Ben‘s daily blog of all things AmericanStudies, celebrating its 15th anniversary in November 2025!
Guest Posts
- Guest Post: Walter Greason & Tim Fielder’s New Comic Dearly Beloved
- Guest Post: Matt Dworkowitz on World War II’s Best Kept Secret: The Discovery of Chemotherapy in New Haven
- Guest Post: Mia Moriarty & Dr. Michael Millner on Jack Kerouac
- Guest Post: Regina Mills on Carmen Sandiego & Latinx Representation in Video Games
Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas
Scholarly Books I’ve Loved
- February 14-15, 2026: A Scholar and Scholarly Book I Love
- February 13, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: Colleagues
- February 12, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
- February 11, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: A Different Mirror
- February 10, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: The Unredeemed Captive
- February 9, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: The Two-Ocean War
Fenimore Cooper Studying
- February 7-8, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Dad’s Book
- February 6, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Complementary Nonfiction
- February 5, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Homeward Bound & Home as Found
- February 4, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: The Last of the Mohicans & The Prairie
- February 3, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: The Pioneers & The Pilot
- February 2, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Precaution & The Spy
The Challenger Disaster
- January 31-February 1, 2026: Crowd-sourced Challenger Studying
- January 30, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Cultural Representations
- January 29, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Aftermaths
- January 28, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: The Explosion
- January 27, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Christa McAuliffe
- January 26, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Predecessors
Occasional Poems
- January 24-25, 2026: Occasional Poems: Mine!
- January 23, 2026: Occasional Poems: 21st Century Inaugural Poems
- January 22, 2026: Occasional Poems: Angelou and Williams for Clinton
- January 21, 2026: Occasional Poems: Frost for Kennedy
- January 20, 2026: Occasional Poems: Whitman on Lincoln
- January 19, 2026: Occasional Poems: Wheatley to Washington
The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s
- January 17-18, 2026: Crowd-sourced 60s & 70s TVStudying
- January 16, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: The Brady Bunch
- January 15, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Bewitched
- January 14, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: The Bionic Woman
- January 13, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Bonanza
- January 12, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Batman
2026 Anniversaries
- January 10-11, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Spring 2026 Plans
- January 9, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: On Screen in 1976
- January 8, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Heard in 1926
- January 7, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Published in 1876
- January 6, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Revolutionary Memory in 1826
- January 5, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Reframing 1776
Year in Review
Revisiting My Books
- December 27-28, 2025: Wishes for my Wife’s Book
- December 26, 2025: Revisiting My Books: We the People & Of Thee I Sing
- December 25, 2025: Revisiting My Books: History & Hope in American Literature
- December 24, 2025: Revisiting My Books: The Chinese Exclusion Act
- December 23, 2025: Revisiting My Books: Redefining American Identity
- December 22, 2025: Revisiting My Books: Contesting the Past, Reconstructing the Nation
Refugee Stories
- December 20-21, 2025: Refugee Stories in 2025
- December 19, 2025: Refugee Stories: Refugees in 2020 (and Today)
- December 18, 2025: Refugee Stories: Tina Powell’s Guest Post
- December 17, 2025: Refugee Stories: The Marielitos
- December 16, 2025: Refugee Stories: WWII Refugees
- December 15, 2025: Refugee Stories: Global Organizations
Semester Reflections
- December 13-14, 2025: Kyle at Michigan!
- December 12, 2025: Semester Reflections: Our Graduate Programs
- December 11, 2025: Semester Reflections: American Lit Online
- December 10, 2025: Semester Reflections: American Lit II
- December 9, 2025: Semester Reflections: Honors Lit Seminar
- December 8, 2025: Semester Reflections: First-Year Writing
Urban Legends
Indigenous Voices
AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson)
- November 22-23, 2025: AmericanStudying Closeted Gay Celebrities
- November 21, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): AIDS
- November 20, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): WWII Service
- November 19, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): Two TV Roles
- November 18, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): The Doris Day Films
- November 17, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): Come September
Veterans’ Stories
- November 15-16, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: Three 21C Stories
- November 14, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: The Best Years of Our Lives and WWII
- November 13, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: “Returning Soldiers” and WWI
- November 12, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: A Fool’s Errand and the Civil War
- November 11, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: William Apess and the War of 1812
- November 10, 2025: Veterans’ Stories: The Shoemaker and the Tea Party
15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying
- November 8-9, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: My Dad
- November 7, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Vaughn Joy’s Partnership
- November 6, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Jen Bortel’s Journalistic Editing
- November 5, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Avi Green’s Aid
- November 4, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Heather Cox Richardson’s Help
- November 3, 2025: 15 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Rob Velella’s Role Modeling
AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album
- October 31, 2025: AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album: Inyo & Western Stars
- October 30, 2025: AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album: “The Lost Charro” & My Book
- October 29, 2025: AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album: “The Aztec Dance” y Anzaldúa
- October 28, 2025: AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album: “Adelita” & Mexican American Wars
- October 27, 2025: AmericanStudying a Springsteen “Lost” Album: “Inyo” & Los Angeles
Erie Canal Studying
- October 25-26, 2025: My Favorite Civil Engineer!
- October 24, 2025: Erie Canal Studying: That Song
- October 23, 2025: Erie Canal Studying: Ely Parker
- October 22, 2025: Erie Canal Studying: Canvass White
- October 21, 2025: Erie Canal Studying: DeWitt Clinton
- October 20, 2025: Erie Canal Studying: Starting the Project
Not Just (Video) Games
- October 18-19, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: Nintendo Classics
- October 17, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: Video Game Studiers
- October 16, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: GTA
- October 15, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: Oregon Trail
- October 14, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: Pac-Man
- October 13, 2025: Not Just (Video) Games: Pong
American Crime Fiction
- October 11-12, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Elmore Leonard
- October 10, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Presumed Innocent
- October 9, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Tana French
- October 8, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Attica Locke
- October 7, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Tony Hillerman
- October 6, 2025: American Crime Fiction: Ross MacDonald
The Thrilla in Manila
- October 4-5, 2025: Lou Moore’s Sensational Sports Studying
- October 3, 2025: The Thrilla in Manila: Part 3s
- October 2, 2025: The Thrilla in Manila: Joe Frazier and Boxing Villains
- October 1, 2025: The Thrilla in Manila: Marcos and the U.S.
- September 30, 2025: The Thrilla in Manila: Ali’s Evolution
- September 29, 2025: The Thrilla in Manila: Boxing and America
Recent Scholarly Reads
- September 26, 2025: Forthcoming Scholarly Reads: Selling Out Santa
- September 25, 2025: Recent Scholarly Reads: Frederick Douglass
- September 24, 2025: Recent Scholarly Reads: The Rediscovery of America
- September 23, 2025: Recent Scholarly Reads: We Now Belong to Ourselves
- September 22, 2025: Recent Scholarly Reads: Action Without Hope
Censorship Histories
- September 20-21, 2025: Challenging Censorship in 2025
- September 19, 2025: Censorship Histories: The 1985 Hearings
- September 18, 2025: Censorship Histories: Banning vs. Challenging Books
- September 17, 2025: Censorship Histories: The Sedition Act
- September 16, 2025: Censorship Histories: The Comstock Act
- September 15, 2025: Censorship Histories: The Zenger Case
Comic Strip Studying
- September 13-14, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: Fellow ComicsStudiers
- September 12, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: The Boondocks
- September 11, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: Doonesbury
- September 10, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: Dennis the Menace
- September 9, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: The Yellow Kid
- September 8, 2025: Comic Strip Studying: The First American Comic