August is here, & with it my 287th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

#ScholarSunday Thread 287 (8/2/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

August is here, & with it my 287th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share as widely ...

blackwhiteandread.com

I'm curious about what my fellow U.S. historians think about this essay. For me, it makes a compelling argument and goes hand-in-hand with recent efforts to refer to the Union Army as the "U.S. Army." #skystorians www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...

Opinion | The ‘Civil War’ Is a Lie. Let’s Call It the ‘Slaveholders’ Rebellion’ Again. (Gift Article)

To face our own history, we must be honest about it.

nytimes.com

We’re accepting pitches for our series on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. We welcome new authors! Send us your pitch about what changed because of 9/11. Syllabi and assignments are also encouraged. 🗃️#academicsky

Clio and the Contemporary@cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 6mo ago

We welcome pitches from historians and scholars in related fields on how 9/11 changed the United States and the world. Part of our 2026 anniversary series, this sub-series on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 will roll out in September. Follow the link below to send us your pitch. #skystorians

I teach LGBTQ Studies. In one class, the final assignment was that students had to make a zine. A real physical zine, not a digital one. In another class -- a research methods class -- I've started to hand them printed-out readings. Students annotate the readings -- by hand -- for a grade.

As next school year draws closer (eek), I'm curious to hear an update on your anti-AI defenses, if you're teaching? Policies, sure, but also how you're redesigning assignments and building guardrails. I might write something about all this.

Live from Philly, where both LeBron & I took our talents this week (although I'm headed back to Boston later today), here’s my 286th #ScholarSunday thread of great writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ +

#ScholarSunday Thread 286 (7/26/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

Live from Philly, where both LeBron & I took our talents this week, here’s my 286th #ScholarSunday thread of great writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add mor...

blackwhiteandread.com

I wasn't planning to see The Odyssey because I was so mad about how egregiously Nolan explored similar themes in Oppenheimer, but my best friend (a Classics prof) encouraged me to see it, and I'm so glad she did. I loved it, and I finally realized why I hated Opp so much, so I wrote about both:

A Classicist-Turned-Film-Scholar's Take on The Odyssey (2026) – Black and White and Read All Over

A Disciplinary Approach to The Odyssey (2026)

blackwhiteandread.com

Blue Bottle Games, as a policy, does not use generative AI. It's something we've discussed as a team, weighing the pros and cons, and ultimately, we decided it was not for us. Recently, while chatting with a colleague, she mentioned it was useful hearing our reasoning. So: Sharing time! 1/12

Ted Forsyth encourages historians to become more fluent in open records policies. This detailed and accessible guide demystifies New York State's FOIL process from initial inquiry to appeals. #academia 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/07/23/f...

FOIL it and Find Out! A Guide to Submitting Open Records Requests in New York State and Why it is Important

Open records laws empower anyone to request information from local, state, and federal government agencies.

clioandthecontemporary.com

Moon missions are grounded not only in technologies, but in the social and political realities of their time. Comparing Apollo and #Artemis eras, @drtylerpeterson.bsky.social draws throughlines of turmoil and innovation. 🗃️

Reflecting on Apollo in the Age of Artemis

The recent Artemis II launch reminds us that moon missions are grounded not only in technologies, but in the social and political realities of their time.

clioandthecontemporary.com

Looking for a few #skystorians interested in writing a film/tv review for @cliocontemporary.bsky.social. Ideas include the remake of “Little House on the Prairie” (Netflix) and “Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Happiness” (HBO). Message me or the Clio account to discuss.

MLB is like the Democratic Party in that they’re deeply concerned about popularity and all their actions seem to be aimed at capturing some mythical person who has never become a baseball fan and will probably never become a baseball fan meanwhile baseball fans are yelling PLEASE JUST PLAY BASEBALL

My latest for Truthout about ICE killing Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in their vehicles: ICE Keeps Killing Immigrants in Cars It Claims Were “Weaponized” Against Agents truthout.org/articles/ice...

ICE Keeps Killing Immigrants in Cars It Claims Were “Weaponized” Against Agents

Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a father of a young daughter in Biddeford, Maine, is the second man ICE has killed in six days.

truthout.org

Is there a recent piece anywhere on senior historians writing really bad books? And has anyone talked about this getting more common (especially as jobs have disappeared for younger scholars)?

