John Funchion
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funchion.bsky.social
John Funchion
@funchion.bsky.social
I teach literature that I enjoy, but I usually write about literature that I don't. Nineteenth-century literature scholar in Miami who has researched nostalgia, literature, and politics; paramilitary historical romances; and conspiracy theories.
Evergreen still at the moment:
July 27, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Excited this arrived today and to be in such great company.
April 9, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by John Funchion
“The US of AI,” public draft of a talk given yesterday at Princeton.

drive.google.com/file/d/1O2qk...
February 26, 2025 at 7:49 PM
#whalespotting at Seattle Art Museum.
February 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
I'm teaching Vandermeer's Annihilation for the first time in my Poe class. If anyone has any favorite critical takes on the aesthetic category of "the weird," I'd be interested.
January 8, 2025 at 4:27 PM
A perfect seasonal gift for this upcoming year.
December 18, 2024 at 9:33 PM
Looking forward to my friend and colleague's book presentation this evening where I will gladly ask him to answer questions about *my* work.
www.booksandbooks.com/event/an-eve...
An Evening with Logan J. Connors and the UM Center for Humanities
Locally-owned, independent neighborhood bookstore
www.booksandbooks.com
December 2, 2024 at 4:00 PM
This 1853 novel is one that everyone who studies nineteenth-century US literature knows well, but I find that readers outside academia or even outside literary studies are shocked to learn of its existence when I happen to bring it up in conversation. www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/288980...
Clotel by William Wells Brown: 9780142437728 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
First published in December 1853, Clotel was written amid then unconfirmed rumors that Thomas Jefferson had fathered children with one of his slaves. The story begins with the auction of his mistress,...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 23, 2024 at 5:06 AM
A book that I should have probably read awhile ago that a graduate student put on my radar. It even features a really great critique of superhero movies toward the end.

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239809...
The Utopia of Rules by David Graeber: 9781612195186 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
From the author of the international bestseller Debt: The First 5,000 Years comes a revelatory account of the way bureaucracy rules our lives   Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations,...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 15, 2024 at 6:08 PM
I Googled gluten-free shepherd's pie recipes yesterday, and now my Android's news feed is filled with shepherd's pie videos. I trust nothing newsworthy occurred today?
November 13, 2024 at 11:59 PM
This just arrived in the mail. I'm not sure if it's too soon or too late to start reading it.
November 13, 2024 at 6:46 PM
Having left most social media a long while ago, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I am enjoying this space. Don't let my introverted inclinations fool you, I am interested in what you're all up to and happy to thus far be spared from the toxicity.
November 12, 2024 at 9:49 PM
Thankfully, I somehow stumbled upon this old video, and the spirit of Bourdain introduced me to this unexpected pleasure.

youtu.be/MNxWjRU8oxU?...
Late Night Eats: How To Make A Negroni With Anthony Bourdain (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)
YouTube video by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
youtu.be
November 12, 2024 at 3:31 AM
Reposted by John Funchion
When @ritaraley.bsky.social and I wrote this (all the way back last spring) we wondered if it was maybe a bit much. But only for a minute.

Full essay “AI and the University as a Service,” in PMLA:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 11, 2024 at 2:10 PM
I realize I'm probably late to this revelation, but this is a fantastic read, especially at a moment like this. astrapublishinghouse.com/product/slow...
Slow Down - Astra Publishing House
“[A] well-reasoned and eye-opening treatise . . . [Kohei Saito makes] a provocative and visionary proposal.” —Publishers Weekly, (starred review) “Saito’s clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and...
astrapublishinghouse.com
November 11, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Alas, a good friend and talented teacher will have to "teach out" the last semester of students . . . www.insidehighered.com/news/busines...
December 6, 2023 at 4:49 AM
I enjoyed working on this special issue on the "Radical" Henry James with Michelle Coghlan as well as with all the essay contributors. It just dropped today!
November 7, 2023 at 2:33 AM