Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Dig It Dan @digitdan.bsky.social · 4d

10/6/1841, the first African American convention in Maine was held in Portland. Throughout antebellum and continuing for 30 years past the Civil War, these political gatherings offered opportunities for free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans to organize and strategize for racial justice.

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 5d

Here it is, my 244th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more in comments below, share as widely as possible, & thanks, all! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

#ScholarSunday Thread 244 (10/5/25) – Black and White and Read All Over

Here it is, my 244th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more in comments below, share as widely as possib...

blackwhiteandread.com

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 5d

+ featuring contributions from @leannareneehieber.bsky.social @urbanhistorya.bsky.social @historyworkshop.org.uk @literaryhub.bsky.social @cliocontemporary.bsky.social @jakeromm.bsky.social & @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social @inverting-vision.bsky.social +

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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 7d

“They asked for a sword, and we said, ‘Well, we do have swords, but we can’t give them away because they’re museum artifacts,’” said Todd Arrington, forced to resign as head of Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library.”

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Mallory Szymanski @malszy.bsky.social · 9d

#academicsky 🗃️
For when you need something smart to read to distract you from the news.

Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 9d

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Today is the 50th anniversary of the "Thrilla in Manila" fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Suzuko Morikawa shows their face-off to be a "crucible cultural conflict" that extended beyond the ring and captured the tensions of the mid-1970s. 🗃️
clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/10/01/t...

The “Thrilla in Manila” at 50: A Retrospective on Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and the Power of Their “Calculated Blaze”

At the 50th anniversary of the fight, the “Thrilla in Manila” emerges as not only the story of two extraordinary boxers’ pushing themselves to their physical limits, but also embodies creativity an…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 9d

‪
Today is the 50th anniversary of the "Thrilla in Manila" fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Suzuko Morikawa shows their face-off to be a "crucible cultural conflict" that extended beyond the ring and captured the tensions of the mid-1970s. 🗃️
clioandthecontemporary.com/2025/10/01/t...

The “Thrilla in Manila” at 50: A Retrospective on Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and the Power of Their “Calculated Blaze”

At the 50th anniversary of the fight, the “Thrilla in Manila” emerges as not only the story of two extraordinary boxers’ pushing themselves to their physical limits, but also embodies creativity an…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Stephen West @stephenwest.bsky.social · 10d

Actual history teachers: um, no

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d

Hegseth: "As history teaches us, the only people who actually deserve peace and those who are willing to wage war to defend it. That's why pacifism is so naive and dangerous."

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 12d

"Being respectful of our history" means not lying about it.

There are not, actually, "a lot of questions" about this grisly massacre

You should put your "confidence and trust" in the nonpartisan scholars who have studied this extensively instead of a right-wing Fox & Friends propagandist

"I think it's important that we be respectful of our history, but there are obviously still a lot of questions that swirl around what happened back then, but I put my confidence and trust in the people who have evaluated ... and that's the conclusion they came to."

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 12d

Here it is, my 243rd #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

#ScholarSunday Thread 243 (9/28/25) - Black and White and Read All Over

Here it is, my 243rd #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, please share widely, & enjoy, all! Fi...

blackwhiteandread.com

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Data Rescue Project #DataRescue @datarescueproject.org · 13d

We are so excited to hear our partners, Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, on PBS today. The #SaveOurSigns crew & DRP steering comm were active in helping them gear up their project! We love supporting citizen preservation efforts.

Have an idea? Come chat with us!

Citizen historians document Smithsonian exhibits under White House scrutiny

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It's a public-private trust that has long operated at arm's length from the White House, but now finds…

www.pbs.org

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This Day (A History Podcast) @thisdaypod.com · 14d

Announcing a good ol’ fashioned Teach-In in Washington, DC on Sunday, October 26th.

We’ll convene for a series of lectures, stories, and conversations to celebrate and stand up for the work of history and museums.

Shoutout to @natedimeo.bsky.social for bringing this idea to us.

See you in DC!

A poster announcing a teach-in in washington DC.

Sunday, October 26th - Sunup to Sundown
Washington, DC - The National Mall
“AMERICA’S FRONT YARD”

FEATURING KELLIE CARTER JACKSON, NICOLE HEMMER, DEREK MUSGROVE, NATE DIMEO, TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM, AMANDA SEALES, JODY AVIRGAN, JAMES FALLOWS, MARTHA JONES, MARCIA CHATELAIN, PAUL BUTLER, NATHAN CONNOLLY, AND MORE

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Rebecca Fachner @rebeccafachner.bsky.social · 14d

Pete Hegseth: history is settled
Historians: aww, bless his heart.

