American Studier

Tons of flawed arguments in the controversial AHA column decrying “presentism,” but the most widespread & erroneous is the notion that historical figures were simply “people of their times” & that the lens of “contemporary social issues” is thus a false one to apply to them.

Of course “their times” included bigotry & social hierarchies of all types, & far too many Americans participated in those systems. But every moment also featured debates over those systems, w/Americans of color & white allies resisting, challenging, & offering alternatives.

So for my new Saturday Evening Post Considering History column, I make the case that Benjamin Banneker was just as much a “person of his times” as Thomas Jefferson—& one whose direct challenge to Jefferson reveals vital Revolutionary & Founding debates over race & American identity.

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/08/considering-history-previous-generations-were-not-fundamentally-different-the-story-of-benjamin-banneker/

Considering History: Previous Generations Were Not Fundamentally Different: The Story of Benjamin Banneker | The Saturday Evening Post The idea that “people in their own times” were fundamentally different from those in our own is an inaccurate view of the past. Take the case of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Banneker.

I have a couple classes where I spend two full weeks on Langston Hughes, & it's one of my favorite things every time because he has such breadth & depth across his half-century as our true poet laureate. That definitely includes the under-rated Madam Alberta K Johnson poems.

So for the next post in my telephonic blog series, on one of those fun & funny & telling works, "Madam and the Phone Bill"!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/08/august-4-2022-americanphones-madam-and.html

August 4, 2022: AmericanPhones: “Madam and the Phone Bill” [August 2 nd marks the 100 th anniversary of inventor Alexander Graham Bell’s death . So this week I’ll AmericanStudy some famous phones i...

In "Switchboard Susan," Nick Lowe sings, "When I’m near you girl I get an extension/And I don’t mean Alexander Graham Bell’s invention." If that's not the best telephonic double entendre of all time, it's at least gotta be on speed dial.

But Lowe's is just one of many pop songs that use the telephone as metaphor, so for the next post in my series, five great telephonic hits, from Lowe & Jim Croce to Tommy Tutone, Primitive Radio Gods, & of course Lady Gaga & Beyonce!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/08/august-3-2022-americanphones-phone-songs.html

August 3, 2022: AmericanPhones: Phone Songs [August 2 nd marks the 100 th anniversary of inventor Alexander Graham Bell’s death . So this week I’ll AmericanStudy some famous phones i...

Happy John Scopes Day! A reminder that teachers have long been under attack from the most ignorant and closed-minded among us, and la lucha continua.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/august-nominees.html

August Nominees August 1: Herman Melville , the iconoclastic genius who was equally adept at domestic comedy , scathing social satire , compelling psycho...

Much was rightly made of Sam Alito's mocking jokes about Dobbs in his keynote address at the Religious Liberty Summit a couple weeks back. But the bigger & more significant context is this latest salvo in a foundational & defining American debate over "religious liberty" itself.

For my new Saturday Evening Post Considering History column, on the founding US ideal of religious freedom, & how in practice it has far too often meant the freedom to discriminate & exclude those who fall outside of a Christian Nationalist vision.

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/08/considering-history-religious-liberty-has-too-often-meant-the-freedom-to-exclude/

Considering History: “Religious Liberty” Has Too Often Meant the Freedom to Exclude | The Saturday Evening Post Religious liberty is one of America’s founding ideals, but far too often it has meant the freedom to discriminate against and exclude.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell's death. Telephones around the country were silenced for a full minute in his honor--but at AmericanStudier we remember the past with lots and lots of words, so this week I'll blog about phones in US pop culture!

Starting with today's post on three crucial phone calls which exemplify, in their mysteries and their clarities alike, The Great Gatsby's thoughtful engagement with Modern American technologies!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/08/august-1-2022-americanphones-great.html

August 1, 2022: AmericanPhones: The Great Gatsby [August 2 nd marks the 100 th anniversary of inventor Alexander Graham Bell’s death . So this week I’ll AmericanStudy some famous phones i...

Bill Russell experienced the worst of sports & race in Boston & America, and represented and fought for the best. Rest in power to one of the true greats, on and off the court.

https://www.slamonline.com/the-magazine/bill-russells-lifelong-fight-against-racism/

Bill Russell's Lifelong Fight Against Racism The legendary Bill Russell writes about experiencing a lifetime combating racism, and why the battle must continue. Listen up.

The lyrics to "Jingle Bells" date back to the 1857 song "The One Horse Open Sleigh" by James Lord Pierpont--written just a few years before Pierpont would serve in & write marching songs for the Confederate army. White Christmas indeed.

That's just one of many tidbits in today's Christmas (Songs) in July blog post, on the paired, parallel, yet ultimately contrasting 1930s holiday anthems "Jingle Bells" & "Winter Wonderland"!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/07/july-26-2022-christmas-songs-in-july.html

July 26, 2022: Christmas (Songs) in July: “Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells” [On July 30, 1942 , Bing Crosby’s “ White Christmas ” was released. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy Crosby’s classic and other Christmas and...

On July 30, 1942 Irving Berlin & Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" was first released. So for the 80th anniversary of perhaps the quintessential Christmas song, & in a moment where we could all use some wintry vibes, it's time for a blog series on Christmas (songs) in July!

Starting with a post addressing some of the most pressing Christmas song questions, including:
--Does "Rudolph" envision a utopian inclusive paradise or an exploitative capitalist hellscape?
--Why are the speakers of "We Wish You..." trying to coerce figgy pudding out of us?

