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March 14, 2023

Finding Pluck: The Origins of “Who We Are Now”

The following is a guest blog post by Michelle Fishburne, author of Who We Are Now: Stories of What Americans Lost and Found during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which is on-sale today, everywhere books are sold. Who We Are Now is a collection of 100 first-person stories about people’s lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, gathered as Michelle Fishburne motor-homed 12,000 miles… Continue Reading Finding Pluck: The Origins of “Who We Are Now”

Categories Guest Bloggers
January 16, 2023

Reliving King’s Dream

The following is a guest post by Daniel T. Fleming, author of Living the Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. On January 20, 1986, the United States celebrated the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Half a million people filled the streets of downtown Atlanta as the inaugural King Day parade moved along Peachtree Street and… Continue Reading Reliving King’s Dream

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers
November 16, 2022

A Fresh Look at the History of Pecan Pie

The following is a guest blog post by Rebecca Sharpless, author of Grain and Fire: A History of Baking in the American South, available now wherever books are sold.             Come Thanksgiving, pecan pie, a gooey concoction of syrup, eggs, and butter, and pecans, will be on many American tables. Along with pumpkin and apple, it’s one of the most popular… Continue Reading A Fresh Look at the History of Pecan Pie

Categories Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers/Southern
October 18, 2022

The Overturning of Roe v. Wade and A History of Sexual Violence Towards Women of Color, Black Women, Indigenous Women, and Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People.

The following is a guest post by Bernadine Marie Hernández, author of Border Bodies: Racialized Sexuality, Sexual Capital, and Violence in the Nineteenth-Century Borderland, available wherever books are sold. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed the constitutional right to abortion. On June 7, 2022, my book about the sexual… Continue Reading The Overturning of Roe v. Wade and A History of Sexual Violence Towards Women of Color, Black Women, Indigenous Women, and Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People.

Categories Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Women's Studies
October 14, 2022

C. Vann Woodward and the Beginning of the End of Jim Crow’s Career in the SHA: Part 1

The following is part one of a two-part guest blog post by James. C. Cobb, author of C. Vann Woodward: America’s Historian, available now from your favorite bookstore. When C. Vann Woodward agreed to chair the program committee for the annual meeting of the Southern Historical Association in 1949, he was already known not only for his scholarship, but for his… Continue Reading C. Vann Woodward and the Beginning of the End of Jim Crow’s Career in the SHA: Part 1

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Guest Bloggers/Southern
September 20, 2022

The Theatrical Origins of Eddie Murphy’s Mr. Wong

The following is a guest blog post by Josephine Lee, author of Oriental, Black, and White: The Formation of Racial Habits in American Theater, available now wherever books are sold. Much like the 1996 comedy The Nutty Professor, the 2007 Norbit served as a star vehicle for Eddie Murphy’s impersonations. Murphy played both the nebbish Norbit and Rasputia, his tyrannical wife (the latter complete with… Continue Reading The Theatrical Origins of Eddie Murphy’s Mr. Wong

Categories African American Studies/Asian American Studies/Guest Bloggers/Theatre & Performing Arts
September 13, 2022

Archival Research in China and Myanmar before the Doors Closed

The following is a guest blog post by Zach Fredman, author of The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941–1949, available now wherever books and e-books are sold. I spent more than year in Asia researching The Tormented Alliance as a PhD student. My search for sources took me to municipal and provincial archives from all areas of China… Continue Reading Archival Research in China and Myanmar before the Doors Closed

Categories Asian Studies/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Guest Bloggers/Military History
August 25, 2022

Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Coca Cola Scenario”

Sunday, August 28, we celebrate the anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. In the following guest post, Daniel T. Fleming, author of Living the Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day—available NOW wherever books and e-books are sold—writes about the history surrounding the copyright of the… Continue Reading Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Coca Cola Scenario”

Categories African American History/Guest Bloggers
August 24, 2022

“Black Faces, White Spaces” Now Available as an Audiobook

Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors by Carolyn Finney is now available as an audiobook from Audible, Libro.fm, and Kobo. . Praise for Black Faces, White Spaces: “Makes a clear case for the dominant culture’s habitual (though, sometimes unwitting) rejection of African Americans.”—Library Journal, starred review “Weaving scholarly analysis with interviews of… Continue Reading “Black Faces, White Spaces” Now Available as an Audiobook

