[On August 15th,
this AmericanStudier discovers the meaning of life; well, I turn 42, anyway. So
as I do each year, here’s a series sharing some of my favorite posts from each
year on the blog, leading up to a new post with 42 favorites from the last
year. And as ever, you couldn’t give me a better present than to say hi and
tell me a bit about what brings you to the blog, what you’ve found or enjoyed
here, your own AmericanStudies thoughts, or anything else!]
Here they are,
41 favorite posts from the 2017-2018 year on the blog:
1)
Famous
Virginians: Arthur Ashe: I enjoyed researching all the posts in last year’s
post-Cville series, but this one on three influences on the legendary athlete
stands out for me.
2)
#NoConfederateSyllabus:
Working on this document with my colleague and friend Matthew Teutsch was a
highlight of the last year—it’s still evolving, so check it out and contribute,
please!
3)
Pledge
Posts: Protesting the Pledge: Both of my sons have continued their acts of
civil disobedience, and to say that they are now more salient than ever is to
understate the case.
4)
The
Worst and Best of Allegiance: Salient enough, even, that I’m highlighting a
second post from that same series!
5)
Crowd-sourced
Legends of the Fall: Some of the best crowd-sourced posts are those that
feature multiple topics and threads, as this great one on both autumn and falls
from innocence reflects.
6)
Early
Civil Rights Histories: The Little Rock Nine: Better remembering American
heroes like the Little Rock Nine is more crucial than ever, and here I
highlighted three complementary ways we can do just that.
7)
LongmireStudying:
Standing Bear: Not the last time the wonderful TV show will appear on this
list!
8)
Indigenous
Performers in Popular Culture: Two of these folks I knew virtually nothing
about before researching this post—and the third is Graham Greene!
9)
Guest
Post: Nancy Caronia on Italian Americans and Columbus Day: A complex and
crucial topic, handled with thoughtfulness and passion by a colleague and
friend—describes all of my great Guest Posts, and doubly so this one!
10)
Children’s
Histories: The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball: A new young adult novel
that can add importantly to our collective memories of the Chinese Exclusion
Act era.
11)
7
Years of Scholarly Blogging: Matthew Teutsch: Connecting to fellow public
scholars has been one of the very best parts of this blog for me, so I’m gonna
highlight all of the posts in this week’s series to try to return that favor!
16)
Veterans
Days: The Harrisburg Veterans Parade: One of those stunning moments that
embodies both the worst and best of America, the exclusionary yet inclusive
sides on which I’m focusing in my new book project.
17)
Curry,
LeBron, and Sports in the Age of Trump: Another one of those posts that has
become only (if frustratingly) more relevant since I wrote it.
18)
80s
AlbumStudying: Thriller and Dualities: Any time you have the chance to
write, and then to highlight, a post on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, you do so!
19)
Reconstruction
Figures: The Fisk Jubilee Singers: Some of my favorite posts here have
allowed me to learn a great deal more about topics for which my knowledge was
shamefully lacking. This is a very good example of that phenomenon!
20)
Longmire
Lessons: Walt and Cady: Back to Longmire one more time, for a
(SPOILERiffic) examination of where we leave some of the show’s wonderful
characters.
21)
Reviewing
Resistance: Fitchburg State University: For a series on the year in
#Resist, it was fun to think about some of the many ways my campus is doing its
part!
22)
Gay
Rights Histories: The Society for Human Rights (1924): Speaking of
shamefully lacking knowledge, I knew exactly nothing about this pioneering
activist organization before researching this post and series.
23)
Gay
Rights Histories: Fitchburg State’s Exhibition: Much closer to now and to
home, it was fun to think about why this FSU exhibit impressed me as much as it
did.
24)
Famous
Boy Scouts: Michael Jordan and Hank Aaron: Did you know that these two
legendary but contrasting athletes were both Boy Scouts?
25)
Learning
to Love Mariah Carey: My annual Valentine’s series concluded with my
newfound and deep admiration for the musical icon.
26)
Anti-Favorites:
The Geary Act: We really, really really, need to better remember the
horrific excesses of the Chinese Exclusion Act era.
27)
Boston
Massacre Studying: My Sons’ Thoughts: You didn’t think I’d miss a chance to
share this Guest Post of sorts featuring my sons’ takes on the Boston Massacre,
didya?
28)
Black
Panther Studying: Erik Killmonger: I haven’t stopped thinking about Michael
B. Jordan’s Black Panther character
since I saw the film.
29)
Great
American Novel Studying: Recent Contenders: There’s no such thing as The
Great American Novel—but it makes for a fun debate, and an even funner way to highlight
deserving books like this handful of recent classics.
30)
NeMLA
Recaps: Back to the Board: I’m so glad to have returned to the Northeast
MLA Board that I have to share this post on my reasons for doing so one more
time!
31)
AssassinationStudying:
Squeaky Fromme: Why a seemingly silly potential assassin was anything but.
32)
Scholarly
Tribute: Erik Loomis: A series on the Haymarket Affair concluded with a
tribute to one of our best labor historians and public scholars.
33)
Hap
& Leonard Studying: Redefining Lynching: As of this writing the
wonderful SundanceTV show Hap &
Leonard has been cancelled—but no matter what we have three amazing seasons
to return to, highlighted by season two as I detail in this post.
34)
Nursing
Histories: Medal of Honor Medics: The chance to highlight a few of the
amazing Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients made for a great end to this
pre-Memorial Day series.
35)
BlockbusterStudying:
The Last Jedi: The latest in a series of posts through which I critique
Yoda, praise Luke, and rethink the American mythos that is Star Wars.
36)
McCarthyism
Contexts: McCarthy’s Lies and Rise: Joe McCarthy rose to destructive power
by lying all the time, and nearly destroyed the country with his continued
falsehoods. Seems worth remembering.
37)
The
Supreme Court and Progress: Loving v. Virginia: Loving Day is one of my
favorite American moments, and has so much to teach us about both our past and
our present.
38)
Summer
Class Readings: “Of the Passing of the First-Born”: This chapter from Du
Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk is one
of the toughest and most important American texts I know.
39)
Representing
Race: Seven Seconds: If you haven’t yet seen this Netflix original show, I
highly recommend it, for all these reasons and more.
40)
KennedyStudying:
Chappaquiddick: Posts that challenge my own ideologies and perspectives are
ones I always try to highlight in these series, and this one did just that.
41)
17th
Century Histories: Jamestown’s First Slaves: But so too are posts that help
us unearth American histories and stories we all need to better remember, which
remains my #1 priority in this blog and one I can’t wait to continue in the
year to come!
New birthday
best post tomorrow,
Ben
PS. You know
what to do!
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