[A Recap of the month
that was in AmericanStudying.]
March
30: April Fools: Stooges and Marxes: An April Fools series on American
humor kicks off with two talented and significant groups of siblings.
March
31: April Fools: The Interview: The series continues with what’s
problematic, and what’s important, about the controversial recent comedy.
April
1: April Fools: Keaton and Chaplin: Mining the past or the present for
laughs, and why we need both, as the series rolls on.
April
2: April Fools: Minstrel Shows: What we do with comic art that’s just not
funny any more.
April
3: April Fools: James Thurber: The series concludes with three ways the
unique humorist captured the human condition.
April
4-5: Crowd-sourced April Fools: An addendum of mine and funny responses
from fellow AmericanFools—add your foolish-in-the-best-sense thoughts in
comments!
April
6: Baseball Lives: Hank Greenberg: A series on meaningful baseball lives
starts with why we should remember one of the first and greatest Jewish
American athletes.
April
7: Baseball Lives: Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige: The series continues with
what we can never know about Negro Leagues lives, and what we definitely can.
April
8: Baseball Lives: John Rocker: Three distinct, contradictory, and
important stages in a controversial baseball life, as the series rolls on.
April
9: Baseball Lives: Cuban and Japanese Stars: Two recent communities of
international stars, and the different historical contexts to which we can connect
them.
April
10: Baseball Lives: Maria Pepe and Mo’ne Davis: The series concludes with
two young stars who reflect how much has changed, and why we must remember
both.
April
11-12: Tim McCaffrey’s Guest Post on Jackie Robinson: Extending the series
with one of my favorite past Guest Posts, on a less well-remembered moment in
one of our most inspiring baseball lives.
April
13: New AmericanStudies Books: Fugitive Slaves and the Unfinished American
Revolution: A series on great new AmericanStudies books starts with one
that helps us understand a crucial Early Republic question.
April
14: New AmericanStudies Books: States of Trial: The series continues with a
book that exemplifies both international and interdisciplinary AmericanStudies.
April
15: New AmericanStudies Books: Belligerent Muse: A new book that
complements a classic one, and what they offer us together, as the series rolls
on.
April
16: New AmericanStudies Books: Chinese Yankee: The book that corrects a
significant historical omission—and why that’s not even its best effect.
April
17: New AmericanStudies Books: Cowardice: A Brief History: The series concludes
with a book that reminds us of the value of looking at things from the other
side.
April
18-19: Crowd-sourced AmericanStudies Reading List: In my latest
Crowd-sourced post, fellow AmericanStudiers share their own book
recommendations—add yours in comments, please!
April
20: Patriot’s Day Special Post: My annual Patriot’s Day special post, on
the easier and harder forms of patriotism.
April
21: How Would a Patriot Act?: Squanto: A series on nominees for genuine
American patriotism starts with a 17th century cross-cultural
patriot.
April
22: How Would a Patriot Act?: Quock Walker: The series continues with the
18th century patriot who also represents an alternative, vital kind
of Founder.
April
23: How Would a Patriot Act?: Yung Wing: The many reasons to remember one
of my favorite Americans as a 19th century patriot, as the series
rolls on.
April
24: How Would a Patriot Act?: César Chávez: The series concludes with why
it’s so important to remember the labor activist as a 20th century
patriot.
April
25-26: How Would a Patriot Act?: You: But wait, a special weekend post on a
contemporary American patriot—you!
April
27: Communist Culture: “The Palace-Burner”: A May Day series on communism
in American culture kicks off with one of my favorite poems and images of
difference and empathy.
April
28: Communist Culture: Dos Passos and Wright: The series continues with two
authors and lives that trace the appeals and limitations of communism in the
1930s.
April
29: Communist Culture: Doctorow and Coover: Two distinct but complementary
historical fictions of the Rosenbergs, as the series rolls on.
April
30: Communist Culture: The Blithedale Romance: How Hawthorne’s
autobiographical novel of his experience with communism differed from his prior
romances, and how it connects to them.
May
1: Communist Culture: Woody Guthrie and Steve Earle: The series concludes
communist protest anthems and artists, then and now.
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. Topics you’d
like to see covered on the blog? Guest Posts you’d like to write? Lemme know!
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