[A Recap of the month that was in AmericanStudying.]
March
6: American Cars: Oldsmobile, Ford, and Dodge: As my younger son gets ready
to become a teenage driver, a CarStudying series starts with the practical and
mythical details to the origins of American automobiles.
March
7: American Cars: Crime Cars: The series continues with AmericanStudies
contexts for three infamous crime cars.
March
8: American Cars: Rebel Without a Cause: A few reasons why the film’s
famous “chicken run” scene is so significant, as the series races on.
March
9: American Cars: Smart Cars: From KITT to Christine to Herbie the Love
Bug, lessons from three cars with minds of their own.
March
10: American Cars: The Fast and the Furious: The series concludes with two
ways to contextualize the hugely successful car racing franchise.
March
13: Wild West Stories: Gunfighter Nation: For Wyatt’s Earp’s 175th
birthday, a Wild West series kicks off with a groundbreaking AmericanStudies
book on violence.
March
14: Wild West Stories: Billy the Kid: The series continues with two telling
layers to the famous young outlaw’s mythos, and the context they both mostly
miss.
March
15: Wild West Stories: Walt Longmire: A great contemporary character who
straddles the line between classic and revised clichés, as the series draws
on.
March
16: Wild West Stories: Annie Oakley: Three figures who each and together
help us see the human realities behind the mythic sharpshooter.
March
17: Wild West Stories: True Grit The series concludes with how a classic
Wild West novel both uses and challenges elements of the mythos.
March
18-19: Wild West Stories: Wyatt Earp: For Earp’s birthday, on myths,
realities, and how to split the difference.
March
20: Bruce on the Blog: Executioner Songs: For the amazing occasion of
finally seeing Springsteen with my sons, I wanted to share a handful of the many
times I’ve BruceStudied, starting with Bruce and Norman Mailer.
March
21: Bruce on the Blog: “State Trooper”: The series continues with two very
different ways to AmericanStudy one of Bruce’s most ambiguous songs.
March
22: Bruce on the Blog: Wrecking Ball and High Hopes: Two entirely different
and equally inspiring recent albums from an evolving artist, as the series
rocks on.
March
23: Bruce on the Blog: “American Skin (41 Shots)”: Two more reasons why I
have come to love my all-time favorite song.
March
24: Bruce on the Blog: Born in the U.S.A.: The series concludes with two
ways to argue for the patriotic possibilities of an easily misunderstood song
and album.
March
25-26: Bruce in 2023: A special weekend reflection on that amazing 2023
concert and how it both reflects on the past and helps us fight for the future.
March
27: 19th Century Humor: Irving’s Knickerbocker: My annual April
Fool’s series focused this year on 19th century humorists, starting
with Irving’s ahead of its time creation.
March
28: 19th Century Humor: Fanny Fern: The series continues with
the very serious side to one of our most talented humorists.
March
29: 19th Century Humor: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman: A writer and
story that are funny, wise, and anything but narrow, as the series laughs on.
March
30: 19th Century Humor: Melville’s Chimney: The deeply strange
story that proves that allegory can be funny.
March
31: 19th Century Humor: Ah Sin: The series concludes with the
fine line between satire and stereotypes.
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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