Categories African American Studies/Audiobooks/Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers
August 3, 2022

Who Works for Whom? Asian/Asian American Characters in Green Book

The following is a guest blog post by Josephine Lee, author of Oriental, Black, and White: The Formation of Racial Habits in American Theater, available for pre-order and on sale September 2022. Oriental, Black, and White focuses on how nineteenth and early twentieth century American theater featured Chinese, Indian, and other “oriental” characters played by both Black and white actors. These stock… Continue Reading Who Works for Whom? Asian/Asian American Characters in Green Book

Categories Asian Studies/Film/Guest Bloggers/Theatre & Performing Arts
July 13, 2022

The Academic Beach Read: An Oxymoron?

The following is a guest blog post by Steve Estes author of Surfing the South: The Search for Waves and the People Who Ride Them, available wherever books and ebooks are sold. As the weather warms and the kids get out of school, perhaps you are daydreaming about the beach. If you’re lucky, maybe you live at the beach or… Continue Reading The Academic Beach Read: An Oxymoron?

Categories Guest Bloggers
June 7, 2022

What Ever Happened to Sheppard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townsend?

The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading What Ever Happened to Sheppard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townsend?

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Guest Bloggers/History
May 24, 2022

Let’s Stop Calling Him ‘Beast’

The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading Let’s Stop Calling Him ‘Beast’

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Guest Bloggers/History
April 18, 2022

Richard Strand’s Play, “Ben Butler”

The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading Richard Strand’s Play, “Ben Butler”

Categories Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Guest Bloggers/History
March 30, 2022

Colin Powell’s funeral was a missed opportunity for the country

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah J. Purcell, author of Spectacle of Grief: Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era, reposted from the Washington Post. This illuminating book examines how the public funerals of major figures from the Civil War era shaped public memories of the war and allowed a diverse set of people to contribute to changing… Continue Reading Colin Powell’s funeral was a missed opportunity for the country

Categories Civil War/Guest Bloggers/History
March 29, 2022

Reciprocity Runs in Riddims

The following is a guest blog post by Larisa Kingston Mann, author of Rude Citizenship: Jamaican Popular Music, Copyright, and the Reverberations of Colonial Power. In this deep dive into the Jamaican music world filled with the voices of creators, producers, and consumers, Larisa Kingston Mann—DJ, media law expert, and ethnographer—identifies how a culture of collaboration lies at the heart… Continue Reading Reciprocity Runs in Riddims

Categories Guest Bloggers/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Law / Legal History/Music
March 7, 2022

What is the future of DNA ancestry testing in Brazil?

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah Abel, author of Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a… Continue Reading What is the future of DNA ancestry testing in Brazil?

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/History of Science/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Political Science
February 21, 2022

Marked by the Past

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah Abel, author of Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a… Continue Reading Marked by the Past

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers/History of Science/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Political Science
February 16, 2022

The Song Remains (Mostly) the Same: Relicts of a Beautiful Sea, Eight Years Later

The following is a guest blog post by Christopher Norment, author of Relicts of a Beautiful Sea: Survival, Extinction, and Conservation in a Desert World. Along a tiny spring in a narrow canyon near Death Valley, seemingly against all odds, an Inyo Mountain slender salamander makes its home. “The desert,” writes conservation biologist Christopher Norment, “is defined by the absence… Continue Reading The Song Remains (Mostly) the Same: Relicts of a Beautiful Sea, Eight Years Later

Categories Environmental Studies/Guest Bloggers/Natural History
February 10, 2022

How Searching for Chex Mix during the Pandemic Heightened my Appreciation for Food Studies

The following is a guest blog post from Jennifer Jensen Wallach, author of Every Nation Has Its Dish: Black Bodies and Black Food in Twentieth-Century America. Jennifer Jensen Wallach’s nuanced history of black foodways across the twentieth century challenges traditional narratives of “soul food” as a singular style of historical African American cuisine. Wallach investigates the experiences and diverse convictions… Continue Reading How Searching for Chex Mix during the Pandemic Heightened my Appreciation for Food Studies

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers