Saturday, April 1, 2023

April 1-2, 2023: March 2023 Recap

[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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