Category: AmericanStudier
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April 1, 2026: Selling Out Santa Out in the World: Podcasts
Written by
on
[My awesome wife Vaughn Joy’s book Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy has been out for about four months, which means Vaughn has had the…
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March 31, 2026: Selling Out Santa Out in the World: FSU Grad Colloquium
Written by
on
[My awesome wife Vaughn Joy’s book Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy has been out for about four months, which means Vaughn has had the…
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March 30, 2026: Selling Out Santa Out in the World: Edgartown Public Library
Written by
on
[My awesome wife Vaughn Joy’s book Selling Out Santa: Hollywood Christmas Films in the Age of McCarthy has been out for about four months, which means Vaughn has had the…
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March 28-29, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: My Podcast’s New Second Season on Baseball at Manzanar
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ve blogged about historic baseball teams! Leading up to this weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history &…
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March 27, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ll be blogging about historic baseball teams! Leading up to a weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history…
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March 26, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: The House of David
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ll be blogging about historic baseball teams! Leading up to a weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history…
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March 25, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: The Braves
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ll be blogging about historic baseball teams! Leading up to a weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history…
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March 24, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: The Celestials
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ll be blogging about historic baseball teams! Leading up to a weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history…
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March 23, 2026: Historic Baseball Teams: The Massachusetts Game
Written by
on
[In honor of MLB’s Opening Day, this week I’ll be blogging about historic baseball teams! Leading up to a weekend post on the upcoming second season of my narrative history…
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March 21-22, 2026: Lilah Francis Mabee on Maritime Meanings
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ve AmericanStudied Caine…
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March 20, 2026: Nautical Novels: The Hunt for Red October
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ll AmericanStudy Caine…
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March 19, 2026: Nautical Novels: The Caine Mutiny
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ll AmericanStudy Caine…
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March 18, 2026: Nautical Novels: The Old Man and the Sea
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ll AmericanStudy Caine…
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March 17, 2026: Nautical Novels: The Sea-Wolf
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ll AmericanStudy Caine…
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March 16, 2026: Nautical Novels: Billy Budd
Written by
on
[On March 19th, 1951, Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny. That’s one of many important American novels set on ships, so this week for its 75th anniversary I’ll AmericanStudy Caine…
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March 14-15, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: The You’re Missing Out Podcast
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 13, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: Sanora Babb and Mid-Century America
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 12, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: Cinematography and Film History
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 11, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: Cecil B. DeMille and the American Dream
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 10, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: Boxing and Semi-Pro Sports in America
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 9, 2026: James Wong Howe in Context: Chinese Americans at the Turn of the Century
Written by
on
[Late last year, in preparation for a podcast appearance of my wife’s, we watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), and through it were introduced to the groundbreaking cinematographer and all-around amazing…
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March 7-8, 2026: Incorporating America: Our 21st Century Moment
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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March 6, 2026: Incorporating America: Ida Tarbell and Standard Oil
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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March 5, 2026: Incorporating America: U.S. Steel
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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March 4, 2026: Incorporating America: Santa Clara County
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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March 3, 2026: Incorporating America: The Bank of the United States
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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March 2, 2026: Incorporating America: Trachtenberg’s Book
Written by
on
[125 years ago this week, the United States Steel Corporation was created. That was and remains one of the most striking moments of incorporation in American history, but it’s far…
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February 27, 2026: Hawaiian Stories: From Here to Eternity
Written by
on
[Back in December 2024, I dedicated a weeklong series to histories from our 50th state. This week, in honor of the 75th anniversary of James Jones’s debut novel From Here…
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February 26, 2026: Hawaiian Stories: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Written by
on
[Back in December 2024, I dedicated a weeklong series to histories from our 50th state. This week, in honor of the 75th anniversary of James Jones’s debut novel From Here…
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February 25, 2026: Hawaiian Stories: Blue Crush
Written by
on
[Back in December 2024, I dedicated a weeklong series to histories from our 50th state. This week, in honor of the 75th anniversary of James Jones’s debut novel From Here…
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February 24, 2026: Hawaiian Stories: Hawaii 5-0
Written by
on
[Back in December 2024, I dedicated a weeklong series to histories from our 50th state. This week, in honor of the 75th anniversary of James Jones’s debut novel From Here…
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February 23, 2026: Hawaiian Stories: James Michener
Written by
on
[Back in December 2024, I dedicated a weeklong series to histories from our 50th state. This week, in honor of the 75th anniversary of James Jones’s debut novel From Here…
