Two survivors — George Takei and Jo Anne Naka — recall living in the horse stables at the Santa Anita racetrack before they were moved to their incarceration camps. Read THE AGE OF INCARCERATION to learn more about Japanese American incarceration from some of the last survivors of it.

Lovely to see my book reviewed alongside Faye Halpern's in a review essay on realism by Melanie Dawson in ALH. (Two scholars I so admire!) Unfortunately I don't have institutional access yet. Can anyone out there DM a pdf? academic.oup.com/alh/article-... #academicsky

Is Christine Baranski literally just the reincarnation of 19th- century New Thought novelist Clara Louise Burnham?

Catch me at the Mahindra center next month! The first lecture in the series by Kendra Field was extraordinary. This will be ok. If you can't make it and want to hear about eugenic feminism and positive thinking, invite me to your spot. mahindrahumanities.harvard.edu/event/ariell...

I think we've all had way too much screen time and should be made to play outside for the rest of the year.

Groypers, gopniks, and the Kirk-Fuentes beef. The American right is one nutty hospital. Me @newrepublic : newrepublic.com/article/2004...

Call for applications: Endangered Archives Programme eap.bl.uk/applicants

A nice little write-up on A Literary Tour of the United States from the University of Wyoming! 🤠

I wrote about the groypers and the Fuentes-Kirk fight years ago, in Hate in the Homeland. Cautioning here that there is still a lot to know about the shooter’s motivation, I’m sharing these two paragraphs here to set the history of this fight in context:

Very excited to be a part of this series and looking forward to all the talks this year.

If you're thinking about Spring adoption already, please consider adding some stories by American women. Grateful for this lovely review by @davidataylor.bsky.social

Imagine a government that solves your problems instead of is your problem.

Look how happy we humanists are with so little. A mere cart to transport our books and puppets by. How came we to be so vilified?

If you're more of an audiobook / podcast cat, A Literary History of the United States is also available on Audible. You can learn about the literature of the road on the road!

Autism will definitely keep asking, though.

A good reminder to pre-order @sarahweinman.com’s new book: bookshop.org/p/books/with...

The Condo of Mirth

I wish I could divest from everyone at this table 100% but will try to get as close as possible.

This frontispiece in my book just made me laugh a lot. Is this Buddhist reincarnation, or some other form of afterlife?

Julia Wedgwood (1833-1913) was an intellectual icon of the Victorian era ✍️ Alison Stone has created a fantastic #openaccess resource containing many of her diverse writings, inc lots of newly attributed journalism, plus a short biography and comprehensive bibliography. www.juliawedgwood.org

sometimes an aesthetic calls you out so hard

Here's what I'm up to these days. SO EXCITED to write this book and talk about how the history of positive thinking in wellness impacts us all. Grateful for my agent @babedylan.bsky.social and my new editor Maria, who rocks.

I don't even believe him when he says he's not dead.

screenprint of an image by John Fleissner for LAUSD students leading walkouts against ICE raids 💙✊

What goes great with your holiday weekend bbqs & labor activism? My 239th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast eps, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, please share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...

"We’re looking at a battle between RFK Jr. and Elon Musk for who has racked up the most deaths around the world. We’re not talking about the hundreds or thousands, but potentially even millions." On the pod @donmoyn.bsky.social is fantastic on CDC mess and Leavitt BS newrepublic.com/article/1998...

Episode 11, "The Soul of the South," is a look at the literature of Katrina featuring work by @jesmimi.bsky.social , spoken word poet Shelton Alexander, and historical writers of hurricane season like Kate Chopin and Lafcadio Hearn. #katrina #thegreatcourses #neworleans #academicsky

peak floof

New Yorkers: there's an incredible series at MOMA (@moma.bsky.social) commemorating the 20th anniversary of Katrina with a series of films about New Orleans before and after. Curated by @mayascade.bsky.social and K. Austin Collins. My picks: www.rogerebert.com/mzs/when-the...

In 2026, the MSA Conference will look a bit different-- weird, even! That's because we're having a joint conference with BAMS @modernistudies.bsky.social in Loughborough, UK from July 1- 4, 2026. The CFP will be out soon! But in the meantime, please save the date.

To me, the point of criticism is to answer some more interesting question about a text than “is it good art?” or “are its politics good politics?”

Joan’s gonna love it.

The only thing I can say about this paragraph is read it. Sit with it. Read it again. @michaelharriot.bsky.social

As folks head back into classrooms, I feel both relieved and terribly guilty to be focusing on research and writing this year. To truly support the students struggling most under this administration is a heavy, important job. My heart is with you.

For shooters who have considered assassination / when the theatre is enuf

This book review has merit.

I had a cat-pics-in-the-archive kind of day, which is to say, amidst it all, lovely.

This whole thread. Stop the doom-scrolling, find a group and work towards fixing things.

Hard agree. She should have taken Mrs. Russell's offer to buy her a new dress.

what if the historical novel that Carrie Bradshaw is writing is … The Gilded Age

I was so happy for Peggy I forgot I was hoping for a big professional success ending instead of a love ending.

Have you heard of the pink pilling of women? @synclairewarren and I dive into how wellness misinformation preys on women, and the real harm it causes.

Just read that the global wellness market is worth $6.3 trillion in 2023. Almost three times as much as the $1.6 trillion pharmaceutical industry. Maybe we should start calling it "Big Wellness".

What she's describing is, like, 90% of the wellness and momfluencer podcasts out there. And there are a ton of them.

“wellness” culture feeds directly into eugenics. It perpetuates the idea that disability is a moral failing. That we can “try harder” our way out of it and if we can’t, we didn’t really “want” to get better. It makes it easier to punish the sick & poor. Disability is not a moral failing.

Would definitely recommend being present. Would that I could.

Reunited with the wild flora of my youth!

A worthy assemblage of mostly (and sadly) forgotten works. www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/t... @penguinclassicsusa.bsky.social @zibrak.bsky.social @davidataylor.bsky.social #Booksky

Love is Blind would be way better if half the contestants were behind the wall AND the veil. Imagine the reveals!

they’re here! i only need like 3 of these. CUP sent me 10. so, how about this: i’ll mail the others to the first 7 contingent faculty and/or grad students who email me their mailing address.