Dr. Jim Downs
@jimdowns.bsky.social
Author of Author of Maladies of Empire & Sick from Freedom; Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation; Gilder Lehrman NEH Prof at Gettysburg College; https://www.jimdownsofficial.com
Pinned
Dr. Jim Downs
@jimdowns.bsky.social
· Nov 16
As the history wars heat up, we’re releasing a new book that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—Nikole Hannah-Jones, Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the United States. Preorder is now available.
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Blueskis, have you ever wondered how soap became so smelly?
Or what soap production might have to do with warfare?
If so, join us for a virtual conversation about these and other soapy matters tomorrow, January 13 at 5:00 EST!
Register here: www.masshist.org/events/Indus...
Or what soap production might have to do with warfare?
If so, join us for a virtual conversation about these and other soapy matters tomorrow, January 13 at 5:00 EST!
Register here: www.masshist.org/events/Indus...
Massachusetts Historical Society: Industrializing Olfaction: How Soapmakers Changed the Urban American Smellscape in the Late 19th Century & Early 20th Century
www.masshist.org
January 12, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Blueskis, have you ever wondered how soap became so smelly?
Or what soap production might have to do with warfare?
If so, join us for a virtual conversation about these and other soapy matters tomorrow, January 13 at 5:00 EST!
Register here: www.masshist.org/events/Indus...
Or what soap production might have to do with warfare?
If so, join us for a virtual conversation about these and other soapy matters tomorrow, January 13 at 5:00 EST!
Register here: www.masshist.org/events/Indus...
I woke up this morning to an email from Jonathan Ned Katz, the father of gay American history, telling me that my article is in print in The New York Times. I am standing on his shoulders. He paved the way for so many of us to do this work. Thank you, Jonathan!
January 8, 2026 at 12:21 AM
I woke up this morning to an email from Jonathan Ned Katz, the father of gay American history, telling me that my article is in print in The New York Times. I am standing on his shoulders. He paved the way for so many of us to do this work. Thank you, Jonathan!
Proud to have published January 6 & the Politics of History w/ historians Jill Lepore, Joanne Freeman, Stephanie McCurry, Elizabeth Hinton, Will Sturkey, Julian Zelizer. The book includes a vital debate about historians’ responsibilities as public intellectuals. www.amazon.com/January-Poli...
January 6 and the Politics of History (History in the Headlines)
January 6 and the Politics of History (History in the Headlines) [Downs, Jim, McCurry, Stephanie, Freeman, Joanne B., Hinton, Elizabeth, Lepore, Jill, Sturkey, William, Zelizer, Julian E., Downs, Jim] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. January 6 and the Politics of History (History in the Headlines)
www.amazon.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Proud to have published January 6 & the Politics of History w/ historians Jill Lepore, Joanne Freeman, Stephanie McCurry, Elizabeth Hinton, Will Sturkey, Julian Zelizer. The book includes a vital debate about historians’ responsibilities as public intellectuals. www.amazon.com/January-Poli...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Right after the January 6 insurrection and in the years afterward, historians wrote about its echoes in the past and its implications for the future.
Here is a roundup of their online articles, with links:
megankatenelson.com/historians-c...
Here is a roundup of their online articles, with links:
megankatenelson.com/historians-c...
Historians Contextualizing the Capitol Insurrection: A Roundup – Megan Kate Nelson
megankatenelson.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Right after the January 6 insurrection and in the years afterward, historians wrote about its echoes in the past and its implications for the future.
Here is a roundup of their online articles, with links:
megankatenelson.com/historians-c...
Here is a roundup of their online articles, with links:
megankatenelson.com/historians-c...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
@jimdowns.bsky.social on ‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Gay Culture’s Next Frontier www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Opinion | ‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Gay Culture’s Next Frontier
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:47 PM
@jimdowns.bsky.social on ‘Heated Rivalry’ Is Gay Culture’s Next Frontier www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
I really like this column by Jim Downs.
Heated Rivalryis a terrific show. It is wonderful to see gay people accurately portrayed on the screen as real human beings.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Heated Rivalryis a terrific show. It is wonderful to see gay people accurately portrayed on the screen as real human beings.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Opinion | A Sweet, Sexy, Happy Love Story Between Two Men. Revolutionary.
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:38 AM
I really like this column by Jim Downs.
Heated Rivalryis a terrific show. It is wonderful to see gay people accurately portrayed on the screen as real human beings.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Heated Rivalryis a terrific show. It is wonderful to see gay people accurately portrayed on the screen as real human beings.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Perhaps what excites people most about the show “Heated Rivalry,” Jim Downs writes, “is not the thrill of naked bodies but the shock of being emotionally known. That is what some of us have been missing.”
Opinion | A Sweet, Sexy, Happy Love Story Between Two Men. Revolutionary.
We need stories that capture how we live — in the touch, the embrace, the everyday if boring intimacies that were never meant to be translated.
nyti.ms
January 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Perhaps what excites people most about the show “Heated Rivalry,” Jim Downs writes, “is not the thrill of naked bodies but the shock of being emotionally known. That is what some of us have been missing.”
As a historian, I’ve learned to wait on what things mean. Seeing HBO/MAX’s Heated Rivalry become a cultural event felt like a signal. I wrote about that moment in The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Opinion | A Sweet, Sexy, Happy Love Story Between Two Men. Revolutionary.
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:04 PM
As a historian, I’ve learned to wait on what things mean. Seeing HBO/MAX’s Heated Rivalry become a cultural event felt like a signal. I wrote about that moment in The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Historian Kim Phillips-Fein in NYT Opinion: “Today people leave New York not because they are afraid of being mugged but because they fear their landlords are about to raise their rents.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/o...
Opinion | Since When Is It Radical to Reclaim New York for New Yorkers?
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Historian Kim Phillips-Fein in NYT Opinion: “Today people leave New York not because they are afraid of being mugged but because they fear their landlords are about to raise their rents.” www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/o...
I write about how Desire is easy but identity is the burden.
That’s the logic Heated Rivalry can’t escape — and it’s why the show feels stuck in the past, no matter how hot it gets. slate.com/life/2025/12...
That’s the logic Heated Rivalry can’t escape — and it’s why the show feels stuck in the past, no matter how hot it gets. slate.com/life/2025/12...
The Horniest Show on TV Actually Has a Weirdly Conservative Message. Don’t Fall for It.
Why do we keep skating in circles?
slate.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:14 AM
I write about how Desire is easy but identity is the burden.
That’s the logic Heated Rivalry can’t escape — and it’s why the show feels stuck in the past, no matter how hot it gets. slate.com/life/2025/12...
That’s the logic Heated Rivalry can’t escape — and it’s why the show feels stuck in the past, no matter how hot it gets. slate.com/life/2025/12...
I wrote about how HEATED RIVALRY popularity is tied to an outdated narrative framework—and why that matters. slate.com/life/2025/12...
The Horniest Show on TV Actually Has a Weirdly Conservative Message. Don’t Fall for It.
Why do we keep skating in circles?
slate.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I wrote about how HEATED RIVALRY popularity is tied to an outdated narrative framework—and why that matters. slate.com/life/2025/12...
Thrilled to announce our CFP for a new LCP–APS conference on the long history of Black declarations of independence. Presenters will focus on one document to keep the work publicly accessible
Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
December 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Thrilled to announce our CFP for a new LCP–APS conference on the long history of Black declarations of independence. Presenters will focus on one document to keep the work publicly accessible
Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Preorder at www.ugapress.org/978082037712...
December 2, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Preorder at www.ugapress.org/978082037712...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
"It was the first time in American history that literature had been organized under the subject heading of 'gay culture.'" — historian Jim Downs
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop's grand opening weekend was #OTD 1967 at 291 Mercer Street.
👉 bit.ly/oscar-wilde-...
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop's grand opening weekend was #OTD 1967 at 291 Mercer Street.
👉 bit.ly/oscar-wilde-...
November 18, 2025 at 11:17 PM
"It was the first time in American history that literature had been organized under the subject heading of 'gay culture.'" — historian Jim Downs
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop's grand opening weekend was #OTD 1967 at 291 Mercer Street.
👉 bit.ly/oscar-wilde-...
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop's grand opening weekend was #OTD 1967 at 291 Mercer Street.
👉 bit.ly/oscar-wilde-...
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Call for Proposals: Black Declarations of Independence – The Library Company of Philadelphia
librarycompany.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Call for Proposals: Black Declarations of Independence – The Library Company of Philadelphia
librarycompany.org
November 22, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! Please spread the word!
librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Call for Proposals: Black Declarations of Independence – The Library Company of Philadelphia
librarycompany.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Big news for the 250th! We at LCP & APS are organizing a conference: BLACK DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE — Before & After 1776.
