thrilled to announced that a LinkedIn scambot has selected me to be featured in "Influential Women Magazine." tempted to let them scam me just to see what happens...

The OAH strongly endorses the National Humanities Alliance’s statement opposing the proposed cuts to the NEH. These cuts threaten critical funding for historical research, education, and public programs that connect communities to their past. ow.ly/Wz0b50VtxIv

SHEAR offers fellowships to scholars examining African diasporic, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American, and/or Pacific Island history from 1776 to 1861. Scholars from underrepresented backgrounds, early career, contingent faculty encouraged to apply. shear.org/about-us/she...

So pleased to see people registering for my upcoming series of virtual workshops on the history of the #DeclarationofIndependence for #America250 planning. Please spread the word! Register 👉 www.declarationstories.org/workshops

I’ve been thinking about media literacy a lot. I think about how it has always been a problem in early America and the new United States and about how it is a problem today. I also think about how a lack of media literacy and expertise pervades our digital tools and publishing systems.

Despite getting a Ph.D. in early American history, James (La) Fayette's story passed me by. I only learned it after coming to work for Colonial Williamsburg. Here's a video I got to work on. I think every American ought to know his story. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSoO...

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, Vast Early America. Excited to be here.

"If history has its eyes on journalism, it feels like a death stare....fact-checking...holds the line on reality for history’s sake." In other words, we need the full complement of expertise inc copyediting and fact checking in journalism *and scholarly publishing.* niemanreports.org/fact-checkin...

I’m putting together the latest History Behind the Headlines newsletter. This week the focus is the origin of the Executive Order. I’m being very careful to vet and verify internet sources. Fortunately, this article was written by @lmchervinsky.bsky.social so I know it is accurate.

Took a social media break, which lingered for 2-3 business years. I'm delighted to rejoin the land of the digital and hear about all the history things y'all are up to! If you need editing, fact-checking, or transcription services to help make your media clear, accurate, & accessible, let’s talk.

Just put on Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Time to take a big sip of coffee and check the news.

1 JANUARY 1775, BOSTON: This account echoes merchant John Andrews “With wishing you a happy new year. … I must add my wishes that we may have a less troublesome year than the last, and that Great Britain may see her error in distressing the Colonies,

We have one last piece up this year at Commonplace. Isaac Kolding tells the tough, relentless and often disappointing work of activism in a story about David Ruggles and his resistance to a Portuguese slave ship docked in NYC:🗃️ commonplace.online/article/the-...

The AHA seeks to collect information about the working conditions of historians employed as contingent faculty. We hope the survey results will empower faculty to engage in evidence-based negotiations about their working conditions. 🗃️

It’s not my favorite part of working at Colonial Williamsburg, but seeing this sign every time I go to the bathroom is up there.

spent this afternoon reading some early US history (as one does) and was reminded of the important fact that these people were almost constantly drunk as hell

My review of Katlyn Carter's wonderful Democracy in Darkness is out! academic.oup.com/jah/article-...

Sharing some professional news: I've sadly stepped away from my role as Production Editor of @commonplacejrnl.bsky.social. With my new job at CW, and my rambunctious two-year-old, I just couldn't balance everything anymore.

I’ve got a very preliminary Media History going: go.bsky.app/EzAZ2Hh

As a teenager, I read Ron Chernow’s bio of Hamilton on vacation in Florida. Lin-Manuel Miranda and I did very different things with that experience.

Time for an #Introduction: I'm a historian by training, librarian by profession, #DH in practice, specializing in #GIS and #podcasting. I'm a cycling and transit enthusiast. I love cities and I love hinterland. Only recently learned about #solarpunk but it describes my politics pretty perfectly. ✊

at 1k followers, guess it's time to explain who I am. I study early American media. I wrote a book about false news in revolutionary America called _Misinformation Nation_. I'm writing another about truth and the "Founders," understood broadly.

My calendar tells me that on this day in 1763, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon began to survey their famous line. I am directing you to this Commonplace piece on the line and more by Ed Gray. Ed tragically passed away last year just after completing this piece. 🗃️ commonplace.online/article/maso...

