[A Recap of the
month that was in AmericanStudying.]
February
3: Immigration Laws: 19th Century Origins: Inspired by the anniversary
of the 1917 Immigration Act, an immigration laws series kicks off with why 19th
century state laws have to be part of the story.
February
4: Immigration Laws: The Chinese Exclusion Act: The series continues with
how my thoughts about a foundational, exclusionary law have evolved over time.
February
5: Immigration Laws: The Immigration Act of 1917: On the anniversary of its
passage, how the 1917 law built on the Chinese exclusion era, and how it went much
further still.
February
6: Immigration Laws: The Tydings-McDuffie Act: The specific contexts and
broader implications of a xenophobic 1930s law, as the series rolls on.
February
7: Immigration Laws: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965: Why the
landmark law was indeed groundbreaking, and two ways to complicate that
narrative.
February
8-9: Immigration Laws and Narratives in 2020: The series concludes with two
distinct but ultimately interconnected public scholarly lessons for the
present.
February
10: Fantasy Stories I Love: Revisiting Lloyd Alexander: This year’s
Valentine’s Day series kicks off with the joys of watching my older son read a
childhood favorite series of mine.
February
11: Fantasy Stories I Love: Tolkien Takeaways: The series continues with
three AmericanStudies lessons from the LOTR trilogy.
February
12: Fantasy Stories I Love: Iron Crown Enterprises: The rise, fall, and
enduring legacy of an innovative gaming company, as the series rolls (the dice)
on.
February
13: Fantasy Stories I Love: Robin Hobb: The prolific author who helped
changed epic fantasy’s too-often trite narratives of gender and sexuality.
February
14: Fantasy Stories I Love: George R.R. Martin: Why the book that took
Martin’s blockbuster series off the rails also exemplifies his groundbreaking
achievements.
February
15-16: Fantasy Stories I Love: African Fantasy: The series concludes with
my first experiences with a contemporary genre community, and my need to read a
lot more.
February
17: Non-Favorite Studying: To Kill a Mockingbird: The annual post-Valentine’s
airing of grievances kicks off with what Harper Lee’s famous novel fails to do,
and how reframing it might open up other conversations.
February
18: Non-Favorite Studying: Citizen Kane: The series continues with two very
American problems with one of our most important films.
February
19: Non-Favorite Studying: Mad Men: The historical and American flaws in
the acclaimed TV drama, as the series gripes on.
February
20: Non-Favorite Studying: “Africa” and Graceland: Perhaps my most controversial
non-favorite post ever, on how overt and more subtle acts of musical cultural
appropriation.
February
21: Non-Favorite Studying: Low Five: The series concludes with five
historical figures with whom I have a bone—or a whole skeleton—to pick.
February
22-23: Crowd-sourced Non-Favorites: As always, one of my favorite posts of
the year, the crowd-sourced airing of grievances that concludes the
non-favorites series—add yours in comments!
February
24: Leap Years: 1816: A Leap Week (yes, I just made that a thing) series
kicks off with significant global, cross-cultural, and national trends in a
single Leap Year.
February
25: Leap Years: 1848: The series continues with how three distinct events
within a ten-day period helped change America and the world.
February
26: Leap Years: 1904: Five of the many cultural legacies of the 1904 World’s
Fair in St. Louis, as the series leaps on.
February
27: Leap Years: 1948: A couple significant contexts for a contested
election beyond “Dewey Defeats Truman.”
February
28: Leap Years: 1984: The series concludes with how three of the year’s
huge blockbuster films reflected 1980s debates and divisions.
Next series
starts Monday,
Ben
PS. Topics you’d
like to see covered in this space? Guest Posts you’d like to contribute? Lemme know!
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