Benjamin A. Railton's Blog, page 333

January 1, 2015: End of Year Stories: Ferguson

[While I don’t consistently cover current events in this space, I do try when I can to connect the histories, stories, and issues on which I focus to our contemporary moment. But sometimes it’s important to flip that script, and to contextualize some of those contemporary connections. So this week, I’ll do that with five ongoing American stories. I’d love to hear your thoughts, on them and on any other current stories!]On two reasons why the ongoing conflict in Missouri is nothing new—and one why it is.In the spring and summer of 1917, white residents of East St. Louis, Illinois repeatedly rampaged through the city’s African American communities, attacking citizens, burning homes to the ground, and generally brutalizing and terrorizing the city’s African American population. The massacres (euphemistically dubbed “race riots” in the national media, mostly in order to deflect the blame onto the boogeyman of African American “rioters”) were one of many such events in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; from Wilmington(NC) in 1898 to Tulsa(OK) in 1921, and many others in between and after, again and again African American communities were brutalized and terrorized by white mobs. I would argue that we can’t begin to understand the events unfolding in a different East St. Louis (location of the troubled community of Ferguson, Missouri) until and unless we better remember these repeated massacres.Earlier this fall, a tree was planted outside the U.S. Capitol in long-overdue remembrance of Emmett Till, the young African American boy from Chicago who was brutally lynched in Mississippiin August, 1955. Only a few days later, yet another unarmed African American child was shot and killed—this one, Tamir Rice, was playing with a BB gun when he was shot and killed by police responding to a 911 call warning of a black “man” with a “gun” (it seems to me that both of those terms need the scare quotes). It’s nearly impossible to keep track of how many young African American men (mostly) have been killed in the last year or two; most by police, although of course there are the Trayvon Martins and Jordan Davis’s in the mix as well. So when the African American community in and around Ferguson responds with outrage and anger to the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson, it’s important to remember that they are also responding to this much broader, decades-old and still entirely ongoing history of repeated such killings, in- and outside of the “law.”Yet while Ferguson is thus deeply and thoroughly contextualized in longstanding American histories, I would also argue that it has the opportunity to represent something new: a site of profound communal conversation about and activism in response to those histories. I wrote earlier this fall about the role that social media has played in such conversations and activisms, and would reiterate that point here. But I’m also thinking, for another example, about this wonderful post by my friend and Guest Poster Robert Greene II at the U.S. Intellectual History blog. On the streets, on social media, and in the blogosphere, among many other interconnected sites and spaces, events like those in Ferguson are being connected and contextualized, linked by a wide and deep variety of voices to any number of salient histories and stories, issues and ideas. Do such connections and conversations have the ability to change things? We’ll see—but the question itself illustrates this new side to familiar histories.Last current story tomorrow,Ben
PS. What do you think? Other current events you’d highlight?

