The idea for this blog came about rather inauspiciously. We were in Dallas for a conference about the American South when, walking around the dimly-lit book hall between sessions, and fuelled by the mixture of exhaustion and euphoria that a good conference engenders, we made plans. Unlike most of the grand plans concocted then—and since—this idea stuck. As we planned that day in Dallas, we … Continue reading Welcome to ANZASA Online
By Associate Professor Jessica Kim Much of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric and policy proposals focus on the closure of borders, the building of walls, and limiting the flow of goods and people across international boundaries. This inflammatory speech belies the deep historical connectedness of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, from migration and employment patterns, to the flow of trade goods and services, to the existence of … Continue reading Roads and Walls in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
By Professor Mark Rice How should we make sense of colonial photographs that bridge the divide or blur the lines between different colonial regimes who occupied the same place but at different times? That question is at the heart of my current research project, a project that involves more than 150 photographs taken by two young, white, American men in the Philippines in the … Continue reading Thinking About Colonial Photography Through the Photographs of the Menage Expedition to the Philippines
By Professor Greg Barnhisel I came to Australia to track down a spy. More accurately, I came to Australia partly to try and find out whether someone was a spy. For the past few years, I’ve been writing a biography of Norman Holmes Pearson. You probably haven’t heard of Pearson; almost nobody has. One of the things I’m trying to do is show that … Continue reading Searching for a spy
By Elizabeth Miller It’s 7am and I’m standing in the parking lot of a Cabela’s – a hunting and fishing superstore – in the town of Farmington, Utah. There’s only one car in sight. My Uber driver is a bit concerned leaving me alone with the truck. But I was feeling fairly confident in what I was going to do next. The white pickup truck … Continue reading Researching community and conflict in Preston, Idaho
By Kate Rivington Last month in rainy but beautiful Auckland, a group of American studies scholars gathered at the University of Auckland for the biennial Australia and New Zealand American Studies Association Conference. Present in Auckland were scholars at various stages of their careers, from postgraduate students to emeritus professors, and from various places around the world. As well as scholars from New Zealand and … Continue reading Conference Review: Australia and New Zealand American Studies Association Conference, The University of Auckland, 14-16 July 2019
By Dr. Zachary J. Violette Sometimes important historical evidence — evidence that can allow us to question dominant narratives — can be hidden in plain sight. It can even be part of our daily lives, so common that it easily escapes our grasp. But it is the fundamental premise of vernacular architecture studies that the built environment encodes meaning for their builders and occupants … Continue reading The Decorated Tenement: Reflections on Looking and Seeing
By Michael A. McDonnell In his best-selling book, 1776, David McCullough introduced readers to John Greenwood, a patriot fifer who served in Washington’s campaign of 1776. McCullough reported that when the sixteen-year old heard news of the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, he “set off on foot with little more than the clothes on his back” and walked 150 miles to join the patriot forces. … Continue reading Founding Stories
By Dr Hannah Murray In April, Ancestry.ca broadcast an advert encouraging Canadians to research their family history. The advert, ‘Inseparable’, set in the antebellum South, features a young Black woman and white man in a clandestine meeting; hoping to escape to the free North, the man implores “there’s a place where we can be together across the border. Will you leave with me?” This brief … Continue reading Sympathy over Structure in ‘The Garies and Their Friends’
By Dr Prudence Flowers In the first quarter of 2019, 28 state legislatures introduced an abortion ban. To date, 9 states have passed laws dramatically limiting when abortion can occur.[1] States such as Alabama banned abortion from the moment of conception, while Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and Louisiana banned abortion from 6-8 weeks gestation (when a fetal heartbeat can first be detected).[2] These bills … Continue reading The Republican Party, the Supreme Court, and Competing Anti-Abortion Strategies
By Dr Liz Covart [This piece was originally published in September 2016.] Podcasting is a lot of work. Each episode of Ben Franklin’s World represents somewhere between 40 and 60 hours of work. That work includes researching a guest, scheduling an interview, preparing for the interview, conducting the interview, editing the episode, drafting and recording intros and outros, drafting and posting show notes, creating custom graphics, and … Continue reading How to Start a Podcast
