One interesting American thing (a technical term, meaning a moment or event, a text, a controversy, an idea, a figure, or whatevertheheckelse I think of) per day, from Ben Railton, a professor of American literature, culture, history, and, natch, Studies.
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After 15 years and 3 months, this will be the last new post on this blog. Starting Monday, all posts will be featured solely on the AmericanStudier page at our new website, Black & White & Read All Over . This site will always remain up, not only as it includes all the posts across those first 15.25 years of AmericanStudier, but also for all the other links and info featured here. I'll continue to…
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On telling examples of three forms of media’s depictions of the Challenger . 1) TV Movies: The live broadcast of the Challenger launch (and thus the…
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On a controversial investigation, a tragic follow-up, and a bigger question that remains. As would likely be the case with any federal disaster as…
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On why we were so unprepared for disaster, and what the horrifying moment meant. As I wrote in Monday’s post, there’s a significant difference…
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On more overt and more subtle reasons why the teacher-turned-astronaut was a perfect choice for the Teacher in Space Project (and an especially…
[Forty years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart upon takeoff, instantly becoming one of the most visible and tragic American stories of the last half-century. So this week I’ll AmericanStudy that moment and a handful of contexts.] On three earlier space program disasters that in distinct ways echoed into the Challenger ’s. 1) Apollo 1 (1967): 59 years ago tomorrow, on January…
[ 65 years ago Tuesday , John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President . One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem , so this week I’ve AmericanStudied that text and other occasional poetry from American history. Leading up to a first for this blog, a piece of my own creative writing!] I could go on and on, and perhaps a free-verse epic would be…
[ 65 years ago Tuesday , John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President . One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem , so this week I’ll AmericanStudy that text and other occasional poetry from American history. Leading up to a first for this blog, a piece of my own creative writing!] On quick takeaways from the three 21 st century inaugural poems to…
[ 65 years ago Tuesday , John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President . One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem , so this week I’ll AmericanStudy that text and other occasional poetry from American history. Leading up to a first for this blog, a piece of my own creative writing!] On what differentiates Clinton’s two inaugural poets, and a crucial…
[ 65 years ago Tuesday , John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as President . One of the most famous parts of that January 1961 event was Robert Frost’s powerful poem , so this week I’ll AmericanStudy that text and other occasional poetry from American history. Leading up to a first for this blog, a piece of my own creative writing!] On the first poem read at an inauguration, the poem that could have…