December 2-3, 2023: November 2023 Recap

[A Recapof the month that was in AmericanStudying.]

October30: Contested Elections: 1800: For the 75th anniversary of“Dewey Defeats Truman,” a series on contested elections starts with the momentthat definitely changed things in Early Republic America, and how itfortunately didn’t.

October31: Contested Elections: 1824: The series continues with a contested andcontroversial election that frustratingly foreshadows our own moment twohundred years later.

November1: Contested Elections: 1948: For that anniversary, on a couple significantAmericanStudies contexts for the 1948 election beyond the headlines.

November2: Contested Elections: 1960: Two clearly important factors in one of ourclosest elections ever and one more ambiguous one, as the series votes on.

November3: Contested Elections: 2000: The series concludes with three frustratingand continuing aftermaths of the most hotly contested presidential election inour history.

November6: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: 2010 Origins: For this year’s bloganniversary series, I highlighted key moments in my development as a publicAmericanStudier, starting with when and how this blog got started!

November7: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: The Historical Society in 2013: Theseries continues with my 2013 connections to a key online public scholarlyconnection and community.

November8: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Talking Points Memo in 2014: A viralpiece that launched my first public scholarly column and changed everything forme, as the series reflects on.

November9: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Saturday Evening Post in 2018: What mylongest-running and best online public scholarly gig has helped me think aboutand do.

November10: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: #ScholarSunday Threads in 2020: HowI’ve tried to build public scholarly community and solidarity through anothernew area of work.

November11: 13 Years (!) of AmericanStudying: Influential Folks: The seriesconcludes with a handful of the many folks who have been instrumental to myevolving career.

November11-12: Kyle Lockwood’s Guest Post: Exploration and the Human Spirit: Andhere’s another great anniversary series conclusion, a Guest Post from a recentFSU English Studies alum!

November13: AmericanStudying the Blues: Scott Joplin: For W.C. Handy’s 150thbirthday, a BluesStudying series kicks off with the composer who helped startit all.

November14: AmericanStudying the Blues: Robert Johnson: The series continues withone reason I really like the Devil folktale, and one way I’d push back.

November15: AmericanStudying the Blues: Billie Holliday: AmericanStudies takeawaysfrom the two versions of Lady Sings theBlues, as the series sings on.

November16: AmericanStudying the Blues: W.C. Handy: Three texts through which wecan trace the legacy of the “Father of the Blues” on his 150thbirthday.

November17: AmericanStudying the Blues: Five More Icons: That’s just the tip of theBluesStudying iceberg, so here are quick compelling stories for five moregreats.

November18: AmericanStudying the Blues: 21st Century Artists: The seriesconcludes with one telling song from five artists who are carrying thetradition into the 21st century.

November19-20: Sandra Hamilton’s Guest Post on the Blues in American Culture: AndI’m so excited to have Guest Posts from two FSU English Studies Majors thismonth, including this one from current student and future professional writerSandra Hamilton!

November20: Thankful for Scholarly Communities: Fitchburg State: For my annualThanks-giving series, I wanted to focus on scholarly communities for which I’mthankful, starting with two talks this Fall at my home institution of FSU.

November21: Thankful for Scholarly Communities: Freedom Over Fascism Podcast: TheThanks continue with a podcast to which I was excited to return for a secondconversation this Fall.

November22: Thankful for Scholarly Communities: 9 Online Conference: Virtualconferences have meant a great deal to me in the last few years, and I was veryproud to share my current book project with this conference on baseballhistory.

November23: Thankful for Scholarly Communities: Black in Boston & Beyond Podcast:The second scholarly podcast to which I made a return visit this Fall, as theseries thanks on.

November24: Thankful for Scholarly Communities: U of Buffalo’s English Department:I was honored to give a lecture this Fall for the University of Buffalo’sJuxtapositions series!

November25-26: My Biggest Thanks-giving: The series concludes with three of thecountless ways in which my scholarship (like my life in every sense) has beeninspired by my sons.

November27: Gun Control Histories: The Constitution and Framing Era: For the BradyBill’s 30th anniversary, a GunControlStudying series starts where ithas to start.

November28: Gun Control Histories: Myths, Realities, and the 2012 Election: Theseries continues with the developing gun lobby myths around guns in America.

November29: Gun Control Histories: Parkland: What wasn’t new at all and what definitelywas about a 2018 school shooting and its aftermaths, as the series rolls on.

November30: Gun Control Histories: The Brady Bill: For the 30thanniversary of its passage, six figures who together helped move that groundbreakinglegislation forward.

December1: Gun Control Histories: Jim Jefferies: The series concludes with two ofthe many great arguments in a comic case for gun control.

Nextseries starts Monday,

Ben

PS. Topicsyou’d like to see covered in this space? Guest Posts you’d like to contribute? Lemme know!