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
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.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Everything is terrible right now in general, but in personal good news, my book has a cover and I'm so excited to share it!!!
Selling Out Santa is about Hollywood's manipulation of the Christmas holiday for socially conservative ends in the early Cold War 🗃️
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/selling-ou...
Selling Out Santa is about Hollywood's manipulation of the Christmas holiday for socially conservative ends in the early Cold War 🗃️
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/selling-ou...
August 28, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Everything is terrible right now in general, but in personal good news, my book has a cover and I'm so excited to share it!!!
Selling Out Santa is about Hollywood's manipulation of the Christmas holiday for socially conservative ends in the early Cold War 🗃️
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/selling-ou...
Selling Out Santa is about Hollywood's manipulation of the Christmas holiday for socially conservative ends in the early Cold War 🗃️
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/selling-ou...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Back on popular (?) demand: my International Office Hours.
Open to everyone, academic and non-academic, even though it was started in particular to give junior scholars (incl grad students) an opportunity to discuss their work with me.
Please sign up… and show up! ✍️
Open to everyone, academic and non-academic, even though it was started in particular to give junior scholars (incl grad students) an opportunity to discuss their work with me.
Please sign up… and show up! ✍️
Office Hours Sign-Up Sheet
SIGN-UP SHEET FOR “INTERNATIONAL OFFICE HOURS” WITH CAS MUDDE IN FALL 2025, I WILL AGAIN HOLD “INTERNATIONAL OFFICE HOURS” FOR COLLEAGUES/STUDENTS/OTHERS WHO WANT TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THEIR RESEARC...
docs.google.com
August 19, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Back on popular (?) demand: my International Office Hours.
Open to everyone, academic and non-academic, even though it was started in particular to give junior scholars (incl grad students) an opportunity to discuss their work with me.
Please sign up… and show up! ✍️
Open to everyone, academic and non-academic, even though it was started in particular to give junior scholars (incl grad students) an opportunity to discuss their work with me.
Please sign up… and show up! ✍️
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
This semester I again offer free interviews (Q&As), lectures & panel participation to less privileged (non-)academic institutions. I’ll drive up if it’s less than 5 hours from Athens, GA — online otherwise!
If you are interested, send me an email. Would love to do more at HBCUs and in Global South.
If you are interested, send me an email. Would love to do more at HBCUs and in Global South.
August 4, 2025 at 1:12 PM
This semester I again offer free interviews (Q&As), lectures & panel participation to less privileged (non-)academic institutions. I’ll drive up if it’s less than 5 hours from Athens, GA — online otherwise!
If you are interested, send me an email. Would love to do more at HBCUs and in Global South.
If you are interested, send me an email. Would love to do more at HBCUs and in Global South.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
And this is a real thing! Of all the things reading can be, first it has to be pleasurable, and entertaining, and engaging, otherwise people will do something else with their time. And pleasure reading begets more reading, or at least, more than the reading that feels like dutiful homework.
I was a high school English teacher for years. After studying and teaching classics, every time I picked up another "important" novel it felt like work. I stopped reading for pleasure.
Then one day I picked up a Star Wars novel, and I'm back to having a stack of books on the floor next to my bed.
Then one day I picked up a Star Wars novel, and I'm back to having a stack of books on the floor next to my bed.
August 11, 2025 at 2:01 PM
And this is a real thing! Of all the things reading can be, first it has to be pleasurable, and entertaining, and engaging, otherwise people will do something else with their time. And pleasure reading begets more reading, or at least, more than the reading that feels like dutiful homework.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
An instant post about that Japan deal. It's basically a joke
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/about-that...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/about-that...
About That Japan Deal
Arithmetic has a well-known globalist bias
paulkrugman.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 12:17 PM
An instant post about that Japan deal. It's basically a joke
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/about-that...
paulkrugman.substack.com/p/about-that...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Just a reminder that once upon a time they made a buddy cop film with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in the lead, with Jimmy Smits, Joey Pantoliano and Dan Hedaya in supporting roles, and IT WAS PERFECT.
RUNNING SCARED (1986) | Official Trailer | MGM
YouTube video by Amazon MGM Studios
m.youtube.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Just a reminder that once upon a time they made a buddy cop film with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in the lead, with Jimmy Smits, Joey Pantoliano and Dan Hedaya in supporting roles, and IT WAS PERFECT.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
The right-wing backlash against #Superman has happened before.
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
July 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The right-wing backlash against #Superman has happened before.
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Here’s my @vanityfair.com report w/ the full history —starting with April 1940, when the official SS newspaper attacked the comic book hero & its creators.
Plus, that time Superman fought the KKK…
🔗 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
I wrote about how the Everglades experiment fits into the history of concentration camps in the US and abroad, and how it will connect a domestic network of camps to an international one. We’re watching the imposition of a global concentration camp network.
Opinion | Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp.
This facility’s purpose fits the classic model, and its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.
www.msnbc.com
July 5, 2025 at 12:43 PM
I wrote about how the Everglades experiment fits into the history of concentration camps in the US and abroad, and how it will connect a domestic network of camps to an international one. We’re watching the imposition of a global concentration camp network.
Reposted by Clif Ganyard
Jack Kirby's prescience working overtime.
June 27, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Jack Kirby's prescience working overtime.