This is a travesty. African and African Diaspora Studies at UT Austin has been one of the best programs in the country. And for historical context, this is explicitly about reversing the gains of student movements in the 60s and 70s. www.statesman.com/news/educati...

My country music issue of @scquarterly.bsky.social is out! I'm proud of how it's come together. Thank you to the wide range of contributors, including musicians and scholars and artists, and of course the dream team editorial crew at SC who make creative freedom a reality.

UPDATE: The Indiana legislature announced that, across the state's public universities, it will immediately eliminate 75 programs, suspend/teach-out 101, and force 232 to consolidate or be eliminated. Not surprisingly, these closures disproportionately affect arts, humanities, and social science.

Blown away by Sinners and still processing. This is an excellent movie syllabus but would def add Roediger etc. for the Irish component. www.aaihs.org/the-sinners-...

"At the same time, his administration has elevated candidates with scant qualifications to positions of power across the federal bureaucracy...That this is all being done in the name of “merit-based opportunity,” as Trump’s executive order put it, is patently absurd." slate.com/news-and-pol...

And @amamartinez.bsky.social wraps up the panel with ““My Own Kind of Hat”: Headwear and Country Music’s Evolving Class Politics” #PopCon2025

Black Studies and the Fight Against Fascism Join us for a timely conversation with @davarianbaldwin.bsky.social, @jfernandez1202.bsky.social, Sarah Haley, Robin D.G. Kelley, Barbara Ransby, & Robyn Spencer-Antoine Tuesday, March 4 at 6:00 pm ET RSVP to attend: www.tickettailor.com/events/hayma...

This fall I’ll begin a tenure track Assistant Professor position in the Dept of American Studies at UNC, where my postdoc’s been since last year. Can’t imagine a better academic home. It’s been a long road of luck, community, & hard work to get here & I couldn’t be more grateful.

Trump follows a long line of conservatives who’ve co-opted country music, identifying its listeners as his voters. Like most of his predecessors, there’s little evidence he had an organic interest in the music. Many country stars have already been happy to play into his interest, as seen w the inaug

Next week in Chapel Hill we’ll celebrate the Southern Folklife Collection w exciting events, a couple of which I’ll be a part of. On 2/20, David Garcia & I will be in conversation w Amythyst Kiah On 2/22, Jewly Hight, Jocelyn Neal, & I will have a panel on commercial country music Join us!

Corporate Coup in Global Context Join @naomiaklein.bsky.social, @chenjerai.bsky.social, @astra.bsky.social, & @keeanga.bsky.social for an emergency town hall on the accelerating corporate dominance of our societies Mon., Feb. 17 at 5:00 pm ET RSVP to attend: www.tickettailor.com/events/hayma...

I went into the Grammys expecting the focus to be on Bey/Tay and was happy to see Bey and Kendrick get their deserved awards. But the night's story was Gen Z. Millennials are official elders now www.npr.org/2025/02/03/n...

Dear National Media, If tariffs don’t end up materializing, please don’t say he struck a deal. He didn’t. He intentionally picked a fight with friends & tanked the stock market so he’d be able to claim he was great. This is classic narcissistic personality BS & the remedy is calling it out.

Last day to submit. Looking at what we've gotten so far and I'm so stoked. You're not ready for how good this is gonna be!

Anyway, the Grammys were a brief nice escape from reality.

Great Cowboy Carter won big & she’s one of few Black artists to win a Country Grammy. But also worth noting every Black artist who’s won is a non-Nashville/non-primarily country artist. We need class analysis in our celebrations; the struggles for emerging Black country artists in Nashville remain

Thank you!

And she did win AOTY. And gave a shoutout to Linda Martell. Support Martell’s granddaughter, Quia Thompson, who’s working on a documentary about her grandmother: www.lindamartell.com/badcaseofthe...

Chappell Roan is completely correct! Musicians are workers, and we deserve fair payment & dignity in our workplace. UMAW introduced the Living Wage for Musicians Act with Rep. Rashida Tlaib to build a fairer music industry and increase wages for musicians. We need your help to make it happen!

Wow!! I was expecting Cowboy Carter to win AOTY but not Best Country Album!

Planning a game w students where we watch ads & debate over audience interpretations in a sort of Adorno v Stuart Hall (etc) approach. So far I've got the Nic Kidman AMC ad & this Sprite commercial. Any other ideas?? (h/t to @oliviastowell.bsky.social for this idea!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtSi...

There's 2 more weeks to submit something for our Southern Cultures issue on Country Music's Mythology. Tell your friends and please consider contributing: www.southerncultures.org/call-for-pap...

it genuinely sucks that basically nothing on the internet works well anymore. search? barely works. social media? filled with garbage engagement-bait designed to game the algorithm. news websites? pages that refresh at random or so covered in video ads that it’s impossible to read stories

It's terrifying that my past 3 sources of annual funding (MTSU's Diversity Dissertation Completion Fellowship, this, and the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity--all longstanding fellowships for marginalized candidates) are no longer options. www.h-net.org/jobs/job_dis...

$50 million over 5 years. Thank God, the UNC Board of Governors disbanded the DEI programs so money is available. www.nytimes.com/athletic/598...

One strategy to address all of the anger and scorn stirred up by the assassination of the health insurance CEO would be to push for Medicare for All and/or eliminate private health insurance.

Should be illegal for cashiers to ask you (and be incentivized to push) if you want to sign up for a credit card when you check out. Evil stuff.

Dobie Gray is severely under appreciated. A stellar vocalist, beloved/respected by all he knew. Committed to social justice. He struggled for decades to make it in country but found "they didn’t know where to place a black guy in country music (except) Charley Pride.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuxe...

Idk how I’m getting such random followers. Full disclosure I really only post about country music so this is your warning to unfollow now 🤠

Of course, the alliance between country and pop didn’t begin with Beyoncé or Post Malone. In fact, it’s been there all the time. Well worth a read. www.southerncultures.org/article/pop-... @scquarterly.bsky.social @amamartinez.bsky.social

You want to read pretty much anything Amanda Martinez writes or has a hand in editing. Trust me.

Me & the good folks at Southern Cultures have been working hard on a country music studies reader in anticipation of the special issue I’m guest editing. Proud of how it’s come together! It includes 12 essays from the archive & 3 new ones. Check it out: www.southerncultures.org/reader/count...

Popular Music Studies crew, please comment below so I can add you to the list. go.bsky.app/A71i3tw

I'm excited to serve as guest editor for an issue of Southern Cultures on Country Music's Mythology. Check out the CFP and please spread the word and/or consider contributing. Submissions are due Feb. 3 www.southerncultures.org/call-for-pap...

My essay, on the history behind how the country music genre is not the same as the format of country radio. And the long legacy of Black country music.

My piece for NPR on where “Try That in a Small Town” sits in country music’s history. Jason Aldean's 'Small Town' is part of a long legacy with a very dark side - https://www.npr.org/2023/07/22/1188908968/jason-aldean-small-town-vs-city

We gotta make Bluesky work, everybody. I don’t wanna have to add all my family and friends on Threads since it’s through IG. I need my privacy!

I LOVED this episode of Into It w/ @annkpowers.bsky.social So many choice points (TS as Dylan, conscious of her own historicity; TS as a contemporary Carole King). Thanks for sharing, @amamartinez.bsky.social ://open.spotify.com/episode/2fnxcpWlHagsj9F5FdZUTi?si=OqJD5rnlRp-boYnBy9cD2A