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February 20, 2026: Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas: Silos
Written by
on
[For this year’s post-Valentine’s non-favorites series, I wanted to follow up last week’s on scholarly books I’ve loved with a handful of scholarly ideas I don’t. Leading up to a…
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February 19, 2026: Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas: Walter Benn Michaels’s First Two Books
Written by
on
[For this year’s post-Valentine’s non-favorites series, I wanted to follow up last week’s on scholarly books I’ve loved with a handful of scholarly ideas I don’t. Leading up to a…
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February 18, 2026: Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas: New Critical Fallacies
Written by
on
[For this year’s post-Valentine’s non-favorites series, I wanted to follow up last week’s on scholarly books I’ve loved with a handful of scholarly ideas I don’t. Leading up to a…
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February 17, 2026: Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas: The Dunning School
Written by
on
[For this year’s post-Valentine’s non-favorites series, I wanted to follow up last week’s on scholarly books I’ve loved with a handful of scholarly ideas I don’t. Leading up to a…
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February 16, 2026: Non-Favorite Scholarly Ideas: The Turner Thesis
Written by
on
[For this year’s post-Valentine’s non-favorites series, I wanted to follow up last week’s on scholarly books I’ve loved with a handful of scholarly ideas I don’t. Leading up to a…
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February 14-15, 2026: A Scholar and Scholarly Book I Love
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 13, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: Colleagues
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 12, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 11, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: A Different Mirror
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 10, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: The Unredeemed Captive
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 9, 2026: Scholarly Books I’ve Loved: The Two-Ocean War
Written by
on
[For this year’s Valentine’s series, I wanted to build on the weekend post on my Dad’s book and highlight a handful of other scholarly books that have been especially meaningful…
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February 7-8, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Dad’s Book
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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February 6, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Complementary Nonfiction
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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February 5, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Homeward Bound & Home as Found
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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February 4, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: The Last of the Mohicans & The Prairie
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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February 3, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: The Pioneers & The Pilot
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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February 2, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Precaution & The Spy
Written by
on
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our…
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January 31-February 1, 2026: Crowd-sourced Challenger Studying
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this…
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January 30, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Cultural Representations
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll…
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January 29, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Aftermaths
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll…
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January 28, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: The Explosion
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll…
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January 27, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Christa McAuliffe
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll…
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January 26, 2026: The Challenger Disaster: Predecessors
Written by
on
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll…
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January 24-25, 2026: Occasional Poems: Mine!
Written by
on
[65 years ago Tuesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week…
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January 23, 2026: Occasional Poems: 21st Century Inaugural Poems
Written by
on
[65 years ago Tuesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy…
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January 22, 2026: Occasional Poems: Angelou and Williams for Clinton
Written by
on
[65 years ago Tuesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy…
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January 21, 2026: Occasional Poems: Frost for Kennedy
Written by
on
[65 years ago Tuesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy…
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January 20, 2026: Occasional Poems: Whitman on Lincoln
Written by
on
[65 years ago Wednesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy…
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January 19, 2026: Occasional Poems: Wheatley to Washington
Written by
on
[65 years ago Wednesday, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President. One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy…
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January 17-18, 2026: Crowd-sourced 60s & 70s TVStudying
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ve AmericanStudied those shows & three others from…
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Guest Post: Walter Greason & Tim Fielder’s New Comic Dearly Beloved
Written by
on
[Walter Greason, AKA SAGE GRAY, is a longtime friend and collaborator. With artist Tim Fielder he is the author of the acclaimed The Graphic History of Hip Hop. I’m very…
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January 16, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: The Brady Bunch
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ll AmericanStudy those shows & three others from the 60s & 70s, all of which happen…
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January 15, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Bewitched
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ll AmericanStudy those shows & three others from the 60s & 70s, all of which happen…
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January 14, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: The Bionic Woman
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ll AmericanStudy those shows & three others from the 60s & 70s, all of which happen…
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January 13, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Bonanza
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ll AmericanStudy those shows & three others from the 60s & 70s, all of which happen…
