John Kuhn
@johnmkuhn.bsky.social
English prof. 17th century stuff. Prairie son. Working on a cultural and material history of the birchbark canoe in the early modern Americas.
Pinned
John Kuhn
@johnmkuhn.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Towards a history of the hammock: An Indigenous technology in the Atlantic world - postmedieval
When Europeans arrived in the Western Hemisphere beginning in the fifteenth century, they learned that Indigenous groups across the Caribbean and South America valued few technologies as much as the h...
link.springer.com
if you would like to read about early modern hammocks, it's publication day for the article the brilliant @marcynorton.bsky.social and I wrote about them! (open access)
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
kind of crazy to see the Biden/Dem immigration strategy of "address push factors in Central/South America" getting hallucinatorily flipped into...regime change schemes by the Trump admin. Multiple times in the Trump address he seems to present it as a solution for Venezuelan immigration into US
January 4, 2026 at 12:04 AM
kind of crazy to see the Biden/Dem immigration strategy of "address push factors in Central/South America" getting hallucinatorily flipped into...regime change schemes by the Trump admin. Multiple times in the Trump address he seems to present it as a solution for Venezuelan immigration into US
Time for the seed catalog of dreamzzzz
January 3, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Time for the seed catalog of dreamzzzz
Reposted by John Kuhn
Out now! Open access in current issue of Renaissance Quarterly thanks to @ucdlibrary.bsky.social my thanks to everyone who helped me with this - but a special mention of the late Bríd McGrath for her wisdom, generosity and dedication to all the things that matter.
January 2, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Out now! Open access in current issue of Renaissance Quarterly thanks to @ucdlibrary.bsky.social my thanks to everyone who helped me with this - but a special mention of the late Bríd McGrath for her wisdom, generosity and dedication to all the things that matter.
in the bureaucratic hell of doing my many required New York State "trainings" for the year, on topics ranging from Title 6 to fire safety to consensual relationships. Found this rather amusing. Thank you for letting me know it's legal for me to be friends with my colleagues, New York State!
January 2, 2026 at 5:05 PM
in the bureaucratic hell of doing my many required New York State "trainings" for the year, on topics ranging from Title 6 to fire safety to consensual relationships. Found this rather amusing. Thank you for letting me know it's legal for me to be friends with my colleagues, New York State!
looking through the books from 1930 that entered the public domain yesterday. Am enjoying this parodic essay that mocks moralists panicking about the promiscuity of the 1930s (from the volume "Whither, Whither, or After Sex, What?"). THE AUTOMOBILE MUST GO!
January 2, 2026 at 3:33 PM
looking through the books from 1930 that entered the public domain yesterday. Am enjoying this parodic essay that mocks moralists panicking about the promiscuity of the 1930s (from the volume "Whither, Whither, or After Sex, What?"). THE AUTOMOBILE MUST GO!
Reposted by John Kuhn
Found elsenet: seems to sum up the zeitgeist nicely!
January 2, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Found elsenet: seems to sum up the zeitgeist nicely!
I'm gonna grow the weirdest fucking tomatoes this year. White cherry tomatoes. Green Zebra. Heirlooms from Russia.
January 2, 2026 at 4:29 AM
I'm gonna grow the weirdest fucking tomatoes this year. White cherry tomatoes. Green Zebra. Heirlooms from Russia.
just thinking about how amazing the costumes were for the Lords' Masque in 1613. Look at the fabric flames Inigo Jones designed for the "fiery spirits" !
January 2, 2026 at 4:14 AM
just thinking about how amazing the costumes were for the Lords' Masque in 1613. Look at the fabric flames Inigo Jones designed for the "fiery spirits" !
Reposted by John Kuhn
If the 2004 song "1985" were written today, it would be about being preoccupied with the year 2007
January 2, 2026 at 1:58 AM
If the 2004 song "1985" were written today, it would be about being preoccupied with the year 2007
Reposted by John Kuhn
Jan 1: this is the year of new Me
Jan 12: [eating shredded cheese directly from the bag] new years resolutions are a bourgeois construct for disciplining bodies into productive units for capital
Jan 12: [eating shredded cheese directly from the bag] new years resolutions are a bourgeois construct for disciplining bodies into productive units for capital
January 1, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Jan 1: this is the year of new Me
Jan 12: [eating shredded cheese directly from the bag] new years resolutions are a bourgeois construct for disciplining bodies into productive units for capital
Jan 12: [eating shredded cheese directly from the bag] new years resolutions are a bourgeois construct for disciplining bodies into productive units for capital
looking at a list of movies coming out in 2026 and let me tell you, American culture is out of ideas. Shrek 5? Practical Magic 2?
