Ben Railton
@americanstudier.bsky.social
Prof of Amer Lit & Studies. Dad to 2 amazing young men. Married. We the People: http://tinyurl.com/yyhxjktb; Of Thee I Sing: http://tinyurl.com/y6hsozjx. #ScholarSunday guru. https://blackwhiteandread.com he/him
Pinned
The Celestials’ Last Game | Ben Railton
Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America
americanstudier.podbean.com
For new followers, here's my latest project, a podcast on sports histories, exclusion & inclusion, & the worst & best of America--& my single favorite moment from American history.
americanstudier.podbean.com
americanstudier.podbean.com
In these fraught times, we need spaces & communities of our own, that we can make what we want & use to support each other & our work. &, yes, to avoid Nazis as much as possible. That's why we left Substack, & why @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social worked so hard on our new website. So+🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com
blackwhiteandread.com
Black and White and Read All Over
Where Scholarship Meets the Public
blackwhiteandread.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:40 PM
In these fraught times, we need spaces & communities of our own, that we can make what we want & use to support each other & our work. &, yes, to avoid Nazis as much as possible. That's why we left Substack, & why @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social worked so hard on our new website. So+🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com
blackwhiteandread.com
Veterans' Day is first & foremost an occasion to commemorate the millions of Americans, past & present, who have served & sacrificed as part of our armed forces. A list that includes both of my grandfathers, my wife's grandfather, & I know many folks with whom I'm connected on this site as well. +
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Veterans' Day is first & foremost an occasion to commemorate the millions of Americans, past & present, who have served & sacrificed as part of our armed forces. A list that includes both of my grandfathers, my wife's grandfather, & I know many folks with whom I'm connected on this site as well. +
Reposted by Ben Railton
I am not going to let Schumer and 8 center-right Democrats bring me down. We won on Tuesday. We're gonna keep winning. Just keep telling the stories of what the Trump administration is doing and how it's making lives so much harder, about the corruption, the incompetence, the violence.
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 AM
I am not going to let Schumer and 8 center-right Democrats bring me down. We won on Tuesday. We're gonna keep winning. Just keep telling the stories of what the Trump administration is doing and how it's making lives so much harder, about the corruption, the incompetence, the violence.
Teaching favorite songs by @brucespringsteen.net, @darwilliams.bsky.social, & J. Cole in Writing I today, as practice for a close reading paper where they work with a song of their choice. One of my favorite assignments in any class I teach, & a nice way to dwell together in the best of art & us.
November 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Teaching favorite songs by @brucespringsteen.net, @darwilliams.bsky.social, & J. Cole in Writing I today, as practice for a close reading paper where they work with a song of their choice. One of my favorite assignments in any class I teach, & a nice way to dwell together in the best of art & us.
Happy Samuel Gridley Howe Day & Russell Means Day! Activism ain't quick or easy, & it never ends, but we have so damn many inspirations for the fight.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
November Nominees
November 1: Parker David Robbins , the North Carolinian and US Colored Troops Civil War veteran who went on to an inspiring career as a po...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Happy Samuel Gridley Howe Day & Russell Means Day! Activism ain't quick or easy, & it never ends, but we have so damn many inspirations for the fight.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
Here’s today’s thread once more for the evening crowd. Please share all this great public scholarship widely, thanks! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Here’s today’s thread once more for the evening crowd. Please share all this great public scholarship widely, thanks! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️
Reposted by Ben Railton
Here's today's #ScholarSunday thread for the brunch crowd. If your work is featured, if you've benefited from being connected to any of the public scholarship in these threads, or if you just feel so inclined, please share as widely as possible, thanks! @sifill.bsky.social 🗃️
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Here's today's #ScholarSunday thread for the brunch crowd. If your work is featured, if you've benefited from being connected to any of the public scholarship in these threads, or if you just feel so inclined, please share as widely as possible, thanks! @sifill.bsky.social 🗃️