December 31, 2014: End of Year Stories: The Immigration Debate

[While I don’t consistently cover current events in this space, I do try when I can to connect the histories, stories, and issues on which I focus to our contemporary moment. But sometimes it’s important to flip that script, and to contextualize some of those contemporary connections. So this week, I’ll do that with five ongoing American stories. I’d love to hear your thoughts, on them and on any other current stories!]On two pieces of mine that have contributed to an unfolding debate.In late November, President Obama announced perhaps the most controversial single policy of his presidency to date: his plan for addressing the interconnected issues of illegal immigration, deportations of undocumented immigrant parents, border security, and more. As someone who’s hoping and working to become an AmericanStudies public scholar, contributing to our national conversations and collective memories around precisely such issues, and someone who’s most recent book focused overtly on immigration in American history and culture, this felt like a very significant moment. And I’m proud to say that I was able to add my voice and ideas to those conversations, in one particularly striking and one smaller but still I believe meaningful way:1)      The striking effort was this post on the Talking Points Memo (TPM) website. As of this writing (on November 23rd), the post has received just under 70,000 views, more than 31,000 Facebook likes, and has become one of TPM’s most viewed and shared stories in months. While I’d love to take all the credit for that success (along with my colleagues at the Scholars Strategy Network who helped me place the piece), I believe it was due at least as much to perfect timing as to anything in my writing and ideas. And I’d say that’s been a vital public scholarly lesson I’m continuing to learn—to put myself and my work in position to capitalize on things like timing and opportunity, rather than waiting for audience or conversation to come to me.2)      The smaller effort (in terms of my contribution, not the piece overall) was this collectively authored post on the new U.S. version of The Conversation. My own contribution was a concise version of the TPM post, which is the only reason I’m describing it as smaller. Because in truth, one of the most vital parts of public scholarship is (no pun intended) conversation, putting our own voice and ideas in dialogue with all those around us, which certainly includes our fellow scholars such as the great group who contributed to that post. As these immigration debates unfold, I believe it’ll be vitally important for many such scholarly voices to take part, and I’m excited and honored to be among those who have had the chance to do so. Next current story tomorrow,Ben
PS. What do you think? Other current events you’d highlight?

December 30, 2014: End of Year Stories: Bill Cosby

[While I don’t consistently cover current events in this space, I do try when I can to connect the histories, stories, and issues on which I focus to our contemporary moment. But sometimes it’s important to flip that script, and to contextualize some of those contemporary connections. So this week, I’ll do that with five ongoing American stories. I’d love to hear your thoughts, on them and on any other current stories!]On two ways to AmericanStudy the dark story of a celebrity’s alleged crimes.As with the stories of sexual assault at UVa on which I focused in yesterday’s post, I’ve followed the unfolding (if, of course, far from new) stories of Bill Cosby’s alleged serial rapes and sexual assaults with horror and anger. Most of them are outside of the statute of limitations on the alleged crimes and can never be brought to trial, so it’s entirely possible (at least as of this late November writing) that the story will linger for months or years with no closure, no possibility of resolution unless some sort of definitive proof emerges (unlikely) or Cosby confesses (even less likely). As such, the ongoing coverage of the story might seem like a sort of sleazy rubbernecking; but I would push back on that narrative, not only because it’s insulting to the alleged victims and their voices, but also because there are other important American contexts through which to analyze the issue.One of those contexts has already been partially covered by one of our most thoughtful and talented contemporary public intellectuals, Ta-Nehisi Coates. In a powerful mea culpa about his own failure to pursue sufficiently the longstanding stories of Cosby’s assaults, Coates also engaged with the reason why he had been covering Cosby in the first place: Cosby’s speaking tour of African American communities, offering what have come to be known as “call-outs” that demand personal and shared responsibility and accountability of the members of those communities. It’s easy, and not wrong, to note that if Cosby is guilty of even a few of the many crimes of which he has been accused, such call-outs were profoundly hypocritical. But I would also take a step back to note the broader problem with these call-outs (one about which Coates has also written eloquently): that they demand that the African American community not include the same criminals that are present in every human community and society, ask African Americans to be “twice as good” as the rest of their fellow Americans and people. Every group—even our most beloved entertainers—has its share of criminals as well as heroes, and every type in between.Cosby isn’t just part of the entertainment or African American communities, however; he’s also been for many decades the most famous representative of another group, Temple University alumni. As someone who received his PhD in English from Temple University (in 2005), I can attest to the enduring presence of Cosby on campus, not only in images and narratives but in his continuing active role on the university’s Board of Trustees. As that linked story indicates, as of this writing Temple has not decided whether to remove Cosby from that Board, and I don’t blame them for the hesitation—Cosby has been not only that most prominent representative of the university, but a longstanding and very significant supporter of its community and efforts in any number of ways. Of course no university wants to be associated with an alleged serial rapist; yet the sad but definite truth is that no university, and especially no public university, can afford in 2014 to quickly sever ties with one of its most prominent financial supporters. I imagine at some point Temple will do so—and at that point, ironically but to my mind undoubtedly, the university’s future stability will take a hit.Next current story tomorrow,Ben
PS. What do you think? Other current events you’d highlight?

