“It is only by engaging with the critical reading and interpretive skills imparted by the study of the humanities that consumers of media can deconstruct methodologies, assess hypotheses and judge for themselves the reliability of what they read. And I’m not just talking about the Voynich Manuscript.“  Nice piece on why the humanities matter. 

More on Iris Murdoch, a brilliant philosopher, and a pretty good novelist too.

A somewhat indulgent piece about learning to read, which doesn't really come to any conclusion but which is fun anyway. 

A great essay on translating the book of Job--and also about translation more generally.

If you're looking for an essay that nicely brings together a lot of the scholarly debate about slavery and capitalism, this piece does a really good job of capturing the scope of the debates and some of the most prominent critical arguments. 

Really interesting news from AP, looks like they're putting together a pretty strong team for reporting on religion as an explicit theme--should be worth watching in coming years.

Have a restful weekend, everyone!