Here's today's #ScholarSunday thread for the brunch crowd. If your work is featured, if you've benefited from being connected to any of the public scholarship in these threads, or if you just feel so inclined, please share as widely as possible, thanks! @sifill.bsky.social 🗃️
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Here's today's #ScholarSunday thread for the brunch crowd. If your work is featured, if you've benefited from being connected to any of the public scholarship in these threads, or if you just feel so inclined, please share as widely as possible, thanks! @sifill.bsky.social 🗃️
Reposted by Ben Railton
November 9, 2025 at 3:16 PM
@dahlialithwick.bsky.social, would you be able to share the overall thread to get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:16 PM
@dahlialithwick.bsky.social, would you be able to share the overall thread to get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
Reposted by Ben Railton
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
Reposted by Ben Railton
Thanks, Ben! One more podcast offering - I appeared on the Halloween special episode of the @prospectmagazine.co.uk podcast, to talk about Humans: A Monstrous History: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
Halloween special: Surekha Davies on AI and modern monsters
The historian on how monsters are created—and how technology is reshaping what it means to be human
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Thanks, Ben! One more podcast offering - I appeared on the Halloween special episode of the @prospectmagazine.co.uk podcast, to talk about Humans: A Monstrous History: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 249 (11/9/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Here it is, my 249th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below in comments, please share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
Reposted by Ben Railton
On Black & White & Read All Over, we have a resources page for academics to find publications to pitch their work to, an announcements page to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues, and a page that's literally just pictures of our cat Biscuits because we understand this community's needs.
Biscuits – Black and White and Read All Over
blackwhiteandread.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:17 PM
On Black & White & Read All Over, we have a resources page for academics to find publications to pitch their work to, an announcements page to celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues, and a page that's literally just pictures of our cat Biscuits because we understand this community's needs.
November 8, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Happy Herman Mankiewicz Day! Ain't that American film & culture?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
November Nominees
November 1: Parker David Robbins , the North Carolinian and US Colored Troops Civil War veteran who went on to an inspiring career as a po...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Happy Herman Mankiewicz Day! Ain't that American film & culture?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
Reposted by Ben Railton
I reviewed The Godfather Part II (1974) this week and am actively nervous to share it because it's a comparative study.
Be cool, everyone just be cool and know that I'm sorry.
Here's my latest:
The Godfather 2½: Simba's Pride
Be cool, everyone just be cool and know that I'm sorry.
Here's my latest:
The Godfather 2½: Simba's Pride
The Godfather 2 1/2: Simba's Pride – Black and White and Read All Over
A Comparative Approach to The Godfather Part II (1974) Poster for The Godfather Part II (1974) via IMDb The Godfather Part II (1974) - Comparative Everybody’s gotta promise right now to be real cool. ...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:27 PM
I reviewed The Godfather Part II (1974) this week and am actively nervous to share it because it's a comparative study.
Be cool, everyone just be cool and know that I'm sorry.
Here's my latest:
The Godfather 2½: Simba's Pride
Be cool, everyone just be cool and know that I'm sorry.
Here's my latest:
The Godfather 2½: Simba's Pride
Reposted by Ben Railton
Honestly, a banger of a lineup on this schedule. You won't want to miss it!
Also this is my first ever keynote and is due in large part to @lizwfab.bsky.social and their neverending support!
Also this is my first ever keynote and is due in large part to @lizwfab.bsky.social and their neverending support!
Join us Sat. 11/15 for a FREE virtual conference on Christmas in Pop Culture! I'll be moderating a roundtable about my edited collection, Under the Mistletoe: Essays on Holiday Romance (@mcfarland.bsky.social).
And don't miss the keynote from historian @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social!
And don't miss the keynote from historian @gvaughnjoy.bsky.social!
November 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Honestly, a banger of a lineup on this schedule. You won't want to miss it!
Also this is my first ever keynote and is due in large part to @lizwfab.bsky.social and their neverending support!
Also this is my first ever keynote and is due in large part to @lizwfab.bsky.social and their neverending support!
