Dave Mazella
@davemazella.bsky.social
eighteenth-century scholar in Heatstroke, TX. let's see how this goes.
Book: Making of Modern Cynicism, now in paperback from UVA press: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Book: Making of Modern Cynicism, now in paperback from UVA press: https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Pinned
Dave Mazella
@davemazella.bsky.social
· Oct 25
The Making of Modern Cynicism
<div><p>Once describing a life of exile, self-denial, physical rigor, and mastery of one’s desires, cynicism now describes a life of political quietis
www.upress.virginia.edu
My book on ancient and modern cynicism, The Making of Modern Cynicism (2007, UVA press), is now available again in paperback!
Because cynicism never goes out of fashion.
www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Because cynicism never goes out of fashion.
www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2793/
Bowie
Zappa
Springsteen
Jesus & Mary Chain
Curve
Zappa
Springsteen
Jesus & Mary Chain
Curve
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen:
Bowie
NIN
Prince
A Tribe Called Quest
Rage Against The Machine
Bowie
NIN
Prince
A Tribe Called Quest
Rage Against The Machine
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen:
Prince
Lady Gaga
David Byrne
Destiny’s Child
Kate Bush
Prince
Lady Gaga
David Byrne
Destiny’s Child
Kate Bush
November 28, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Bowie
Zappa
Springsteen
Jesus & Mary Chain
Curve
Zappa
Springsteen
Jesus & Mary Chain
Curve
Reposted by Dave Mazella
If you are waiting for holiday events, why not take a moment and read this excellent Jonathan Beecher Field piece from the Commonplace catalog. It looks at the widening gap between academic and popular understandings of early American topics like #Thanksgiving. 🗃️ commonplace.online/article/come...
Come On, Lilgrim - Commonplace
The gap between academic and popular understandings of early American topics is an enduring challenge for early Americanists. In the case of Thanksgiving, that gap is widening.
commonplace.online
November 27, 2025 at 5:40 PM
If you are waiting for holiday events, why not take a moment and read this excellent Jonathan Beecher Field piece from the Commonplace catalog. It looks at the widening gap between academic and popular understandings of early American topics like #Thanksgiving. 🗃️ commonplace.online/article/come...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Congratulations!
I'm thrilled to have received the Natalie Zemon Davis Award from @sfhs.bsky.social for my paper on Tamil consumers, caste, and mechanical timepieces in 18C Pondicherry. NZD is such an inspiration to early modernists and it's a huge honor to receive this award!
November 27, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Congratulations!
Reposted by Dave Mazella
In 2019 I wrote a blog post w lots of links to public writing about those complex histories-- all hold up well, I think: 3/ karinwulf.com/trove/please...
Please Have a Big Helping of History - Karin Wulf
I find Thanksgiving an especially challenging holiday. In my family it’s always been billed as the holiday we can all agreed on. With a diversity of faith commitments, differing political perspectives...
karinwulf.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
In 2019 I wrote a blog post w lots of links to public writing about those complex histories-- all hold up well, I think: 3/ karinwulf.com/trove/please...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Thanksgiving was made an American holiday in the 19th century, but the 17th century history on which much mythologizing rests is awfully important. Reminded of impt work for 2020 & the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower, inc terrific special issue of Early American Literature w this great essay. 1/
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Thanksgiving was made an American holiday in the 19th century, but the 17th century history on which much mythologizing rests is awfully important. Reminded of impt work for 2020 & the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower, inc terrific special issue of Early American Literature w this great essay. 1/
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Samantha Hancox-Li is the most essential thinker of 2025 and anything that supports her is good.
Something that definitely happened last year is that @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com got on CNN. It's true—we have video.
And, that happened because of an article she landed in a larger publication.
Big platforms lead to big audiences for liberal ideas. Build one: www.gofundme.com/f/the-libera...
And, that happened because of an article she landed in a larger publication.
Big platforms lead to big audiences for liberal ideas. Build one: www.gofundme.com/f/the-libera...