Did you know that Commonplace accepts submissions for articles and reviews on a rolling basis? More information can be found below or please reach out to me directly with a pitch or any questions about a piece on any aspect of vast early America before 1900. 🗃️ commonplace.online/article/subm...

Great thread by @publiusorperish.bsky.social on some of the digital histories being produced by Dr. Taylor and others @ Colonial Williamsburg. #VastEarlyAmerica

FANTASTIC thread

Last week, a viral TikTok by Taylor Stoermer falsely claimed Colonial Williamsburg removed an older website on the history of the American Revolution. It's nonsense. But let's take this opportunity to talk about the awesome new digital history content my colleagues and I have been making this year!

The starter pack for the world we live in? So much a product of the world made by colonialism. Made a super quick first pass and it was easy to get to 125 folks and a few orgs (mostly) working in the early Americas. Let me know who's missing/ new here! #VastEarlyAmericas go.bsky.app/RDvzxbj

Popping up to share that my family and I moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, this week after many happy years in Indiana. I have a new job as manager of digital content for Colonial Williamsburg. But more importantly, here’s a picture of my daughter Jill mid-twirl.

We're still kicking as a small magazine that found an audience on Twitter. But we're not there anymore, and it's much harder for pubs like Contingent to find and grow an audience, so if you like our stuff--tell someone about it! Read a random article here! contingentmagazine.org?redirect_to=...

Ben Franklin’s World has a great new episode about Politics & Political Culture in the Early American Republic. I spoke with Jonathan Gienapp & @rachelshelden.bsky.social. Listen on your favorite podcast app. www.benfranklinsworld.com/393 #History #USHistory #Politics #SupremeCourt #Congress

Fantastic essay today on Commonplace about how we so easily misunderstand the three-fifths clause. Give it a read!

Each month we send out a Commonplace newsletter to highlight new articles and preview upcoming ones. The August one just went out (with links to great articles by Elise Lemire and Timothy Messer-Kruse). Just scroll to the bottom of any page to sign up: 🗃️ commonplace.online

Philly!

Heading out to SHEAR2024 this week in Philly? Interested in pitching a piece or finding out more information about Commonplace? Production Editor Jordan Taylor @publiusorperish.bsky.social will be around to chat. Reach out to me or him to set up a meeting. 🗃️

I'll be at SHEAR later this month in Philly. I've been away from the history conference circuit for a long time, so I'd love to meet up! Shoot me a DM or email if you want to grab a coffee or whatever. Even, or maybe especially, if you don't know me yet!

I'll be at SHEAR later this month in Philly. I've been away from the history conference circuit for a long time, so I'd love to meet up! Shoot me a DM or email if you want to grab a coffee or whatever. Even, or maybe especially, if you don't know me yet!

There’s also a companion site that looks at the crisis from the perspective of readers in Williamsburg as they got news in the Virginia Gazettes. My thanks to @lizcovart.bsky.social @publiusorperish.bsky.social and everyone at CW who worked on these! #VastEarlyAmerica #news #AmRev

Really great material culture piece at Commonplace today!

Was not expecting this on the Wikipedia page of a neighboring county. Turns out the residents of Brown County IN were ahead of their time.

Happy bday Tom Paine! Here's my article about someone else. muse.jhu.edu/article/8720...

A good review of Misinformation Nation by Katlyn Carter (whose new book is fantastic, by the way). Check it out: s-usih.org/2024/02/katl...

If this happened today it would be a 14-part podcast event. Old newspapers are like, there are vampires in Boston, I heard there was a mermaid in Spain, anyway here are some advertisements.

parenting achievement unlocked: my one-year-old's current favorite song is Pete Seeger's version of John Brown's Body.

It's a huge loss, and a great piece well worth your time to read.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce today's new article by Edward Gray on Commonplace. Ed unexpectedly passed away last month just after finishing the piece that ties together his recent book on the Mason-Dixon line with Pynchon's novel on the subject. 🗃️ commonplace.online/article/maso...

We're open for pitches, and we're exceptionally interested in publishing more things in our Field Trip category. We describe these as "Mr. Rogers at the crayon factory, but for history." Here are some examples for inspiration!

I wrote this three years ago today. If anything I might have undersold it here. www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021...