Teaching Faulkner in Am Lit II this afternoon, the first time I'll do so since Dad's passing. Which will be another tough moment of course, but also an occasion to share--with them, & with y'all--the third & most impressive of his DH projects, Digital Yoknapatawpha! 🗃️
faulkner.iath.virginia.edu
faulkner.iath.virginia.edu
Digital Yoknapatawpha
A Collaboration between an International Team of Faulkner Scholars and Technologists at the University of Virginia. Major Funding provided by the National Endowment in the Humanities
faulkner.iath.virginia.edu
November 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Teaching Faulkner in Am Lit II this afternoon, the first time I'll do so since Dad's passing. Which will be another tough moment of course, but also an occasion to share--with them, & with y'all--the third & most impressive of his DH projects, Digital Yoknapatawpha! 🗃️
faulkner.iath.virginia.edu
faulkner.iath.virginia.edu
Happy John Philip Sousa Day & Derrick Bell Day! Ain't that celebratory & critical patriotism?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
November Nominees
November 1: Parker David Robbins , the North Carolinian and US Colored Troops Civil War veteran who went on to an inspiring career as a po...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Happy John Philip Sousa Day & Derrick Bell Day! Ain't that celebratory & critical patriotism?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
Reposted by Ben Railton
Have an op-ed bubbling up about yesterday's results or an essay on Eugene Debs or a blog post on the concept of "hope" that you just have to write but don't know where to pitch it?
Head over to our Pitchables page to find over 50 public publications, sites, and podcasts open to pitches:
Head over to our Pitchables page to find over 50 public publications, sites, and podcasts open to pitches:
Pitchables - Black and White and Read All Over
Resource list of sites, blogs, magazines, and podcasts open to accepting pitches for public scholarship, essays, reviews, and expertise.
blackwhiteandread.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Have an op-ed bubbling up about yesterday's results or an essay on Eugene Debs or a blog post on the concept of "hope" that you just have to write but don't know where to pitch it?
Head over to our Pitchables page to find over 50 public publications, sites, and podcasts open to pitches:
Head over to our Pitchables page to find over 50 public publications, sites, and podcasts open to pitches:
Reposted by Ben Railton
Humanities programs have 3 perfect tools here:
"There's a reason they don't want you studying it" paired with
"The only way to tear this down and rebuild is by practicing the empathy, understanding, and critical thought that can come with studying the humanities" and
"We're already doing it."
"There's a reason they don't want you studying it" paired with
"The only way to tear this down and rebuild is by practicing the empathy, understanding, and critical thought that can come with studying the humanities" and
"We're already doing it."
Major in Africana Studies or any humanities course like English Literature! You could be mayor of New York City. You could do anything.
November 5, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Humanities programs have 3 perfect tools here:
"There's a reason they don't want you studying it" paired with
"The only way to tear this down and rebuild is by practicing the empathy, understanding, and critical thought that can come with studying the humanities" and
"We're already doing it."
"There's a reason they don't want you studying it" paired with
"The only way to tear this down and rebuild is by practicing the empathy, understanding, and critical thought that can come with studying the humanities" and
"We're already doing it."
Happy Benjamin Butler Day & Ida Tarbell Day! Inspiring American figures for a very inspiring & American morning.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
November Nominees
November 1: Parker David Robbins , the North Carolinian and US Colored Troops Civil War veteran who went on to an inspiring career as a po...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Happy Benjamin Butler Day & Ida Tarbell Day! Inspiring American figures for a very inspiring & American morning.
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/november-n...
Reposted by Ben Railton
We are in the midst of the 140 year anniversary of the three day reign of anti-Chinese terror in Tacoma (though that terror preceded and extended far after Chinese Tacomas were driven out by a mob led by the Tacoma mayor).
www.tacomamethod.com#home-section
www.tacomamethod.com#home-section
The Tacoma Method
www.tacomamethod.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
We are in the midst of the 140 year anniversary of the three day reign of anti-Chinese terror in Tacoma (though that terror preceded and extended far after Chinese Tacomas were driven out by a mob led by the Tacoma mayor).
www.tacomamethod.com#home-section
www.tacomamethod.com#home-section