Gorilla Channel Governance
YouTube video by Liberal Currents
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Samantha Hancox-Li is the most essential thinker of 2025 and anything that supports her is good.
Best of the season, everyone youtu.be/BmbD1X3ZkXI?...
I'm Afraid Of Americans (2021 Remaster)
YouTube video by David Bowie - Topic
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Best of the season, everyone youtu.be/BmbD1X3ZkXI?...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
It’s almost like it’s been bullshit all along
"While governors often align with their parties’ presidents, Abbott’s support for Trump’s expansion of federal powers is a striking departure from his own historical and ardent defenses of state sovereignty."
Greg Abbott has bent his views on state sovereignty to accede to the wishes of Trump.
Texas recently joined dozens of states in turning over voter roll information to the DOJ, despite long-standing resistance to federal oversight of state elections.
With @texastribune.org
Texas recently joined dozens of states in turning over voter roll information to the DOJ, despite long-standing resistance to federal oversight of state elections.
With @texastribune.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:10 PM
It’s almost like it’s been bullshit all along
This is my life too, but cleaning OCR
"oh, you research literature? you must get to read all the time, how fun!"
*me, going through every single (digital) issue of an 18th century daily newspaper to make a spreadsheet listing number of advertisements and the portion of them that were for books*
*me, going through every single (digital) issue of an 18th century daily newspaper to make a spreadsheet listing number of advertisements and the portion of them that were for books*
November 27, 2025 at 3:13 PM
This is my life too, but cleaning OCR
Reposted by Dave Mazella
If and when Trump leaves the scene, the country will still face a daunting task:
Who can channel the disruptive political energies of a society in which the established institutions have lost the people’s trust into a (small-d) democratic direction?
Who can channel the disruptive political energies of a society in which the established institutions have lost the people’s trust into a (small-d) democratic direction?
November 27, 2025 at 2:42 PM
If and when Trump leaves the scene, the country will still face a daunting task:
Who can channel the disruptive political energies of a society in which the established institutions have lost the people’s trust into a (small-d) democratic direction?
Who can channel the disruptive political energies of a society in which the established institutions have lost the people’s trust into a (small-d) democratic direction?
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Reposted by Dave Mazella
hi i bet you need to hear Hüsker Dü performing the Mary Tyler Moore song live in 1985 today
Love Is All Around
YouTube video by Husker Du - Topic
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:50 AM
hi i bet you need to hear Hüsker Dü performing the Mary Tyler Moore song live in 1985 today
Reposted by Dave Mazella
ICYMI AAUP is starting a PAC news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Professors Launch PAC to Fight Back Against Trump’s Attacks
The American Association of University Professors, a union whose members are fighting policies from the Trump administration and GOP Congress, launched a PAC this week to spend in federal elections.
news.bgov.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM
ICYMI AAUP is starting a PAC news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Excited to prep for oral history grad class next semester as an Assistant professor!
What are some of y’all’s favorite articles on oral history, testimonios, autohistorias, and the interviewing process? #oralhistory #publichistory
What are some of y’all’s favorite articles on oral history, testimonios, autohistorias, and the interviewing process? #oralhistory #publichistory
November 27, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Excited to prep for oral history grad class next semester as an Assistant professor!
What are some of y’all’s favorite articles on oral history, testimonios, autohistorias, and the interviewing process? #oralhistory #publichistory
What are some of y’all’s favorite articles on oral history, testimonios, autohistorias, and the interviewing process? #oralhistory #publichistory
Reposted by Dave Mazella
You know what we won't need once handwriting recognition software has done its thing? Archivists, curators, conservators, catalogers, codicologists, or paleographers. We won't need archives either. We won't need diplomatics, editorial theory, book or media history, or material culture studies 🗃️🧵
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
You know what we won't need once handwriting recognition software has done its thing? Archivists, curators, conservators, catalogers, codicologists, or paleographers. We won't need archives either. We won't need diplomatics, editorial theory, book or media history, or material culture studies 🗃️🧵
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Support is building within the labor, academic and Palestine solidarity movements for a history professor at Texas State University who, shortly after receiving tenure, was fired after he made comments in his private capacity at a socialist conference www.labornotes.org/blogs/2025/1...