Here it is, my 284th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

#ScholarSunday Thread 284 (7/12/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

Here it is, my 284th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy,...

blackwhiteandread.com

Despite a renowned career as a writer and activist, #UptonSinclair lacks a museum in his honor. His biographer @helenaluna.bsky.social reflects on Sinclair's legacy, the importance of #publichistory sites, and the role of historic homes in shaping public memory. 🗃️

Almost Forgotten: Upton Sinclair, Historical Homes, and Memory

Despite a renowned career as a writer and activist, Upton Sinclair lacks a museum in his honor. His home in California would make an ideal house museum. His biographer reflects on Sinclair’s …

clioandthecontemporary.com

Two fantastic resources from @davidjustice.bsky.social: the first is a syllabus for a survey of US History, 2000-2015. Key topics include the War on Terror, culture-war battlegrounds, neoliberalism, and the expansion of the Internet. #syllabus #history 🗃️

The 2000s—Syllabus

This course is a survey of US History from 2000 to 2015. It examines the US through political, social, cultural, economic, and diplomatic lenses. Students will learn about major historical developm…

clioandthecontemporary.com

"Norway is imposing a near ban on the use of generative AI tools by elementary school pupils while also restricting their ​use in the education of older children to prevent a ‌negative impact on learning" Sometimes, good policymaking is incredibly simple. www.reuters.com/technology/n...

Norway imposes near ban on AI in elementary school

Norway is imposing a near ban on the use of generative AI tools by elementary school pupils while also restricting their ​use in the education of older children to prevent a ‌negative impact on learni...

reuters.com

Four years ago, a coordinated right-wing smear campaign condemned Monticello for "going woke." Bridget Gillespie was working there at the time, and she gives this revelatory inside account of the harassment staff endured and ultimately how the institution buckled. Amazing piece.

What Broke Monticello - The American Prospect

How a right-wing smear campaign tried to silence the reality of Thomas Jefferson’s life, and in some ways succeeded.

prospect.org

Fifty years after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, questions raised by student resistance remain unresolved. Samantha Nyakundi argues that recent movements like #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall recall broader historical struggles for liberation in South Africa. 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/06/30/1...

The 1976 Soweto Uprising, the Black Consciousness Movement and the Politics of Student Protest in South Africa

Fifty years after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, many of the questions raised by student resistance remain unresolved. Recent movements like #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall draw from broader historica…

clioandthecontemporary.com

Drawing from examples across the world, @cirapalliaspero.bsky.social shows how historical commissions function as state-sponsored public history initiatives that negotiate contested national pasts. 🗃️ clioandthecontemporary.com/2026/06/22/p...

Rewriting the Past in Public: Historical Commissions and Public History

Recently in France, debates on the legacies of colonialism have gained renewed political traction. This has taken the form of a series of state-led joint historical commissions addressing the colon…

clioandthecontemporary.com

Fifty years ago, Laverne & Shirley debuted as the first blue-collar "single-girl" sitcom. Historian Kate Flach discusses its contribution to the genre and how it reflected a particular moment in American history. #TV #history #1970s 🗃️

Making Our Dreams Come True?: A Retrospective on Laverne & Shirley and the “Single-Girl” Sitcom

Fifty years ago, Laverne & Shirley debuted as the first blue-collar “single-girl” sitcom. The series’ anniversary provides an opportunity to discuss its contribution to the genre an…

clioandthecontemporary.com

"So ... so I said ... why not sign your treaty here, at Versailles?"

Check out our new guide to digital #archives that deal with sensitive material, written by archivists Virginia Dressler & @amaliasl.bsky.social. They explore 9 archives and their attempts to navigate ethical issues, such as representation of marginalized communities. 🗃️

Using Digital Archives to Engage Students, Part II: Accessing and Using Sensitive Material Online

Ethical access to digital archives includes issues of privacy, sensitive content, and ethical representation of marginalized communities. This piece examines nine digital archives and their attempt…

clioandthecontemporary.com

This Day in Labor History: June 16, 1918. Eugene Debs gave a speech in Canton, Ohio, criticizing American actions in World War I and urging resistance to the draft. Two weeks later, Debs was arrested under the Espionage Act and charged with ten counts of sedition. Let's talk about the Red Scare!

On this day in 1970, police opened fire on a crowd of students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, killing two students and injuring dozens more.

May 15, 1970 | Mississippi Police Open Fire on Crowd of Students, Killing Two

Learn more about our history of racial injustice.

calendar.eji.org

*laughs in archivist* It always amuses me at how little historical material is actually not only digitized but also made available online compared to what lay people think.

When I see historians using gAI to read, think or write (mercifully few in my circles), I admit to feeling a great deal of contempt. How can you be so uncritical that you do not see the labor implications of gAI for our already-wounded profession? Or who owns/runs these tech companies?

Erin Grievances@erinbartram.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"This will transform historical research!" Cool but it's already being transformed out of existence by the same forces pushing these transformative technologies. Forgive us if we're skeptical of a moment that's telling us "This will help you do your work--which we despise--faster and better."

My favorite story about Ted Turner is that on his first date with Jane Fonda, he (a millionaire) proudly announced “I have friends who are Communists.” Less remembered than he ought to be as both a visionary and a philanthropist, may he rest in peace.

If any historians want to suffer through the Florida Man Version of AP History, here's the document: