Clif Ganyard
@ganyardc.bsky.social
Associate Professor of History. UW Green Bay. Modern German, European, and American history. Also: conspiracy theories, science fiction, comics, jazz, beer.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education remains stronger than ever.
Bad Bunny has a consulting historian. news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
February 9, 2026 at 5:54 AM
Look around. The case for more, not less, liberal arts education remains stronger than ever.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Spent the day at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture. While there, we saw this painting, Trapped, by Alvin Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth's earliest work was in comic books during the Golden Age, starting as an assistant on Cat-Man comics at the young age of 12.
February 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Spent the day at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture. While there, we saw this painting, Trapped, by Alvin Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth's earliest work was in comic books during the Golden Age, starting as an assistant on Cat-Man comics at the young age of 12.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
How did Brazil’s courts check Bolsonaro when other democracies have let would-be autocrats go unpunished?
How to Bring Authoritarians to Justice | Journal of Democracy
Brazil did something that few democracies achieve: It convicted a former president of attempting a coup. How did the country’s courts hold would-be autocrat Jair Bolsonaro accountable when so many…
www.journalofdemocracy.org
February 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM
How did Brazil’s courts check Bolsonaro when other democracies have let would-be autocrats go unpunished?
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Today is the birthday of writer Bill Finger (Feb. 8, 1914-Jan. 18, 1974), who took Bob Kane’s initial idea & developed it into the Batman we know today. He also wrote the first appearance of the original Green Lantern, and cocreated Robin, the Joker, Catwoman, Lana Lang, Wildcat, Riddler, & more.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Today is the birthday of writer Bill Finger (Feb. 8, 1914-Jan. 18, 1974), who took Bob Kane’s initial idea & developed it into the Batman we know today. He also wrote the first appearance of the original Green Lantern, and cocreated Robin, the Joker, Catwoman, Lana Lang, Wildcat, Riddler, & more.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Retail Therapy, ‘Fuck ICE’ Edition: A conversation with Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books by Zach Rabiroff www.tcj.com/retail-thera...
Retail Therapy, 'Fuck ICE' Edition: A conversation with Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books - The Comics Journal
Zach Rabiroff speaks with the Minneapolis retailer about where he, and his community, find themselves now.
www.tcj.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Retail Therapy, ‘Fuck ICE’ Edition: A conversation with Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books by Zach Rabiroff www.tcj.com/retail-thera...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Woohoo! Comic syllabus for my superhero class is live and students were geeked! It was a mammoth effort to make it but so worth it to be able to give to them! Pleased & excited for the term! And you can have your own too - all on my site for printing, sharing! 1/?
spinweaveandcut.com/superhero-sy...
spinweaveandcut.com/superhero-sy...
January 28, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Woohoo! Comic syllabus for my superhero class is live and students were geeked! It was a mammoth effort to make it but so worth it to be able to give to them! Pleased & excited for the term! And you can have your own too - all on my site for printing, sharing! 1/?
spinweaveandcut.com/superhero-sy...
spinweaveandcut.com/superhero-sy...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Levitsky and Ziblatt remind us that political systems are designed to solve problems, not exacerbate them. Yet in some democracies today, winner-take-all systems are empowering authoritarian minorities and undermining democratic legitimacy.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
January 23, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Levitsky and Ziblatt remind us that political systems are designed to solve problems, not exacerbate them. Yet in some democracies today, winner-take-all systems are empowering authoritarian minorities and undermining democratic legitimacy.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
"ICE 101" — How Trump changed ICE and CBP into a fascist secret police
ICE and CBP are fatally flawed products of the post-9/11 War on Terror — now Trump has weaponized those very flaws to occupy America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
January 25, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Actually this *is* the future liberals want, the fact it's sending Stephen Miller into conniptions is just a side benefit
January 16, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Actually this *is* the future liberals want, the fact it's sending Stephen Miller into conniptions is just a side benefit
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Historians, American Studies, editors, and readers: if you had to choose one book to read/consider/teach on the 250th anniversary of the United States, what would it be?
January 15, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Historians, American Studies, editors, and readers: if you had to choose one book to read/consider/teach on the 250th anniversary of the United States, what would it be?
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
von Däniken relied on the JAQ (just asking questions) method to promote racist ideas through pseudoarchaeological narratives. These ideas permeated all of his books, were broadcast to and normalized through enormous audiences over decades, and have even found homes in far-right places.
This is a fun read but it doesn’t really reckon with the fact that these theories are inherently racist, rooted in the idea that ancient non-western civilizations *couldn’t* make these structures. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/o...
Erich von Däniken, Who Claimed Aliens Visited Earth, Dies at 90
www.nytimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:23 PM
von Däniken relied on the JAQ (just asking questions) method to promote racist ideas through pseudoarchaeological narratives. These ideas permeated all of his books, were broadcast to and normalized through enormous audiences over decades, and have even found homes in far-right places.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
This is a fun read but it doesn’t really reckon with the fact that these theories are inherently racist, rooted in the idea that ancient non-western civilizations *couldn’t* make these structures. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/o...
Erich von Däniken, Who Claimed Aliens Visited Earth, Dies at 90
www.nytimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:48 PM
This is a fun read but it doesn’t really reckon with the fact that these theories are inherently racist, rooted in the idea that ancient non-western civilizations *couldn’t* make these structures. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/o...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
On December 31, 1995, Bill Watterson published the final 'Calvin & Hobbes' comic strip. #CalvinandHobbes
December 31, 2025 at 1:01 PM
On December 31, 1995, Bill Watterson published the final 'Calvin & Hobbes' comic strip. #CalvinandHobbes
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay from December 24, 1905.
December 24, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay from December 24, 1905.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
1. So I have a few thoughts on "heritage Americans," Nathanial Hawthorne, witch-hunting, Thomas Pynchon, Calvinism, strange feuds, the Daughters of the American Revolution, FDR, the moral responsibilities of nationalism & (I guess) Jack Kirby.
December 22, 2025 at 5:36 PM
1. So I have a few thoughts on "heritage Americans," Nathanial Hawthorne, witch-hunting, Thomas Pynchon, Calvinism, strange feuds, the Daughters of the American Revolution, FDR, the moral responsibilities of nationalism & (I guess) Jack Kirby.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay from December 20, 1908.
December 20, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay from December 20, 1908.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Today is the 85th anniversary of Captain America! December 20, 1940, was the publication date of Captain America Comics #1. Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
December 20, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Today is the 85th anniversary of Captain America! December 20, 1940, was the publication date of Captain America Comics #1. Created by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Hey!
Calling all Wonder Women!
We all are sisters…pulling together with one spirit.
50 years ago today the first episode of the series Wonder Woman aired.
Calling all Wonder Women!
We all are sisters…pulling together with one spirit.
50 years ago today the first episode of the series Wonder Woman aired.
November 8, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Hey!
Calling all Wonder Women!
We all are sisters…pulling together with one spirit.
50 years ago today the first episode of the series Wonder Woman aired.
Calling all Wonder Women!
We all are sisters…pulling together with one spirit.
50 years ago today the first episode of the series Wonder Woman aired.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Did you know that the first international antifascist news bulletin was called "Chronik des Faschismus", published in Berlin - below the cover from the very first issue, August 1923. For the full background story, see: www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2...
October 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Did you know that the first international antifascist news bulletin was called "Chronik des Faschismus", published in Berlin - below the cover from the very first issue, August 1923. For the full background story, see: www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
The new SERIOUS FUN is up! I talk with Drs. Justin Kavlie, @ganyardc.bsky.social and Jaye Case about all things nefarious and villainous in the final live show from the 2025 Brown County Library Pop Con! Listen now soundcloud.com/serious_fun/...
October 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
The new SERIOUS FUN is up! I talk with Drs. Justin Kavlie, @ganyardc.bsky.social and Jaye Case about all things nefarious and villainous in the final live show from the 2025 Brown County Library Pop Con! Listen now soundcloud.com/serious_fun/...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Y'know, when people have asked me about my dream game, I've always said a runaway slave + Underground Railroad project or something set in or around the Haitian Revolution.
Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.
Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.
SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan
Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke
www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke
www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year
Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File
www.gamefile.news
October 9, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Y'know, when people have asked me about my dream game, I've always said a runaway slave + Underground Railroad project or something set in or around the Haitian Revolution.
Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.
Someone somewhere is already taking this on and infusing the work with all the courage that the subject matter deserves.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Want to hear about a party that isn’t too keen on democracy, deporting people who side with their opposition and stifling the opposition press to remain in power?
The Alien and Sedition Acts have a LOT to say.
The Alien and Sedition Acts have a LOT to say.
America at 250: A History
Lecture 7: “What Kind of Nation? Democracy, Hamilton, Jefferson, and More” with Professor Joanne Freeman
The relevance of revisiting The Whiskey Rebellion will shock you
RIYL “Hamilton”
youtu.be/jMJLuErzYtg
Lecture 7: “What Kind of Nation? Democracy, Hamilton, Jefferson, and More” with Professor Joanne Freeman
The relevance of revisiting The Whiskey Rebellion will shock you
RIYL “Hamilton”
youtu.be/jMJLuErzYtg
DeVane Lecture, Class 7 – What Kind of Nation? Democracy, Hamilton, Jefferson, and More
YouTube video by YaleCourses
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Want to hear about a party that isn’t too keen on democracy, deporting people who side with their opposition and stifling the opposition press to remain in power?
The Alien and Sedition Acts have a LOT to say.
The Alien and Sedition Acts have a LOT to say.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Want to hear re: a president who wanted his opponents physically beaten & was accused of wanting to be king?
My lecture on Andrew Jackson
In this cartoon from his presidency, he’s standing on a shredded Constitution w/a book titled “Judiciary of the US” at his feet
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vri7...
My lecture on Andrew Jackson
In this cartoon from his presidency, he’s standing on a shredded Constitution w/a book titled “Judiciary of the US” at his feet
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vri7...
October 9, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Want to hear re: a president who wanted his opponents physically beaten & was accused of wanting to be king?
My lecture on Andrew Jackson
In this cartoon from his presidency, he’s standing on a shredded Constitution w/a book titled “Judiciary of the US” at his feet
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vri7...
My lecture on Andrew Jackson
In this cartoon from his presidency, he’s standing on a shredded Constitution w/a book titled “Judiciary of the US” at his feet
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vri7...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
This is a great interpretation of Clue by @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social. Nicely done.
Why did no one tell me Clue (1985) is about McCarthyism? I was sat in an @alamodrafthouse.bsky.social for the 40th anniversary showing of a film I'd never seen, enjoying the dog film about dognapping, and then BAM it was Joe McCarthy in the kitchen with the TV.
vaughnjoy.substack.com/p/communism-...
vaughnjoy.substack.com/p/communism-...
Communism Is, Was, and Will Always Be A Red Herring
A Contextual History Approach to Clue (1985)
vaughnjoy.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
This is a great interpretation of Clue by @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social. Nicely done.