December 29, 2014: End of Year Stories: Fraternity Rapes

[While I don’t consistently cover current events in this space, I do try when I can to connect the histories, stories, and issues on which I focus to our contemporary moment. But sometimes it’s important to flip that script, and to contextualize some of those contemporary connections. So this week, I’ll do that with five ongoing American stories. I’d love to hear your thoughts, on them and on any other current stories!]On the tragic and horrifying story that puts two of my earlier posts in a very different light.You don’t have to have grown up in Charlottesville or have a parent who teaches at the University of Virginia (and many friends who attended the university as well) to have been deeply affected by the unfolding coverage of both recent and longstanding stories of sexual assault in UVa’s fraternities and campus community—but those personal connections have only added another layer to my horror, sadness, and anger at reading and following those stories. As I write this in late November, the university has suspended all fraternity activites until at least early January, so it’s fair to say that this story will continue to unfold into the new year. But it also has made me rethink a couple of my own blog posts from a Cville-inspired series earlier this fall.In the first of that week’s posts, I highlighted some of the striking and even shocking stories of student misbehavior in the early days of Mr. Jefferson’s University, making the case that current critiques of student excesses fail to recognize how much such issues have been a part of college communities and life for centuries. That may well be the case, but what does it mean when it comes to these horrific stories of campus sexual violence (which are of course not at all unique to Virginia’s campus)? Are we to think (as the initial Rolling Stone story on Virginia, linked above under “at reading and following,” argued) that such violence has been part of the campus community and its fraternity system for at least decades, if not indeed centuries? Has it gotten worse in recent years, as depicted in many narratives of college party life and hookup cultures? I don’t pretend to know (and as always welcome your thoughts and perspectives in comments), but it does seem clear that there are pressing contemporary reasons to think about the histories of our college campuses and communities.In the last of that week’s Cville posts, I engaged with an issue that relates closely to Virginia’s fraternity system: the culture of hazing, and how we understand and analyze it. In that post I tried to sympathize with the subjects of such hazings, noting that I had been one myself in high school. But any argument that those subjects are victims is hugely complicated, indeed contradicted, by one of the most horrific details of the Rolling Stone story—that in the case of the young woman at the heart of that story, her gang rape represented precisely such a hazing ritual, one in which the hazed subjects participated in sexually assaulting her (including in one case with a bottle). Whatever we think about peer pressure and its related effects, it’s impossible for me to imagine any scenario in which a rapist isn’t entirely culpable for his actions—and it’s important for me to make clear that my nuanced post and overall position on hazing doesn’t in any way mitigate these students’ culpability for such behavior and crimes.Next current story tomorrow,Ben
PS. What do you think? Other current events you’d highlight?

PPS. As I'm sure most readers will already know, the UVa story has taken a striking turn since I wrote this post, with Rolling Stone's semi-retraction of their original story. That development certainly indicates that the story will continue to unfold--but does not, I would argue, change the broader points with which I'm engaged in this post (if it does of course impact specific details, such as whether that story's protagonist was gang-raped as part of a hazing ritual).

December 27-28, 2014: A Birthday Wish

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I shared five authors I wish all Americans had the chance to read, leading up to this birthday wish for my favorite author.]On Sunday, the Mother of All AmericanStudiers—well, no, but of this AmericanStudier—celebrates her birthday. Since she retired from her inspiring career in early childhood education one year ago, she’s done a lot—but one of the main things is work hard on her first novel. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a combination mystery, young adult novel, and work of social and psychological realism, one that features three hugely distinct but all equally well-drawn and compelling main characters. I’m not sure yet where it will go and what its final destinations and paths might look like, but I know it will be a book that every American (and person) would benefit from reading. So AmericanStudies Elves, I’ll end this series with a wish that my Mom’s book finds the home and audience it very much deserves—and when it does, you can be assured you’ll hear about it in this space!Next series starts Monday,Ben
PS. Other wishes you’d share?