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Please consider submitting a proposal!
Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed and Nell Painter! librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
Deeply grateful to my mentors & friends—David Blight, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Stephanie McCurry—for joining me & Scott Hancock in Gettysburg for an inspiring, riveting conversation about the past, present, and future of Civil War studies. We had 380 people in the room and another 250 tuning in online
November 21, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Deeply grateful to my mentors & friends—David Blight, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Stephanie McCurry—for joining me & Scott Hancock in Gettysburg for an inspiring, riveting conversation about the past, present, and future of Civil War studies. We had 380 people in the room and another 250 tuning in online
I finally caved, and have a website. www.jimdownsofficial.com
Jim Downs
Jim Downs – Historian, Author, & Professor
www.jimdownsofficial.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I finally caved, and have a website. www.jimdownsofficial.com
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
#History #Blackademics
New book from @ugapress.bsky.social that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—
Pulitzer Prize winners Nikole Hannah-Jones and
Prof. Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the U.S."
Can be pre-ordered.
New book from @ugapress.bsky.social that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—
Pulitzer Prize winners Nikole Hannah-Jones and
Prof. Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the U.S."
Can be pre-ordered.
November 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
#History #Blackademics
New book from @ugapress.bsky.social that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—
Pulitzer Prize winners Nikole Hannah-Jones and
Prof. Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the U.S."
Can be pre-ordered.
New book from @ugapress.bsky.social that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—
Pulitzer Prize winners Nikole Hannah-Jones and
Prof. Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the U.S."
Can be pre-ordered.
As the history wars heat up, we’re releasing a new book that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—Nikole Hannah-Jones, Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the United States. Preorder is now available.
November 16, 2025 at 7:05 PM
As the history wars heat up, we’re releasing a new book that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—Nikole Hannah-Jones, Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the United States. Preorder is now available.
Thrilled to receive a Russian copy of my book Maladies of Empire.Even as a supporter of Ukraine, it’s remarkable this translation was completed. I’m glad readers in Russia will have access to this history of transatlantic slave trade, the US Civil War & the origin of epidemiology
November 14, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Thrilled to receive a Russian copy of my book Maladies of Empire.Even as a supporter of Ukraine, it’s remarkable this translation was completed. I’m glad readers in Russia will have access to this history of transatlantic slave trade, the US Civil War & the origin of epidemiology
Historians! If you’re within driving distance of Gettysburg, come to the Fortenbaugh next week with David Blight, Drew Faust & Stephanie McCurry. I pushed to try a panel format this year—excited to see it come to life. www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories...
63rd Fortenbaugh Lecture to feature Blight, Faust, and McCurry
A highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
www.gettysburg.edu
November 13, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Historians! If you’re within driving distance of Gettysburg, come to the Fortenbaugh next week with David Blight, Drew Faust & Stephanie McCurry. I pushed to try a panel format this year—excited to see it come to life. www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories...
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Look what came in the mail! You can read “Cracks in the Granite: Contested Civil War Memories in the American West” in this year’s December issue of Civil War History. @nielseichhorn.bsky.social. W/great company: @jjacobcalhoun.bsky.social & William S. Kiser. Thanks @jimdowns.bsky.social & staff
November 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Look what came in the mail! You can read “Cracks in the Granite: Contested Civil War Memories in the American West” in this year’s December issue of Civil War History. @nielseichhorn.bsky.social. W/great company: @jjacobcalhoun.bsky.social & William S. Kiser. Thanks @jimdowns.bsky.social & staff
Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
On Nov. 19, our Fortenbaugh Lecture will bring together three of the most influential voices in Civil War history—David Blight, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Stephanie McCurry—for a roundtable discussion moderated by Profs. Jim Downs and Scott Hancock.
🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/4oxDehN
🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/4oxDehN
63rd Fortenbaugh Lecture to feature Blight, Faust, and McCurry
A highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
bit.ly
October 20, 2025 at 4:18 PM
On Nov. 19, our Fortenbaugh Lecture will bring together three of the most influential voices in Civil War history—David Blight, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Stephanie McCurry—for a roundtable discussion moderated by Profs. Jim Downs and Scott Hancock.
🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/4oxDehN
🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/4oxDehN