October 2-3, 2021: September 2021 Recap

[A Recap of the month that was in AmericanStudying.]

August 30: Fall Semester Previews: First Year Experience Seminar: A semester preview series kicks off with what I’m most excited for with a class I’m teaching for the first time.

August 31: Fall Semester Previews: Honors Lit Seminar: The series continues with two reasons why I keep returning to one of my oldest scholarly and pedagogical subjects, the Gilded Age.

September 1: Fall Semester Previews: English Studies Capstone: Why I’ve added a new reading, Kevin Gannon’s wonderful Radical Hope, to my Capstone course, as the series rolls on.

September 2: Fall Semester Previews: American Lit II Online: Something I’m excited to try for the first time in my newest all-online class.

September 3: Fall Semester Previews: Adult Learning Course on the 1920s: The series concludes with the still-evolving topics of my newest adult learning course.

September 4-5: Fall Semester Previews: Book Plans: But wait, there’s more this Fall—what I’m most excited about with my most recent and next book projects!

September 6: PageantStudying: Miss America’s Origins: For Miss America’s 100^th anniversary, a pageant series kicks off with two contexts for that 1921 origin point.

September 7: PageantStudying: Vanessa Williams: The series continues with what’s deeply frustrating about a 1980s scandal, and how its subject has transcended that moment nonetheless.

September 8: PageantStudying: American Pastoral: A seemingly superficial but strikingly symbolic fictional character, as the series rolls on.

September 9: PageantStudying: Trump: Two uncomfortable pageant realities that the Former Occupant helps us confront.

September 10: PageantStudying: Santana Jayde Young Man Afraid of His Horses: The series concludes with a young tribal emissary who embodies the best of 21^st century pageants and activism.

September 11-12: Tanya Roth’s Guest Post on “The Real Miss America”: My newest Guest Post, an excerpt from Tanya’s just-released book!

September 13: Domestic Terrorism: The KKK: A 9/11 series on domestic terrorism kicks off with two under-remembered stages to our oldest domestic terrorist organization.

September 14: Domestic Terrorism: The Weathermen: The series continues with the difficulty, and importance, of writing about domestic terrorists with whose ideologies we agree.

September 15: Domestic Terrorism: McVeigh and Militias: How to see the Oklahoma City bomber as a “lone wolf” and why it’s important not to, as the series rolls on.

September 16: Domestic Terrorism: Edward Abbey and Environmental Terrorism: Three distinct and contrasting ways to contribute to environmental activism.

September 17: Domestic Terrorism: Cultural Representations: The series concludes with three cultural texts that reflect three different visions of domestic terrorists.

September 18-19: Domestic Terrorism: 9/11 and 1/6: A special weekend post on what distinguishes and what connects the two most prominent 21^st century terrorist attacks on the US.

September 20: American Modernists: Antin and Yezierska: For Fitzgerald’s 125^th birthday, a series on American Modernists kicks off with two compelling Jewish American authors and books.

September 21: American Modernists: Nella Larsen: The series continues with the frustratingly brief but potent career of a Harlem Renaissance author.

September 22: American Modernists: The Black Mountain Poets: How context can amplify and enrich our analysis of individual authors and works, as the series writes on.

September 23: American Modernists: Dos Passos and Wright: Two strikingly parallel but importantly divergent 1930s to 50s American Modernist careers and arcs.

September 24: American Modernists: F. Scott Fitzgerald: For his 125^th birthday, the series concludes with a short story that can help us start reading Fitzgerald beyond Gatsby.

September 27: NEASA Guest Posts: Elif Armbruster: Following up the weekend’s NEASA Colloquium, a series on great NEASA Guest Posts (and friends) starts with Elif on gender, food, and fiction.

September 28: NEASA Guest Posts: Akeia Benard: The series continues with Akeia on her role as the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s Curator of Social History.

September 29: NEASA Guest Posts: Nancy Caronia: Nancy’s great Guest Post on Italian Americans and Columbus Day, as the series guests on.

September 30: NEASA Guest Posts: Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello: Liz on her inspiring work on and in Salem communities!

October 1: NEASA Guest Posts: Jonathan Silverman: And the series concludes with Jonathan’s prescient 2016 Guest Post on how to be the American President.

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!