And most of all, absolutely positively most of all, why in the name of all that is ho-ho-holy does Surveillance Santa need to know when we are sleeping and when we are awake?!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/07/july-25-2022-christmas-songs-in-july.html

July 25, 2022: Christmas (Songs) in July: Fraught Favorites [On July 30, 1942 , Bing Crosby’s “ White Christmas ” was released. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy Crosby’s classic and other Christmas and...

In late July 1868, after a protracted and bitter series of battles around the country, the 14th Amendment was finally officially ratified. And then the real battle began, over the meaning and enforcement of the amendment's core concepts and rights.

Across the next few decades, a series of controversial Supreme Court decisions would reinterpret & reshape the 14th Amendment, fundamentally altering the landscape of American law, rights, & society in the process. Each of those decisions has echoed down into our own moment.

So for my next Saturday Evening Post Considering History column, on how the Supreme Court has always defined the 14th Amendment, for worse & for better--& how that's crucial to understanding our own controversial Court & its decisions.

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/07/considering-history-for-worse-and-for-better-the-supreme-court-has-always-shaped-the-14th-amendment/

Considering History: For Worse and for Better, the Supreme Court Has Always Shaped the 14th Amendment | The Saturday Evening Post The Supreme Court has intervened on a number of occasions to help determine the very meaning of the 14th Amendment, controversial and influential rulings that echo down into this year’s controversial Court decisions.

For Ida B. Wells' 160th birthday, on the time she founded a kindergarten & why the moment exemplifies her inspiring, iconic American life.

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/07/july-16-17-2022-investigative.html

July 16-17, 2022: Investigative Journalists: Ida B. Wells [This weekend we celebrate the 160 th birthday of one of my favorite Americans, Ida B. Wells . So this week I’ve AmericanStudied a handful...

Happy Ida B. Wells Day! Special blog post on her later, but if you think I'm gonna miss any chance to celebrate one of my two favorite Americans, think again!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy Woody Guthrie Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy Jhumpa Lahiri Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy F***y Fern Day!

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/03/considering-history-fanny-fern-american-original-womens-history-month-icon/

Considering History: F***y Fern, American Original and Women’s History Month Icon | The Saturday Evening Post In the mid-1800s, the highest paid newspaper columnist in America was a woman who used wit and satire to challenge the status quo.

Today is P.T. Barnum Day--can't exactly call it happy, but I would call it the perfect Memory Day for July 5th and far too many American realities, past and present.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

In one of the draft paragraphs that ended up being cut from the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson attacked the King for having created the system of slavery, having "obtruded it upon" the colonists, and "now exciting these very people to rise in arms among us."

So for the first post in a weeklong 4th of July blog series, I write about some important historical contexts for that Declaration paragraph--& why it's profoundly frustrating nonetheless.

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/07/july-4-2022-4th-of-july-contexts.html

July 4, 2022: 4th of July Contexts: Slavery and the Declaration [In honor of the 4 th of July, a series highlighting various historical and cultural contexts for this uniquely American holiday. Leading u...

Happy John Singleton Copley Day and Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton Day! The image and reality of America in one holiday special Memory Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy Thurgood Marshall Day and Medgar Evers Day! Active and critical patriotism ftw.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html?m=1

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy William Strunk Jr. Day! Good day to say what we want to say, clearly and well.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/july-nominees.html?m=1

July Nominees July 1: William Strunk, Jr ., the English professor and writer whose short and vital book , later amplified by E.B. White , remains perhaps...

Happy Lena Horne Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html

June Nominees June 1: Marilyn Monroe , for all the reasons detailed in that weeklong series! June 2: Betty Freeman , whose philanthropic support of c...

Happy Esther Forbes Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html?m=1

June Nominees June 1: Marilyn Monroe , for all the reasons detailed in that weeklong series! June 2: Betty Freeman , whose philanthropic support of c...

Happy Emma Goldman Day, Helen Keller Day, and Lucille Clifton Day! Ain’t that the best of America?

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html?m=1

June Nominees June 1: Marilyn Monroe , for all the reasons detailed in that weeklong series! June 2: Betty Freeman , whose philanthropic support of c...

Happy James Meredith Day! La lucha continua.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html?m=1

June Nominees June 1: Marilyn Monroe , for all the reasons detailed in that weeklong series! June 2: Betty Freeman , whose philanthropic support of c...

Happy Henry Ward Beecher Day and Ambrose Bierce Day!

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html

Happy Billy Wilder Day! Nobody’s perfect, but a very worthy nominee nonetheless.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html?m=1

June Nominees June 1: Marilyn Monroe , for all the reasons detailed in that weeklong series! June 2: Betty Freeman , whose philanthropic support of c...

Happy Reinhold Niebuhr Day! The irony of American history indeed.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html

Happy Charles Chesnutt Day! There's time enough, but none to spare.

http://memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/june-nominees.html

The crowd-sourced conclusion to my annual Beach Reads series is always a favorite post for the year, and boy did this one not disappoint. So many great suggestions of authors & works to carry in the beach/pool bag!

http://americanstudier.blogspot.com/2022/06/june-18-19-2022-crowd-sourced-beach.html

So one last request: what Beach Reads would you add to what's gonna be a really great crowd-sourced weekend post? Authors and works, childhood favs and current obsessions, share 'em all, please!