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americanstudier.bsky.social
Ben Railton
@americanstudier.bsky.social
8.6K followers 7.3K following 4.8K posts
Prof of Amer Lit & Studies. Dad to 2 amazing young men. Married. We the People: http://tinyurl.com/yyhxjktb; Of Thee I Sing: http://tinyurl.com/y6hsozjx. #ScholarSunday guru. https://blackwhiteandread.com he/him
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americanstudier.bsky.social
Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · Nov 8
For new followers, here's my latest project, a podcast on sports histories, exclusion & inclusion, & the worst & best of America--& my single favorite moment from American history.

americanstudier.podbean.com
The Celestials’ Last Game | Ben Railton
Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America
americanstudier.podbean.com
americanstudier.bsky.social
Every year I share a blog series for Valentine's week, & it's always one of my favorite things I get to do. This year, inspired by my weekend tribute post to my late Dad's first book, I wanted to highlight scholarly books I've loved, tracing my own identity & story through these exemplary texts. 🗃️ +
February 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Also really excited to be teaching María Ruiz de Burton in my Multiethnic American Lit Grad course this week. It's not just about hemispheric American Studies (although yes)--it's that the U.S. was & remains foundationally, essentially, multilingual, with Spanish its oldest European language.
February 9, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Ben Railton
andycraig.bsky.social
To reject the US as a fundamentally American country with a deep shared history and commonality with the rest of the Americas, including that Spanish has long been our de facto national second language, is on a deep level anti-American. It's hating actual American culture and history and tradition.
February 9, 2026 at 3:19 AM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Happy Tom Paine Day! Ain't that America's Revolutionary ideals?

memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:51 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Before the Gatorade bath, soak in all the great public scholarship in this week’s thread, & please share with fans everywhere, thanks! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social
February 9, 2026 at 3:17 AM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Bad Bunny y Glissant por le win.

americanstudier.blogspot.com/2023/05/may-...
May 2, 2023: Hemispheric Histories: Glissant and Creolization
[April 30 th marks the 75 th anniversary of the formal founding of the Organization of American States (OAS). So this week I’ll offer som...
americanstudier.blogspot.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Reposted by Ben Railton
americanstudier.bsky.social
Whether you’re most excited for the Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl, or the Superb Owl, tailgate with my 262nd #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, team! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 262 (2/8/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
Whether you’re most excited for the Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl, or the Superb Owl, start tailgating early with my 262nd #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming b...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
As the Super Snacking ramps up, so should your #ScholarSunday. Check out all this great public scholarship, & please share widely so it can touch down with everybody, team! @lollardfish.bsky.social 🗃️
February 8, 2026 at 5:54 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Happy Kate Chopin Day! One of the most talented turn of the century American authors, & a vital voice for women's perspectives & experiences in particular.

memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:21 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
@victorerikray.bsky.social, would you be able to share the overall thread as well, to help get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!

bsky.app/profile/amer...
February 8, 2026 at 2:26 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
@larryglickman.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to help get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!

bsky.app/profile/amer...
February 8, 2026 at 1:32 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
@mkn.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to help get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!

bsky.app/profile/amer...
February 8, 2026 at 1:26 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
@marcusrediker.bsky.social, would you be able to share the overall thread, to help get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!

bsky.app/profile/amer...
February 8, 2026 at 1:19 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Whether you’re most excited for the Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl, or the Superb Owl, tailgate with my 262nd #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, team! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 262 (2/8/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
Whether you’re most excited for the Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl, or the Superb Owl, start tailgating early with my 262nd #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming b...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
I wish I could share this post with Dad. But I’m honored to get to share these glimpses into his writing & voice & self as a young scholar—& one about to be a father! 🗃️ @c19podcast.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 10:40 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Happy Laura Ingalls Wilder Day! One of the most influential YA authors, & also a reflection of how fraught American literature & culture have always been.

memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:03 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Did you know that when James Fenimore Cooper passed away, he was in the middle of work on an epic history of New York City, subtitled The Towns of Manhattan? That and more in the final post in my weeklong CooperStudying blog series! 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 2:29 AM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Before this first week of Black History Month concludes, here's my latest Considering History column once more, on a series of impressive & inspiring figures from Minnesota's Black history we should all better remember, today more than ever! @markanthonyneal.bsky.social 🗃️
February 6, 2026 at 8:55 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
I too loved them, but it was also a very strangely operating commercial market--when I worked at a bookstore, we were required to rip the covers off of older mm paperbacks, send the coves back to the publishers, & trash the books themselves.
samadams.bsky.social Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 3d
I am certainly going to miss mass markets, and cherish some of the ones I have (Cornell Woolrich’s Black novels ftw). But some of the ones I’ve pulled off the shelf lately are virtually unreadable, like a copy of 1984 that looks like it was printed entirely in 8-point bold.
So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:36 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
There are countless problems with our inability to remember anything for very long these days, but high on the list is this:

Donald Trump became a national political figure for the first time as the face & voice of Birtherism. That was all he was in 2011-12, & it made his national political career.
adamserwer.bsky.social Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 3d
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
kylegriffin1.bsky.social Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 3d
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
Happy Aaron Burr Day! Definitely one of my most fraught Memory Day nominees, but one who has so much to tell us about the Revolutionary & Early Republic eras.

memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Ben Railton
silaslapham.bsky.social
Over the past six months, Melissa has been working in @yallaintrightco.bsky.social and now it’s live!

@kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @wihorne.bsky.social @tlecaque.bsky.social @americanstudier.bsky.social

Yallaintright.co
Y'all Ain't Right
Y’all Ain’t Right is your go-to shop for sharp, witty political humor. From clever one-liners to bold designs, our merch takes aim at the absurdities of today’s politics with a Southern twist. Perfect...
Yallaintright.co
February 6, 2026 at 11:52 AM
americanstudier.bsky.social
@carlygoodman.bsky.social, is Made By History no longer sharing new pieces? I generally check it consistently for my threads so just checking in. Thanks!
February 5, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Ben Railton
gvaughnjoy.bsky.social
Comedy is one of our hardest and most important art forms.

These comedy legends had a loose script of plot points written by Levy and Guest and then improvised a riotously funny film that also confronts questions of existentialism with an optimistic lens of progress for normal people. Geniuses.
At a time when it's so easy to be filled with anger and fear and hopelessness and more anger and even rage, it's important to practice gratitude for anything and everything that brings us joy. These comedy legends bring me joy. I laughed so much at Waiting for Guffman that gave myself a headache, and it was so wonderful to have those 90-minutes of escapist joy.
February 5, 2026 at 2:02 PM
americanstudier.bsky.social
It took decades for the Evers family to receive justice for his assassination & for his murderer to be punished.

It took about a year for our fascist white supremacist administration to take us right back through the looking-glass.
February 5, 2026 at 5:33 PM