January 2, 2026 at 3:28 AM
looking at a list of movies coming out in 2026 and let me tell you, American culture is out of ideas. Shrek 5? Practical Magic 2?
Reposted by John Kuhn
Wallace Polsom, “Nothing but Blue Sky” (26 Nov 2018), paper collage, 18.3 x 27.9 cm | wallacepolsom.com/post/1805242... Prescient, right? 😅
January 2, 2026 at 12:47 AM
Wallace Polsom, “Nothing but Blue Sky” (26 Nov 2018), paper collage, 18.3 x 27.9 cm | wallacepolsom.com/post/1805242... Prescient, right? 😅
lying in bed thinking about how absolutely insane it is that "wife-beater" is a widely-used piece of slang used to refer to a type of shirt
January 2, 2026 at 2:35 AM
lying in bed thinking about how absolutely insane it is that "wife-beater" is a widely-used piece of slang used to refer to a type of shirt
Reposted by John Kuhn
William Faulkner’s as I lay dying has entered the public domain and already I’m playing a gacha game of sexy anime versions of the bundren family accompanying their mom’s corpse to be buried in Mississippi.
January 1, 2026 at 10:46 PM
William Faulkner’s as I lay dying has entered the public domain and already I’m playing a gacha game of sexy anime versions of the bundren family accompanying their mom’s corpse to be buried in Mississippi.
I split my wonderful dog 50/50 with my ex; we trade off every six months. The trade approaches on Saturday. I am going to miss her very much but I am very excited to sleep in and not have to go for 7 AM walks in 10 degree weather!
January 1, 2026 at 10:42 PM
I split my wonderful dog 50/50 with my ex; we trade off every six months. The trade approaches on Saturday. I am going to miss her very much but I am very excited to sleep in and not have to go for 7 AM walks in 10 degree weather!
I recommended Tana French's novel Broken Harbor to my boyfriend and am enjoying watching it scare the crap out of him
January 1, 2026 at 10:06 PM
I recommended Tana French's novel Broken Harbor to my boyfriend and am enjoying watching it scare the crap out of him
Reposted by John Kuhn
I'm not going to SAA this year but I confess to an intense curiosity about one of the Next Generation Plenary papers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 1, 2026 at 9:20 PM
I'm not going to SAA this year but I confess to an intense curiosity about one of the Next Generation Plenary papers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought this was a really good, well-written, thorough, fair assessment of the Adams years and I recommend it
Bureaucracy as tragedy: The Eric Adams era draws to a close
The eccentric city executive leaves office with a tarnished legacy bound up with the future of Black political power in New York City.
www.politico.com
January 1, 2026 at 8:04 PM
I thought this was a really good, well-written, thorough, fair assessment of the Adams years and I recommend it
Reposted by John Kuhn
just saw a billionaire pack all his things in a bindle and start leaving new york city on foot. he turned and looked at me with tears in his eyes and said “maybe one day when this city is safe we’ll return” before walking away
January 1, 2026 at 6:59 PM
just saw a billionaire pack all his things in a bindle and start leaving new york city on foot. he turned and looked at me with tears in his eyes and said “maybe one day when this city is safe we’ll return” before walking away
Reposted by John Kuhn
A List of Predictions Made in 1926 About 2026
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January 1, 2026 at 5:13 PM
A List of Predictions Made in 1926 About 2026
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Reposted by John Kuhn
Has anyone done this yet
January 1, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Has anyone done this yet
ah, remembering the Eric Adams mayoralty. Gone too soon lol
January 1, 2026 at 4:55 PM
ah, remembering the Eric Adams mayoralty. Gone too soon lol
Reposted by John Kuhn
One of the most unforgettable images capturing the vibrant promise of the new year, by the great Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy: 7 A.M. (New Year's Morning), c. 1930 www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
January 1, 2026 at 11:59 AM
One of the most unforgettable images capturing the vibrant promise of the new year, by the great Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy: 7 A.M. (New Year's Morning), c. 1930 www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti...
my friend's mom really freely uses the word "pervert" in a wide set of extended applications. "What pervert designed this roundabout?" Unfortunately I find it very funny
January 1, 2026 at 4:09 PM
my friend's mom really freely uses the word "pervert" in a wide set of extended applications. "What pervert designed this roundabout?" Unfortunately I find it very funny