Texas College Teacher Fired for Free Speech | Labor Notes
www.labornotes.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Support is building within the labor, academic and Palestine solidarity movements for a history professor at Texas State University who, shortly after receiving tenure, was fired after he made comments in his private capacity at a socialist conference www.labornotes.org/blogs/2025/1...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
A little treat on my day off, because I deserve it 💚
November 26, 2025 at 9:05 PM
A little treat on my day off, because I deserve it 💚
Reposted by Dave Mazella
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Reposted by Dave Mazella
A prominent Texas Republican is running for Railroad Commission in order to fight the "Islamic invasion." He's vying for a seat vacated by a former commissioner, who is now running for Texas Comptroller on a vow to protect girls' sports.
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
What Does the Railroad Commision Have to Do With “Radical Islam”? Everything, One Candidate Says
Tarrant County GOP chair Bo French, known for his incendiary online presence, recently tendered his resignation to seek a position on the regulatory body that oversees the oil-and-gas industry.
www.texasmonthly.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
A prominent Texas Republican is running for Railroad Commission in order to fight the "Islamic invasion." He's vying for a seat vacated by a former commissioner, who is now running for Texas Comptroller on a vow to protect girls' sports.
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
This has become the standard interpretation
#Google blurbs RF Brissenden's 'Virtue in Distress'. 'Coco Crocodile is rehearsing her song & Billie the Pig has a dance to perfect & all in time for the evening show! But the Fox Clowns are in a muddle & Magician has made his assistant vanish, COMPLETELY!" Is that #Clarissa or Sade? #18thcentury
November 26, 2025 at 6:54 PM
This has become the standard interpretation
Reposted by Dave Mazella
wild that this happened within 24 hours of bolsanaro going to prison. will be a timeless textbook example of what works to save a democracy and what doesn’t
Breaking News: The last pending criminal prosecution against President Trump was dismissed by a judge in Georgia, effectively ending efforts to hold Trump criminally responsible for attempts to overturn the 2020 election. trib.al/EnJu57H
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
wild that this happened within 24 hours of bolsanaro going to prison. will be a timeless textbook example of what works to save a democracy and what doesn’t
Reposted by Dave Mazella
This essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social is beautiful on what can happen in the classroom, and on the importance of *argument* to literary studies. I especially like how she writes about helping students to "believe in their own significance"
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 26, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social is beautiful on what can happen in the classroom, and on the importance of *argument* to literary studies. I especially like how she writes about helping students to "believe in their own significance"
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Reposted by Dave Mazella
The average medieval peasant could not buy a gas station delta 9 gummy and watch “Scooter Fail Compilation 5” on YouTube, which makes it difficult to compare GDP across time
November 26, 2025 at 5:03 AM
The average medieval peasant could not buy a gas station delta 9 gummy and watch “Scooter Fail Compilation 5” on YouTube, which makes it difficult to compare GDP across time
Reposted by Dave Mazella
"Universities must resist the temptation to reduce the library to a digital archive and study space and ensure that these structures remain spaces for rigorous research, critical reading, intellectual discovery and knowledge creation, rather than just digital repositories or study halls."
"...what I am witnessing is the unfortunate proletarianization of the library profession, with access to tenure increasingly restricted and librarians being treated as peripheral to the academic mission."
Lots to think about. Read more: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
Lots to think about. Read more: www.insidehighered.com/opinion/colu...
What’s gained, what’s lost in the evolving university library
What’s gained, what’s lost.
www.insidehighered.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"Universities must resist the temptation to reduce the library to a digital archive and study space and ensure that these structures remain spaces for rigorous research, critical reading, intellectual discovery and knowledge creation, rather than just digital repositories or study halls."