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January 12, 2026: The Boob Tube in the 60s & 70s: Batman
Written by
on
[This week marks the 60th anniversary of the debut of the Batman TV show & the 50th of The Bionic Woman. So I’ll AmericanStudy those shows & three others from the 60s & 70s, all of which happen…
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January 10-11, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Spring 2026 Plans
Written by
on
[The start of a new year meant my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to this weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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January 9, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: On Screen in 1976
Written by
on
[The start of a new year means my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to a weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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January 8, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Heard in 1926
Written by
on
[The start of a new year means my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to a weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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January 7, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Published in 1876
Written by
on
[The start of a new year means my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to a weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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January 6, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Revolutionary Memory in 1826
Written by
on
[The start of a new year means my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to a weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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January 5, 2026: 2026 Anniversaries: Reframing 1776
Written by
on
[The start of a new year means my annual series on historic anniversaries. Leading up to a weekend post on some of what I’m planning for my Spring semester sabbatical!]…
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Guest Post: Matt Dworkowitz on World War II’s Best Kept Secret: The Discovery of Chemotherapy in New Haven
Written by
on
[Matt Dworkowitz is a third year undergraduate student at Sacred Heart University, who majors in Health Science, and minors in American History and Chemistry. This past semester, Matt worked with…
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January 2, 2026: Year in Review: Dad
Written by
on
[The end of 2025 means another Year in Review blog series, AmericanStudying a handful of the year’s biggest stories. I’d love your 2025 reflections in comments!] Ten months ago today,…
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January 1, 2026: Year in Review: Rejuvenated Blockbusters
Written by
on
[The end of 2025 means another Year in Review blog series, AmericanStudying a handful of the year’s biggest stories. I’d love your 2025 reflections in comments!] On four films that…
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December 31, 2025: Year in Review: AI
Written by
on
[The end of 2025 means another Year in Review blog series, AmericanStudying a handful of the year’s biggest stories. I’d love your 2025 reflections in comments!] I wrote about ChatGPT…
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December 30, 2025: Year in Review: Higher Ed
Written by
on
[The end of 2025 means another Year in Review blog series, AmericanStudying a handful of the year’s biggest stories. I’d love your 2025 reflections in comments!] How three university presidents…
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December 29, 2025: Year in Review: Fascism
Written by
on
[The end of 2025 means another Year in Review blog series, AmericanStudying a handful of the year’s biggest stories. I’d love your 2025 reflections in comments!] On overt and insidious…
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December 27-28, 2025: Wishes for my Wife’s Book
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 26, 2025: Revisiting My Books: We the People & Of Thee I Sing
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 25, 2025: Revisiting My Books: History & Hope in American Literature
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 24, 2025: Revisiting My Books: The Chinese Exclusion Act
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 23, 2025: Revisiting My Books: Redefining American Identity
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 22, 2025: Revisiting My Books: Contesting the Past, Reconstructing the Nation
Written by
on
[Many, many, many times over the last year, I’ve wished that more Americans would have the chance to read my writing and learn even a few of the many lessons…
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December 20-21, 2025: Refugee Stories in 2025
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ve AmericanStudied the UNHCR and…
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December 19, 2025: Refugee Stories: Refugees in 2020 (and Today)
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ll AmericanStudy the UNHCR and…
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December 18, 2025: Refugee Stories: Tina Powell’s Guest Post
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ll AmericanStudy the UNHCR and…
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December 17, 2025: Refugee Stories: The Marielitos
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ll AmericanStudy the UNHCR and…
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December 16, 2025: Refugee Stories: WWII Refugees
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ll AmericanStudy the UNHCR and…
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December 15, 2025: Refugee Stories: Global Organizations
Written by
on
[On December 14th, 1950, the United Nations adopted its Statute on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. So for the 75th anniversary of that important moment, this week I’ll AmericanStudy the UNHCR and…
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December 13-14, 2025: Kyle at Michigan!
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 12, 2025: Semester Reflections: Our Graduate Programs
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 11, 2025: Semester Reflections: American Lit Online
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 10, 2025: Semester Reflections: American Lit II
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 9, 2025: Semester Reflections: Honors Lit Seminar
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 8, 2025: Semester Reflections: First-Year Writing
Written by
on
[This week marks the conclusion of another Fall semester, my 21st at Fitchburg State. Since we’re all going through it at the moment, I thought I’d share one significant challenge I…
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December 5, 2025: Urban Legends: The Bermuda Triangle
Written by
on
[On December 5th, 1945, five naval planes disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle, helping establish an urban legend that has endured to this day. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy five such urban legends, leading…
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December 4, 2025: Urban Legends: Those Damn Clowns
Written by
on
[On December 5th, 1945, five naval jets disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle, helping establish an urban legend that has endured to this day. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy five such urban legends, leading…