December 26, 2014: AmericanWishing: My Colleagues and Students

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I’ll be sharing five texts I wish all Americans had the chance to read. I’d love to hear about your wishlists as well!]I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight, in a series asking us to read great writers, the works of some of my colleagues and students. I’m lucky enough to work with many, many talented folks, and these are just a few:1)      Dr. Steve Edwards2)      Dr. DeMisty Bellinger-Delfeld3)      Dr. Elise Takehana4)      Dr. Heather Urbanski5)      Detour , an online magazine written, edited, and produced entirely by FSU students;6)      And the blog of Harrison Chute, one of our graduating English Studies majors.Man, I’m just surrounded by great writing and writers. Can’t wish for better community than that!Special post and wish this weekend,Ben
PS. What would you wish for?

December 25, 2014: AmericanWishing: Dorothy Day’s Writings

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I’ll be sharing five texts I wish all Americans had the chance to read. I’d love to hear about your wishlists as well!]As I wrote in this post nominating her for the Hall of Inspiration, I can’t think of any Americans whose “life and legacy are more truly Christian,” as I (admittedly not a practicioner of that faith) would define the concept, than Dorothy Day. Whatever our individual beliefs or communities, Christianity—in both its worstand best forms—has had a profound impact on American society and culture. And there’s no better body of texts to read to engage with the best forms and their impacts than Day’s collected writings. If you’re looking for some Christmas Day reading, I can’t think of a better choice.Last wish tomorrow,Ben
PS. What would you wish for?

December 24, 2014: AmericanWishing: Chesnutt’s “Wife”

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I’ll be sharing five texts I wish all Americans had the chance to read. I’d love to hear about your wishlists as well!]As Charles Dickens captured so perfectly, the holidays are often a time for reflection and introspection, for measuring our hopes and ideals against our choices and realities. As Scrooge illustrates, those reflections tend to connect not only to ourselves, but to others in our lives, and perhaps especially those we have lost or hurt. Yet Scrooge’s story also reminds us that it’s never too late to make things right, or at least make them better—and so too does one of my favorite short stories by one of my favorite authors, Charles Chesnutt’s “The Wife of His Youth.” A good Christmas Eve read!Next wish tomorrow,Ben
PS. What would you wish for?

December 23, 2014: AmericanWishing: Melville’s “Paradise”

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I’ll be sharing five texts I wish all Americans had the chance to read. I’d love to hear about your wishlists as well!]I’ve written before about Herman Melville’s two-part short story “The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids.” But in this time of ever-increasing economic and social stratification and inequality, when the holidays and the wishes—like the worlds and lives—of those at the top and the bottom of our society’s structure seem to exist in different universes, I can think of few works more worth our attention than this story of two such contrasting communities, seemingly as far apart figuratively as they are literally, but perhaps more linked than we care to imagine. Next wish tomorrow,Ben
PS. What would you wish for?

December 22, 2014: AmericanWishing: Lee's “The Gift”

[As I’ve done each of the last few years, I wanted to spend this holiday week sharing some wishes for the AmericanStudies Elves. For this year’s, I’ll be sharing five texts I wish all Americans had the chance to read. I’d love to hear about your wishlists as well!]No matter what the holiday season means to each of us, I have to believe that family (however we define that complicated and crucial community) is a central part of it for everyone. And I don’t know of a work of American literature that more succinctly, poignantly, and perfectly captures the gifts we get from and give to family than Li-Young Lee’s “The Gift.” Check it out, AmericanStudier family (and then check out this video of Lee discussing and reading his poem)!Next wish tomorrow,Ben
PS. What would you wish for?