Contingent Magazine
@contingent-mag.bsky.social
History is for everyone. Every way of doing history is worthwhile. Historians should be paid for their work. www.contingentmagazine.org
“In that moment, what hope did Edwin and his father feel? What shame? When Edwin drank down his sister, did he remember the girl she had been—the one we do not know—or only imagine a fiend?”
Against the Grave
Mercy Brown's tale has always been one of consumption.
contingentmagazine.org
I'm partway through reading this now, and I definitely GASPED when I realized who this piece was about. Excited to finish
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 3w ago"The historical record can only create a woman-shaped grave for Mercy Brown. She only gains a narrative after she dies." Our latest, from Genna Duplisea.
At long last! The first draft of this spilled out of me on a train last October, but I needed months of rewrites to get it to here. I'm incredibly proud of this. Thank you @erinbartram.bsky.social!!
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 3w ago"The historical record can only create a woman-shaped grave for Mercy Brown. She only gains a narrative after she dies." Our latest, from Genna Duplisea.
"The historical record can only create a woman-shaped grave for Mercy Brown. She only gains a narrative after she dies." Our latest, from Genna Duplisea.
Against the Grave
Mercy Brown's tale has always been one of consumption.
contingentmagazine.org
"[Let's] consider one way the cliché is frequently used by white people in the United States: in conversations about the history of enslavement, especially ones about 'Founding Fathers' who enslaved people."
Don't We Have To Judge People By The Standards Of Their Time?
Many who reach for this cliché want it to function as a shield against judgment altogether.
contingentmagazine.org
"America is littered with bogus historical markers, especially those detailing the mythic activities of George Washington and other Founding Fathers. The question becomes, does the insidious logic of the white nation exist within those memorials today?"
We, the Nation, Born Under This Tree
So much converges on the Washington Elm.
contingentmagazine.org
Really great piece with a lot to say for high school educators. The conclusion: “to leave people with ways of thinking about the past that can actually hold up in the world” is something we should think about in our approaches in the classroom.
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · last mo."If history is just what happened, why do you all make it so complicated?" Our latest, from Anna Snyder.
"If history is just what happened, why do you all make it so complicated?" Our latest, from Anna Snyder.
Why Do Historians Complicate Things?
Myth-busting is not enough.
contingentmagazine.org
“. . . it’s not just that most academic writing doesn’t earn you anything—most of the time, it costs you.”
How Much Money Do Historians Make From Their Writing?
In general, academic writing doesn’t earn you anything, and most of the time, it costs you.
contingentmagazine.org
"If history is just what happened, why do you all make it so complicated?" Our latest, from Anna Snyder.
Why Do Historians Complicate Things?
Myth-busting is not enough.
contingentmagazine.org
If you're a donor to the magazine, check the bonus podcast feed to hear Oline Eaton read "Welcome to This Class." If you're not a donor, you can always read the text version on our website or donate today to gain access to all bonus articles and recordings.
Welcome to This Class — audio
Writing & Anger, Spring 2021
contingentmagazine.org
Bonus recording now available to donors, or read the original piece on our website. contingentmagazine.org/2026/06/26/w...
Bonus recording now available to donors, or read the original piece on our website. contingentmagazine.org/2026/06/26/w...
If you're a donor to the magazine, check the bonus podcast feed to hear Oline Eaton read "Welcome to This Class." If you're not a donor, you can always read the text version on our website or donate today to gain access to all bonus articles and recordings.
Welcome to This Class — audio
Writing & Anger, Spring 2021
contingentmagazine.org
“In Shakespeare’s case, that pushback took the form of people doubting how someone of his background (a glovemaker’s son who was grammar school educated at best) could have risen to such literary heights. Essentially, this conspiracy theory is rooted in classism.” There it is.
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 2mo agoBuzz Aldrin had one way of responding to conspiracy theorists. In our latest mailbag, @lornawallace.bsky.social offers some alternate approaches.
We are in mailbag heaven at the magazine this year, and this is the latest and greatest. I would love to hear the conspiracy theories that you encounter when talking about your work with people outside the field. Do you take the same approaches as Lorna?
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 2mo agoBuzz Aldrin had one way of responding to conspiracy theorists. In our latest mailbag, @lornawallace.bsky.social offers some alternate approaches.
Buzz Aldrin had one way of responding to conspiracy theorists. In our latest mailbag, @lornawallace.bsky.social offers some alternate approaches.
How Do Academics Handle Conspiracy Theorists?
Factual evidence rarely changes minds.
contingentmagazine.org
Buzz Aldrin had one way of responding to conspiracy theorists. In our latest mailbag, @lornawallace.bsky.social offers some alternate approaches.
How Do Academics Handle Conspiracy Theorists?
Factual evidence rarely changes minds.
contingentmagazine.org
For some who use “revisionist history” as a pejorative, the idea that history involves inquiry and interpretation is the problem itself.
What Is Revisionist History?
What is revisionist history--and is it dangerous?
contingentmagazine.org
“How did human rights and development—two distinct concepts with unique histories—come to be so intertwined in U.S. foreign policy?”
From the American People
How did human rights and development come to be so intertwined in U.S. foreign policy?
contingentmagazine.org
"The conversations I had with music critics were also a healthy reminder that scholars working in university departments have no monopoly on popular music discourse, to say nothing of intellectual conversation more generally." Grant Wong with a postcard from PopCon (Randy Newman was not invited).
A Postcard from PopCon
“What kinds of sounds are you studying?"
contingentmagazine.org
If you are a donor to the magazine, you can now hear Allison Horrocks read her essay “When John Brown’s Body is Wax” over on our bonus podcast feed.
Assigning this piece for day 1 of my ancient magic course in the fall!
Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · 4mo ago"Brushing off these practices as unscientific implies that 'true' science is, and always has been, unimpeachable. It denies us a chance to examine what flaws may fuel our own ways of thinking." A new mailbag from @wbarlowrobles.bsky.social
". . . turning a blind eye to science’s potential for harm tends to harm marginalized people the most."
They Thought What?
Unpacking the history (and present) of science
contingentmagazine.org
". . . turning a blind eye to science’s potential for harm tends to harm marginalized people the most."
They Thought What?
Unpacking the history (and present) of science
contingentmagazine.org
"Brushing off these practices as unscientific implies that 'true' science is, and always has been, unimpeachable. It denies us a chance to examine what flaws may fuel our own ways of thinking." A new mailbag from @wbarlowrobles.bsky.social
They Thought What?
Unpacking the history (and present) of science
contingentmagazine.org
