This is tremendous and I am grateful for this honor.

A controversial theory? GTFO with this "aristocracy" nonsense.

Leaving no option unexplored as Spring semester pre-registration arrives...

Extreme local post: classical field hockey gets to div iii finals in overtime win!!!!

Brown's campus-wide semiquincentennial initiative #Brown2026 invites applications for a one-year open-rank position, either as a Visiting Fellow or a Visiting Senior Fellow, for the 2026-2027 academic year. applications will be read starting on December 15, 2025 apply.interfolio.com/175860?fbcli...

I know it’s too much to expect them to know their history, but if the American Revolution had a motto, it definitely would not have been “immigrants go home.” It would have been “get your fucking soldiers out of our cities.”

It is hard to overstate the stress produced by the incoherence of academic institutions pumping generative AI when they want to play business and then leaving instructors to deal with the results when they want to play school

One year ago

*Plantation Goods* has had an incredible run, beyond anything I could have imagined. I am absolutely thrilled that the book is being honored with the Horowitz Prize from the Bard Graduate Center for scholarship on decorative arts, design history, or material culture. @uchicagopress.bsky.social

“Labor is prior to capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is superior and deserves higher consideration.” Abraham Lincoln's Message to Congress, December 1861.

I usually try to play it cool and take a deep breath when I see stuff like this, but honest to God: F*** these Nazis

Very pleased to have found a physical copy.

The new issue of LABOR is here, and it’s hot!

They just do whatever the hell they want and they rely on Trump’s own complete disregard for the law, his ability to pardon them, and Congressional Republicans cult like obedience to protect them. We are a joke as a country right now.

Political parties must shift immediately and dramatically to the left to avoid alienating these frustrated and abandoned young women. Am I doing this right?

Axes. Shoes. Cloth. They may seem ordinary — but these items formed the material infrastructure of American slavery. Historian Seth Rockman explains how. 🎧 Episode 422: benfranklinsworld.com/422

Tomorrow, 10/18 at 10AM: Join the Department of History as we welcome three distinguished graduates to discuss their pathways from the History concentration into diverse and rewarding careers. This event is part of Brown’s Family Weekend 2025. Learn more: bit.ly/4ncXMuW

Are you excited about the Semiquincentennial and the history/legacy of Am Rev? Do you like to think about democratic societies and knowledge production--past, present, and future? Do you want to spend an upcoming research leave in Providence? Senior and early career positions alike. Click below...

Brown rejects the compact! Feeling a twinge of alumna pride.

A thrill to be in the company of so many wonderful scholars!

I would love for my @brownhist.bsky.social students to think more in these terms.

Plus, we’re giving away 10 free e-books of The Craft of Science Writing, published by @uchicagopress.bsky.social! Tell us, what does trust in science journalism mean to you? We’ll collect responses in the comments here and you could win a free electronic copy!

There is a great event coming this Saturday, courtesy of @brownhist.bsky.social There are lots of reasons to study History. Here are 3.

We know Eli Whitney's story, right? He invented the cotton gin, interchangeable parts, and set the South and North on course for War -- except that didn't actually happen writes Ariel Ron @arielron.bsky.social in an important new Commonplace piece. Check it out:🗃️ commonplace.online/article/how-...

It is frankly strange to be this obsessed with college if you no longer attend one and do not work in education. More people in legacy media need to be told that.

We’re in the United States of Upside Down: This administration has convinced people that the “business case for diversity” is scarier than the “business case for fascism”…which is unfolding in real time with the help of tech billionaires 💙 #democracy #diversity #inclusion #fascism #business 💙

Y'all, this is a white supremacist regime intent on re-segregating the United States and removing Black people from positions of authority and access to opportunity. This must be stated as a simple 'matter of fact' and condemned at every turn.

Western Mass!! Come on out! November 13, 2025 5:00pm

Student Spotlight: Carlo Kim ‘27 — The department sits down with Carlo Kim, a junior passionate about American labor history, to discuss what led him to join the labor movement in Providence.

Oh, this is so exciting! Thank you @lizcovart.bsky.social for the invitation. And while I'm here, pleased to announce that @uchicagopress.bsky.social is bringing out a paperback in Spring 2026!!!

Research fellowships at the Rhode Island Historical Society! Come spend some time in Providence in 2026. Applications due 12/23/25

Brown student with a thoughtful piece on how AI-proofing our courses may be leading to some unintended consequences.

Whose day just got brightened by the arrival of this new volume? Mine!!! Indeed there is generally too little Dorr content on this app.

May have jumped the shark today in lecture with references to Life of a Showgirl, 6 maybe 7, and some Hamilton lyrics. Or I hit the trifecta. Hard to say…

Ai companies want to use our electricity? Ok. They can pay triple rates offset all our bills. Ai companies want to use our water? Ok. They can subsidize infrastructure construction and maintenance. Ai companies want to use our land? Ok. They can pay taxes high enough to fund affordable housing.

As for me, I am not a pessimist of any kind. And these tech bros are not optimists. They are autocratic extractionists and I’m against that.

Adding to the reading list... And currently 70% off ($10.50 + S&H) @princetonupress.bsky.social

Sincere question: is there a single college or university anywhere that is approaching AI from a position of resistance?

Going to a "state school" about to mean something different.

Who did what in early modern England? New #OpenAccess book, 'The Experience of Work in Early Modern England' by @jwhittle.bsky.social, @markhailwood.bsky.social, @hkrobb.bsky.social & @aucointaylor.bsky.social, based on thousands of #EarlyModern court depositions 🗃️ Read it: doi.org/10.1017/9781...

The only LLM I can get behind

Happy #NationalCoffeeDay! We're celebrating by spotlighting Michelle McDonald's meticulously researched, must-read new book COFFEE NATION, which explores how coffee tied the economic future of the early United States to the wider Atlantic world. bit.ly/448PrAZ

Reads like a headline from the Onion

Well, I guess the Wall Street Journal's history of American capitalism was always going to be the Wall Street Journal's history of American capitalism. It is great to see so much of the recent scholarship on capitalism mobilized at this important moment; the stuff on slavery especially [sarcasm].

New on advance access: "Bodies, Tides, Timber, and the Global History of London’s Docks, 1860–1928" by Simeon Koole (@uobrishistory.bsky.social) and @benmechen.bsky.social (@uclhistory.bsky.social) #OpenAccess doi.org/10.1093/past...

if you'll indulge something nice amidst the abundant bad, I am happy to report that there is now an audiobook version of Plantation Goods. Perfect for your next cross-country roadtrip, transcontinental flight, or ultra-marathon.

We are excited to announce Labor's Big Book Forum for 2025! Scheduled for Fri 10/17, 2-4pm ET via Zoom, this year we feature Rudi Batzell's (@rbatzell.bsky.social) new book: Organizing Workers in the Shadow of Slavery (@uchicagopress.bsky.social)

I can't imagine being as good of a teacher as Scott is. Wow.

Can’t believe it is already 5786! Time is flying! Shana Tovah, one and all!