a convincing case in support of the value of higher ed in the face of these attacks, and he was right. We worked together on this, basing our case in Pittsburgh--but you could make the case with examples from your own community.

Eric Hayot and Paula Krebs: It's not about Palestine, DEI or trans athletes We are facing a defunding of knowledge production in this country. This isn’t only a problem for academia. Many local economies, like Pittsburgh’s,...

Higher ed drives economic growth and innovation, and it’s under attack. Read the new op-ed from @paulakrebs.bsky.social‬ and @ehayot.bsky.social‬ and tell your legislators that research, teaching, and innovation are important to you and your community. www.post-gazette.com/opinion/gues...

Eric Hayot and Paula Krebs: It's not about Palestine, DEI or trans athletes We are facing a defunding of knowledge production in this country. This isn’t only a problem for academia. Many local economies, like Pittsburgh’s,...

Who benefits from attacks on higher ed?

Certainly not the US economy.
Certainly not the states where higher ed is the major employer.
Certainly not the American people.

excellent work @ehayot.bsky.social and @paulakrebs.bsky.social
www.post-gazette.com/opinion/gues...

Lmk if you need a pdf

The WVU language dept was MAKING money. It’s not about the money.

Dept of Labor tweet with image of young Aryan-looking white man with the slogan “Your nation needs you”

Yep. And this is why we need historians and cultural critics.

AUPresses Responds to News of Bucknell University Press's Planned Closure - Association of University Presses The Association is surprised and disappointed to learn of Bucknell University's plan to close its press at the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The catalogues of university presses are the Scholastic Book Fair for academics in the humanities–we always circle more entries than we can afford and hope our libraries will buy the rest. Support your university press. Buy its books. Defend it. aupresses.org/news/aupress...

AUPresses Responds to News of Bucknell University Press's Planned Closure - Association of University Presses The Association is surprised and disappointed to learn of Bucknell University's plan to close its press at the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The catalogues of university presses are the Scholastic Book Fair for academics in the humanities–we always circle more entries than we can afford and hope our libraries will buy the rest. Support your university press. Buy its books. Defend it. aupresses.org/news/aupress...

portaits of my red Dahon folding bike

I had a portait painted of mine