Being edited is the best thing that can happen to your writing

I've been quiet for a while but a new project is brewing. I made a Substack about it:

What happens when you throw a cannonball off the second floor in a history class? In #AHAPerspectives, @bryanbanksphd.bsky.social makes the case for incorporating “mnemonic moments” in the classroom. 🗃️

In #AHAPerspectives, get a sneak peek of the March issue of the #AHR, including articles on Indigenous resistance, child removal, the intertwining of history writing and politics, and the genealogy of the word nakba. 🗃️

Join us for our next History Behind the Headlines, exploring the history of US intervention in Latin America. This hour-long online event is free and open to the public. Can’t make it? Register anyway and view the recording on the AHA’s YouTube channel after the event. 🗃️

The March 2026 issue of the American Historical Review is live: academic.oup.com/ahr

Hey everyone! You have until MARCH 30, 2026 to file a claim in the Anthropic Settlement. If you have questions about filing--or if you aren't sure if you've filed correctly--call the settlement administrator at 1 877-206-2314.

Essential reading for all who seek context for the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and responses throughout the Middle East, from our global community of member presses and their expert authors. https://bit.ly/4uPtvaf #ReadUP

Can jet lag become permanent? Because I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stay awake past 8:30 again.

In your opinion, who is doing the best job today of promoting historical literacy with the general public? 🗃️

In your opinion, who is doing the best job today of promoting historical literacy with the general public? 🗃️

@bryanbanksphd.bsky.social pitches me the best pedagogy pieces. Don't miss the latest in #AHAPerspectives!

met these cheerful hyacinths on my morning walk

Following the news of those DOGE fellas video depositions detailing the cudgel they wielded at the NEH? Update. No, the videos can’t be kept from the public. Congrats to @historians.org @acls1919.bsky.social and @modernlanguage.bsky.social for this important work — and win!

The AHA, @acls1919.bsky.social, and @modernlanguage.bsky.social welcome today’s ruling allowing video footage of depositions to be published online again. The depositions are evidence in our lawsuit to restore the function and funding of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Hey @chicagomanual.bsky.social, want to help the historians out and provide a similar tutorial?

The videos are back online.

Submit nominations for the AHA’s awards and prizes by May 15. The AHA recognizes outstanding historical work of many types, including exceptional books, distinguished teaching and mentoring, film, and digital projects and resources.

After 17 days out of office, I have to ask: What if jobs weren't a thing? But I'm back to the word mines today.

This is your reminder that if you are a class member and have NOT yet filed a claim in Anthropic v. Bartz, the AI copyright lawsuit, you have 9 days to do so.

We are looking to buy our first house this year and the AI photos are wild. The craziest so far changed window and door placements, added landscaping that didn’t exist, and even seemed to include land in the backyard that wasn’t in the lot. Still sold for half a mil. www.zillow.com/homedetails/...

Delighted to welcome spring with this resilient little micro in @identitytheory.bsky.social. www.identitytheory.com/the-recreati...

The Everlasting by @alixeharrow.bsky.social is a novel I’ll be thinking about for a long time. It’s about history and storytelling and love—all my favorite things. Plus it’s got a lady knight to rival Alanna Trebond.

33.5 hours of travel and we’re finally back at home.

I drank or ate passion fruit almost every day of this trip, including this juice at our final breakfast. Getting amazing fresh fruit like this in our winter has been such a treat.

Someone tell me how long this would fund NEH, since I’m not a math person.

Lol, we have joked about doing a Curmudgeon’s Corner for years (with that precise name).

Wonderful new open access book on Hildegard of Bingen by Minji Lee! #medievalsky #HistSTM nursingclio.org/2026/03/18/r...

Final UNESCO World Heritage Site of the trip: the temples of Angkor.

In #AHAPerspectives, @profmarylewis.bsky.social describes a classroom assignment where students "update" French protest posters from May 1968, confronting how easily images can be manipulated and decontextualized. 🗃️

I wrote this for @historians.org's Perspectives. Bottom line: don't just ask students to “produce a historical image" with AI. Get them thinking about what makes the image historical and what gets lost in alteration. www.historians.org/perspectives...

Learned that today’s airline has 1.5 stars on Trip Advisor, a fact I am happy to have learned after our flight and therefore after our business has been completed.

Leaving Saigon for our last stop on this long trip, Cambodia. Can’t wait for Siem Reap and to visit Angkor Wat tomorrow!

Double-spacers need to be stopped at any cost.

I wrote about Kat.

Amish cheese factory. Kent State University parking lot where the students were murdered by National Guard.

The AHA Nominating Committee offers candidates for offices of the Association, to be filled in the 2026 election. Voting by AHA members will begin June 1. #AHAPerspectives 🗃️

6:30 a.m. in Saigon and very enjoyable to start the day with all your Oscar posts before we go do a full day of Vietnam/American War tourism.

a preliminary survey for the next component of my research: if you're willing to tell me about your connection to the movie/musical 1776... docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

What can you do with a history BA? Join our online roundtable History Majors at Work on March 26, 3–4:15 p.m. ET to hear from professionals who turned their history training into careers across a range of fields. Includes a live Q&A. 🗃️

Completely obsessed with the Vietnamese mosaics that use broken pottery to make 3D decoration.

“The groups also argued that removing the videos would threaten their First Amendment rights, while depriving the public of important new documentation of DOGE.” 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/n...

After a street food tour this morning, we have reached the 4th location on our itinerary, which means we’re now in the second half of this trip.

At home, it was 80° yesterday and then snowing today. Here we’re just dealing with unpredictable rain.

This evening, my amazing UNH students churned butter with hundreds of elementary school students. This is our second year bringing humanities to STEAM night. Full SHTEAM ahead! Read about last year's event here: www.historians.org/perspectives... 🧈👶💪 🗃️ #skystorians

In #AHAPerspectives, Anna Snyder considers how lawyers can join historians in shaping public conversations about the United States’ 250th anniversary—and reconnect legal history to the story of the founding. 🗃️

Another day, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, Hội An’s old town.

Versatile, adaptable, and ready to step into many roles. In #AHAPerspectives, AHA director of teaching and learning Brendan Gillis argues that history majors are the utility infielders of the workforce baseball team. 🗃️

Experiencing a UNESCO World Heritage site via overnight cruise. Still hard to believe I’m even here.

Encountered this taxidermied turtle yesterday at Hanoi’s Ngọc Sơn Temple in Hoàn Kiếm Lake. His derpy face brings me an equal mix of joy and horror.