Category: AmericanStudier
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March 16, 2026: Nautical Novels: Billy Budd
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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”
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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!
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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)
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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!
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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
[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…
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December 3, 2025: Urban Legends: Sewer Gators
[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…
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December 2, 2025: Urban Legends: Cryptids in Culture
[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…
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December 1, 2025: Urban Legends: The Bell Witch
[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…
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Guest Post: Mia Moriarty & Dr. Michael Millner on Jack Kerouac
[Michael Millner is an old friend of mine from the New England ASA, and has been a professor of English and American Studies at UMass Lowell for many years. Mia…
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November 28, 2025: Indigenous Voices: Ned Blackhawk
[Thanksgiving is a hugely fraught holiday for us AmericanStudiers, but I also have a ton I’m thankful for. So this year I wanted to combine those two perspectives by highlighting indigenous voices, past…
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November 27, 2025: Indigenous Voices: Wamsutta James
[Thanksgiving is a hugely fraught holiday for us AmericanStudiers, but I also have a ton I’m thankful for. So this year I wanted to combine those two perspectives by highlighting indigenous voices, past…
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November 26, 2025: Indigenous Voices: Sarah Winnemucca
[Thanksgiving is a hugely fraught holiday for us AmericanStudiers, but I also have a ton I’m thankful for. So this year I wanted to combine those two perspectives by highlighting indigenous voices, past…
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November 25, 2025: Indigenous Voices: William Apess
[Thanksgiving is a hugely fraught holiday for us AmericanStudiers, but I also have a ton I’m thankful for. So this year I wanted to combine those two perspectives by highlighting indigenous voices, past…
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November 24, 2025: Indigenous Voices: Joseph Lee’s Nothing More of This Land
[Thanksgiving is a hugely fraught holiday for us AmericanStudiers, but I also have a ton I’m thankful for. So this year I wanted to combine those two perspectives by highlighting indigenous voices, past…
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November 22-23, 2025: AmericanStudying Closeted Gay Celebrities
[On November 17th, 1925, Roy Harold Scherer Jr.—better known as Rock Hudson—was born. His iconic career and complex life open up a lot of American histories, so this week I’ve AmericanStudied a…
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November 21, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): AIDS
[On November 17th, 1925, Roy Harold Scherer Jr.—better known as Rock Hudson—was born. His iconic career and complex life open up a lot of American histories, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a…
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November 20, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): WWII Service
[On November 17th, 1925, Roy Harold Scherer Jr.—better known as Rock Hudson—was born. His iconic career and complex life open up a lot of American histories, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a…
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November 19, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): Two TV Roles
[On November 17th, 1925, Roy Harold Scherer Jr.—better known as Rock Hudson—was born. His iconic career and complex life open up a lot of American histories, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a…
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November 18, 2025: AmericanStudying Rock (Hudson): The Doris Day Films
[On November 17th, 1925, Roy Harold Scherer Jr.—better known as Rock Hudson—was born. His iconic career and complex life open up a lot of American histories, so this week I’ll AmericanStudy a…