J. P. Daughton
@jpdaughton.bsky.social
Writer, historian, teacher, husband, cat owner, thrower of pots. Author of In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism (WW Norton).
Pinned
In the Forest of No Joy
The epic story of the Congo-Océan railroad and the human costs and contradictions of modern empire., In the Forest of No Joy, The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism, J. P. Daug...
wwnorton.com
I’m new to these parts. I’m a historian of modern Europe and imperialism. My most recent book, below, is In the Forest of No Joy (Norton, 2021). I am currently writing about fraud, farce, and 19th century empire.
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
Saw this on the street. Thought it pretty much summed things up right now.
September 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Saw this on the street. Thought it pretty much summed things up right now.
Defend academic freedom.
An Open Letter in Defense of Academic Freedom and the Ukrainian Historian Marta Havryshko - New Global Politics
On the mounting restrictions on academic freedom in Ukraine in relation to the complex issues of Ukrainian politics and history.
www.newglobalpolitics.org
July 26, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Defend academic freedom.
Robert Crews @rcrews.bsky.social on the link between Evangelicals and conflict in Iran.
www.newglobalpolitics.org/end-times-an...
www.newglobalpolitics.org/end-times-an...
End Times and Dead Ends - New Global Politics
Is Evangelical belief in “Biblical Prophecy” priming Americans for another catastrophic war in the Middle East?
www.newglobalpolitics.org
June 20, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Robert Crews @rcrews.bsky.social on the link between Evangelicals and conflict in Iran.
www.newglobalpolitics.org/end-times-an...
www.newglobalpolitics.org/end-times-an...
Brilliant article by @sonya-schoenberger.bsky.social on deep sea mining -- past, present, and future.
time.com/7290958/trum...
time.com/7290958/trum...
Trump May be Repeating Reagan's Deep Sea Mining Mistake
Undermining international oceans governance could damage American interests.
time.com
June 20, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Brilliant article by @sonya-schoenberger.bsky.social on deep sea mining -- past, present, and future.
time.com/7290958/trum...
time.com/7290958/trum...
Fantastic article from Joel Cabrita.
The Long History of the U.S. Backing White South Africans
The recent welcoming of Afrikaner refugees is the latest chapter in a history of U.S. support for white South Africans.
time.com
May 23, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Fantastic article from Joel Cabrita.
Does anyone know what happened with the #NEH Public Scholars program for 2025-26? Notification letters were supposed to be sent out April 15, but it seems like that never happened. Was that entire round of applications simply scrubbed without any explanation whatsoever?
April 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Does anyone know what happened with the #NEH Public Scholars program for 2025-26? Notification letters were supposed to be sent out April 15, but it seems like that never happened. Was that entire round of applications simply scrubbed without any explanation whatsoever?
For all those who’ve started to write a book but never finished, rest assured that it is a time honored tradition. Here’s a medieval manuscript on hand-to-hand combat that was illustrated, but never written. Musée de Cluny, Paris.
April 18, 2025 at 12:48 PM
For all those who’ve started to write a book but never finished, rest assured that it is a time honored tradition. Here’s a medieval manuscript on hand-to-hand combat that was illustrated, but never written. Musée de Cluny, Paris.
Reposted by J. P. Daughton
The AHA has released a statement in support of the Smithsonian Institution, the target of the recent EO, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” This order “egregiously misrepresents the work of the Smithsonian Institution” and “completely misconstrues the nature of historical work.” 🗃️
Historians Defend the Smithsonian - AHA
The American Historical Association has released a statement in support of the Smithsonian Institution, the target of the recent executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” This...
www.historians.org
March 31, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The AHA has released a statement in support of the Smithsonian Institution, the target of the recent EO, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” This order “egregiously misrepresents the work of the Smithsonian Institution” and “completely misconstrues the nature of historical work.” 🗃️
An excellent discussion of Yan Slobodkin’s important book on famine in the French Empire.
networks.h-net.org/slobodkin-st...
networks.h-net.org/slobodkin-st...
Slobodkin, "The Starving Empire: A History of Famine in France’s Colonies," H-Environment Roundtable 15, no. 1 (2025) | H-Net
Dear Colleagues,Announcing a new edition of H-Environment Roundtables featuring Yan Slobodkin's The Starving Empire: A History of Famine in France's Colonies. Please enjoy and distribute widely.Title:...
networks.h-net.org
March 22, 2025 at 12:53 PM
An excellent discussion of Yan Slobodkin’s important book on famine in the French Empire.
networks.h-net.org/slobodkin-st...
networks.h-net.org/slobodkin-st...
Reposted by J. P. Daughton
I just finished „In the Forest of No Joy“. Being no expert on the Congo or French colonial history, I was impressed by this piece of scholarship which truly makes for grim reading with more than 20,000 forced African laborers dying during the construction of the Congo-Océan railway.1/
I’m new to these parts. I’m a historian of modern Europe and imperialism. My most recent book, below, is In the Forest of No Joy (Norton, 2021). I am currently writing about fraud, farce, and 19th century empire.
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
wwnorton.com/books/978039...
