Perceptive summary and appreciation of my book at the blog surmisesandsuspicions.wordpress.com. Thanks to the blogger, lfc2014!

Nice thread from @us.theconversation.com about my article.

Thrilled to announce the publication of my new book from U of Chicago Press. Details at press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo....

My newly installed yard sign:

Harris-Cooper 2024. That's Roy Cooper, my excellent governor. NC is truly purple, and Roy could help win in. He would also make a terrific Veep.

Sound of the cicadas this morning is unreal.

In today's email: Dear Dan,   I am delighted to report that your book has been formally transmitted to my colleagues in manuscript editing, production, and marketing, and everyone is excited to get to work! Our plan is to have books in hand by early April 2025.

Greetings from Chapel Hill, where we had a nice spring for a few days (it’s 84, something like 29 Celsius), today.

Artnet is offering helpful advice on how to write the Mona Lisa. They do not, however, answer the more interesting question of WHY one would do so. On the other hand, this would be an interesting archive to explore. news.artnet.com/art-world-ar...

I dunno, seems like they could make do with fewer. It's not THAT big a museum.

It CANNOT have been a year since I did this training. It absolutely cannot. I still remember the actors and scenarios vividly. I could practically perform them.

Spent the morning grading, then went and got a Covid shot. I think most people on here know which is more painful.

When the visual evidence aligns.

In Chicago for the weekend, we had (for unimportant logistical reasons) to choose between a Picasso show at the Art Institute and Faith Ringgold at the MCA. We made the right choice.

New CFP for an issue of radical history I’m co-editing with @golnarnikpour.bsky.social & @sepoy.bsky.social & Marissa Moorman. Abstracts due Jan 8 - please help circulate ! www.radicalhistoryreview.org/radical-hist...

Seriously? Isn’t there a law requiring a French translation? Or is “Black Friday” now in a French dictionary?

www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/t... Hadn't been there for a while, but I'm now officially done -- I've deactivated my Twitter account, and in 30 days it will deleted. Wish I had done it months ago.

Hey historians 🗃 : we finally got our approval and are searching for a Modern Europeanist, esp someone who works on authoritarianism or autocracy broadly defined. Until we can get an ad up on H-net, please visit the FIU careers website and search for Job ID # 530997 facultycareers.fiu.edu

Sign students haven’t done the reading: when you assign an article about Josephine Baker and negrophilia (that word in the title of the article), ask them what the term means, and they think you’ve asked them about necrophilia. 🤨

Very sad to learn of the passing of Natalie Davis. She was a great historian and a truly beautiful soul. She will be much missed.

We're hiring! UNC Art & Art History has posted a tenure-track position in East Asian or South Asian art history. Details here:  unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/267....

Got the Sonoma update on my Mac last night, and now Mail is autofilling my emails. Must find the settings and uncheck this right away -- I put up with it on Gmail, which I don't use that much, but I really find it creepy.

Finally, the contract shot. I'm very happy to report that I am officially under contract with U. of Chicago Press for my next book. If I get out from under the permissions nightmare, it should be out in 2025.

Sometimes one’s Lock Screen just sums up the irony of the universe.

I’m at the permission stage of my book preparation & French law makes it a nightmare. But one ray of sunshine: less than 24 hours after sending a query through Canard enchaîné’s public web portal, I got a kind personal note (and permission) from the editor-in-chief! Classe.

I’m here to tell you, COVID is not gone. My symptoms are mild but present. Isolating for a few days and masking afterwards.

Unavailable in three languages! (Plus Google Translate offered Romanian.)

From a wall text re the Antioch mosaics at the Baltimore Museum of Art: the European occupation of W Asia after WW1 “created favorable conditions” for zero-American “archaeological activities” in the region. One way of putting it. #archaeology #colonialism

OK, so here I am on Bluesky. Hope to rebuild community here, far away from the world between W and Y. It may take a little while, as I've gotten out of the habit, but already happy to see some familiar names, minds, and wits!