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Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 16d

My latest column for the Chronicle of Higher Ed is now live. It's an argument for including AI-critical voices in campus conversations and policymaking workgroups, and I'm proud to get this dissenting piece into the mainstream genAI/higher ed discourse. Please read and share if you're so inclined 🙂

Advice | Sometimes We Resist AI for Good Reasons

Why higher ed needs to listen to the contrarians in setting policies on using tools like ChatGPT in faculty work.

www.chronicle.com

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 19d

From Nashville for one more Family Weekend, here’s my 242nd #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️

americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...

#ScholarSunday Thread 242

Published on September 21, 2025

americanstudier.substack.com

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Mary Dudziak @marydudziak.bsky.social · 23d

This.
I told a student group that I declined their debate invitation but that I would love to read something together and have a conversation. The response: crickets.
Let's stop debating and try to talk with each other instead.

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 23d

“Debate Me” culture is not organic, endemic, or apolitical. This mode of high jacking discourse is and has been central to a 30-year conservative training program that has produced untold numbers of people to do this for every reason but “civil discourse”

Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 23d

It's wild to me how ostensibly smart people cannot/could not/will not see what is so obvious.

@mmasnick.bsky.social nails it. And my hunch is we'd be a better society if the Very Serious People with the Very Serious Ideas opened their fucking eyes.

www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/t...

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 22d

I think this comparison is largely right.

Yes, it’s a replay of McCarthyism’s ugliest aspects but that was fueled by a widespread sense that the country faced dire external dangers while this is about a deeply unpopular president’s grudges.

Jeet Heer @jeetheer.bsky.social · 22d

This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.

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Jeet Heer @jeetheer.bsky.social · 22d

This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 22d

This week’s blog posts need a lot more love. The histories & issues of censorship in America have never been more relevant. Please share widely! @kevinmkruse.bsky.social 🗃️

Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 25d

So for the first post in my blog series on censorship in America, past & present, on what the 1730s case of Peter Zenger reveals about freedom of the press, libel & the facts, & the fragility & vitality of immigrant voices & our foundational diversity!

americanstudier.blogspot.com/2025/09/sept...

September 15, 2025: Censorship Histories: The Zenger Case

[On September 19 th , 1985 , Congress held hearings over the concept of parental advisory warnings for music. So this week, I’ll commemorate...

americanstudier.blogspot.com

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Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 23d

McCarthyism in your news feed? Check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's latest, "'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?': Modern McCarthyism in America," which explores recent echoes of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and academia.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?”: Modern McCarthyism in America

Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between our 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn’t: the benefits of hi…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Josh Kluever @joshkluever.bsky.social · 23d

🗃️ McCarthyism is back and it’s coming for Tom Hanks. @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social with an excellent piece about the echoes of the Red Scare in today’s Hollywood.

Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 23d

McCarthyism in your news feed? Check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's latest, "'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?': Modern McCarthyism in America," which explores recent echoes of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and academia.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?”: Modern McCarthyism in America

Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between our 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn’t: the benefits of hi…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · 23d

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

The new TOC from academia dot edu.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Cate Denial @cjdenial.bsky.social · 22d

Re-upping this list of "Against GenAI" resources - updated, with more links! catherinedenial.org/blog/uncateg...

Against Generative AI – Cate Denial

catherinedenial.org

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 23d

& for a very clear indication of some of the many, many ways in which we have returned to & far surpassed the Sedition Act era in our own period, check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's vital new @cliocontemporary.bsky.social article:

bsky.app/profile/clio...

Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 23d

McCarthyism in your news feed? Check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's latest, "'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?': Modern McCarthyism in America," which explores recent echoes of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and academia.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?”: Modern McCarthyism in America

Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between our 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn’t: the benefits of hi…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Clio2 @clio2.bsky.social · 22d

'In both the Cold War Red Scare & today’s sequel, culture has been key to gaining public support for escalations that trample civil liberties. Both...have relied on nebulous philosophies as catchalls for political, social, cultural, & ideological views—McCarthy’s “communism” and Trump’s “woke”.'

Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 23d

McCarthyism in your news feed? Check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's latest, "'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?': Modern McCarthyism in America," which explores recent echoes of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and academia.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?”: Modern McCarthyism in America

Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between our 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn’t: the benefits of hi…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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Dr. Vaughn Joy @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social · 22d

The consolidation of media into a few corrupt hands is to control the hearts and minds of the American people, a goal of McCarthyism. In this linked article, I talk about the parallels of the McCarthy era and today. In my new book (pinned), I analyze the cultural impact of McCarthyism on Hollywood.

Clio and the Contemporary @cliocontemporary.bsky.social · 23d

McCarthyism in your news feed? Check out @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social's latest, "'Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?': Modern McCarthyism in America," which explores recent echoes of the McCarthy era in Hollywood and academia.

“Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Tom Hanks fan club?”: Modern McCarthyism in America

Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between our 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn’t: the benefits of hi…

clioandthecontemporary.com

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