In the Forest of No Joy
The epic story of the Congo-Océan railroad and the human costs and contradictions of modern empire., In the Forest of No Joy, The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism, J. P. Daug...
wwnorton.com
March 13, 2025 at 11:36 AM
I just finished „In the Forest of No Joy“. Being no expert on the Congo or French colonial history, I was impressed by this piece of scholarship which truly makes for grim reading with more than 20,000 forced African laborers dying during the construction of the Congo-Océan railway.1/
Reposted by J. P. Daughton
Buttigieg’s response to Trump vis Twitter, on multiple levels:
January 30, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Buttigieg’s response to Trump vis Twitter, on multiple levels:
Reposted by J. P. Daughton
Growing up in Germany, Katharina Matro “was confronted with my country’s history without mercy. It’s made me a more informed citizen, a more politically aware citizen, a more critical thinker.” 🗃️
Teaching with Integrity: Confronting a Nation's Past
YouTube video by American Historical Association
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Growing up in Germany, Katharina Matro “was confronted with my country’s history without mercy. It’s made me a more informed citizen, a more politically aware citizen, a more critical thinker.” 🗃️
Should academic historians be concerned that only 2 of the 10 “best history books” of 2024 were written by academic historians?
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...
The Ten Best History Books of 2024
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 28, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Should academic historians be concerned that only 2 of the 10 “best history books” of 2024 were written by academic historians?
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...
What we need to be sorry about is that there are millions of Americans who do believe him. Sorry, and deeply concerned.
Dear God. I almost feel sorry for anyone who allows themself to be fooled by this guy.
January 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM
What we need to be sorry about is that there are millions of Americans who do believe him. Sorry, and deeply concerned.
With so many things in the world to comment on, I’m just going to post a photo of some pots I recently made. These are currently my only angles.
January 19, 2025 at 8:05 PM
With so many things in the world to comment on, I’m just going to post a photo of some pots I recently made. These are currently my only angles.
Later this spring, I am teaching a course on the history of modern Paris. I'd like to do something on the arcades, and use some of Benjamin's work on the subject, but don't even know where to begin in terms of choosing portions to assign.
Anyone out there have experiences they could share? Thanks!
Anyone out there have experiences they could share? Thanks!
January 9, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Later this spring, I am teaching a course on the history of modern Paris. I'd like to do something on the arcades, and use some of Benjamin's work on the subject, but don't even know where to begin in terms of choosing portions to assign.
Anyone out there have experiences they could share? Thanks!
Anyone out there have experiences they could share? Thanks!
Reposted by J. P. Daughton
Check out this interesting mini-documentary abt the Western Society of French History created by Naomi Andrews, Leslie Tuttle & Sarah Miles! A great way to visualize shifts -- geographical, disciplinary, demographics -- in French history over the last few decades! www.wsfh.org/mission-char...
MISSION, CHARTER, & HISTORY — Western Society for French History
For the promotion and study of French and francophone history.
www.wsfh.org
December 27, 2024 at 7:35 PM
Check out this interesting mini-documentary abt the Western Society of French History created by Naomi Andrews, Leslie Tuttle & Sarah Miles! A great way to visualize shifts -- geographical, disciplinary, demographics -- in French history over the last few decades! www.wsfh.org/mission-char...
I know I’m supposed to post something scholarly or newsworthy or profound. But instead I’m posting a picture of something I recently made in the pottery.
December 21, 2024 at 1:33 AM
I know I’m supposed to post something scholarly or newsworthy or profound. But instead I’m posting a picture of something I recently made in the pottery.
In the canyonlands of northern Arizona, I couldn’t help but wonder what Edward Abbey, great prophet of the American West, would have made of the hoards of Instagrammers who’ve invaded his beloved landscapes.
December 20, 2024 at 4:50 PM
In the canyonlands of northern Arizona, I couldn’t help but wonder what Edward Abbey, great prophet of the American West, would have made of the hoards of Instagrammers who’ve invaded his beloved landscapes.
Yesterday’s sunset on Highway 163 in southern Utah.
December 16, 2024 at 3:40 PM
Yesterday’s sunset on Highway 163 in southern Utah.
Phenomenal final show at Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco. Devastating they are closing their doors.
pier24.org
pier24.org
Homepage - Pier 24
Located on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, Pier 24 Photography provides a quiet, contemplative environment for viewing photographic works. Pier 24 Photography houses the permanent collection of the Pilar...
pier24.org
December 11, 2024 at 12:27 AM
Phenomenal final show at Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco. Devastating they are closing their doors.
pier24.org
pier24.org
A fascinating take on the complexities of Irish migration, past and present.
www.newglobalpolitics.org/the-irony-of...
www.newglobalpolitics.org/the-irony-of...
The Irony of Anti-immigration Rhetoric in Ireland - New Global Politics
Who counts as "Irish" in contemporary Ireland?
www.newglobalpolitics.org
December 8, 2024 at 3:06 PM
A fascinating take on the complexities of Irish migration, past and present.
www.newglobalpolitics.org/the-irony-of...
www.newglobalpolitics.org/the-irony-of...
Spot-on advice for historians trying to improve their writing style — which should be all of us, all the time. Worthwhile to read all of the tips @marcusrediker.bsky.social has shared.
Final writing tip, no, 14: Three things scholars need to do to write for a broader audience. First, you have to want to. (Most do not.) Second, you need to read gifted prose stylists and learn from them. Third, you must work hard at the art and craft of writing. It’s all pretty simple.
December 5, 2024 at 1:26 PM
Spot-on advice for historians trying to improve their writing style — which should be all of us, all the time. Worthwhile to read all of the tips @marcusrediker.bsky.social has shared.