Brian Luskey
@profluskey.bsky.social
History prof., 19thcUS. Author/Editor of _On the Make_; _Capitalism by Gaslight_; _Men Is Cheap_. #LFC #YNWA
Chasing paper, getting nowhere.
https://history.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty/brian-luskey
Chasing paper, getting nowhere.
https://history.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty/brian-luskey
Pinned
Brian Luskey
@profluskey.bsky.social
· Nov 1
Men Is Cheap | Brian P. Luskey | University of North Carolina Press
When a Civil War substitute broker told business associates that "Men is cheep here to Day," he exposed an unsettling contradiction at the heart of the Union...
uncpress.org
Hey skystorians, my book _Men Is Cheap: Exposing the Frauds of Free Labor in Civil War America_, will be available in a paperback edition on February 1. So if you're ordering books for the Spring semester, check it out! 🗃️
Reposted by Brian Luskey
The publication date for my book on the history of policing American slavery has been moved up a month! Now available May 12, 2026! Thanks so much to those who have preordered! The Press is offering 30% off with the code, 01UNCP30
uncpress.org/978146969484...
uncpress.org/978146969484...
White Power
Beginning in the colonial era and growing through the American Revolution and the Southern plantation system, slaveholders’ violent police regime continued...
uncpress.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The publication date for my book on the history of policing American slavery has been moved up a month! Now available May 12, 2026! Thanks so much to those who have preordered! The Press is offering 30% off with the code, 01UNCP30
uncpress.org/978146969484...
uncpress.org/978146969484...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Emilie Connolly's book about native dispossession and public is coming out next week. She's not on here to be embarrassed by me saying this is the proverbial "highly anticipated" book but at it is, at least by me.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
November 18, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Emilie Connolly's book about native dispossession and public is coming out next week. She's not on here to be embarrassed by me saying this is the proverbial "highly anticipated" book but at it is, at least by me.
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Need a little midday distraction? I know I do, so I present to you JOYS OF JELL-O (1967), found in my grandmother's house.
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Need a little midday distraction? I know I do, so I present to you JOYS OF JELL-O (1967), found in my grandmother's house.
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Happy news: My new book -- Humanitarianism: A Very Short Introduction -- now has a cover and is available for preorder! The book is a concise history of humanitarianism in an international and global perspective, from the 18th century to the present. More info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Happy news: My new book -- Humanitarianism: A Very Short Introduction -- now has a cover and is available for preorder! The book is a concise history of humanitarianism in an international and global perspective, from the 18th century to the present. More info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Teaching a favorite session today on #FrederickDouglass #Narrative — after decades of scrounging cheap original printings (1799 - 1832) of the #ColumbianOrator … I finally have enough to give one to each student & say, DISCUSS: What kinds of things could an enslaved teenager learn with this book?
September 23, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Teaching a favorite session today on #FrederickDouglass #Narrative — after decades of scrounging cheap original printings (1799 - 1832) of the #ColumbianOrator … I finally have enough to give one to each student & say, DISCUSS: What kinds of things could an enslaved teenager learn with this book?
Reposted by Brian Luskey
There is an incredible amount of good history being done at the local level and in small museums--the folks who will actually engage the public during this anniversary
September 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM
There is an incredible amount of good history being done at the local level and in small museums--the folks who will actually engage the public during this anniversary
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Not available until June 2026, but we have a cover! #earlymodern #skystorians
September 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Not available until June 2026, but we have a cover! #earlymodern #skystorians
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Want to learn more about early American history from the 25 years of articles and reviews on Commonplace? Select a topic on our Subject page that you want to know more about, such as Slavery and Abolition. Click on the tag and it creates a new subject page: 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/subj...
commonplace.online/article/subj...
Subject Tags - Commonplace
Browse by Subject
commonplace.online
August 19, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Want to learn more about early American history from the 25 years of articles and reviews on Commonplace? Select a topic on our Subject page that you want to know more about, such as Slavery and Abolition. Click on the tag and it creates a new subject page: 🗃️
commonplace.online/article/subj...
commonplace.online/article/subj...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Got my advance reader copies of Living in a DAISY Age yesterday! They look amazing! It’s hard to put into words how I feel holding a physical copy of my book 🤯
Preorder: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Living...
Preorder: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Living...
August 14, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Got my advance reader copies of Living in a DAISY Age yesterday! They look amazing! It’s hard to put into words how I feel holding a physical copy of my book 🤯
Preorder: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Living...
Preorder: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Living...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
MORE SHOCKING HAY FRAUDS!!!
On the arrest of Captain Ferguson at his office in the Alexandria depot, a Mr. Rowland (a clerk and also Ferguson's brother in law) "abstracted" (i.e., took) a package containing $18,500 worth of federal bonds--equivalent to about half a million dollars today!
On the arrest of Captain Ferguson at his office in the Alexandria depot, a Mr. Rowland (a clerk and also Ferguson's brother in law) "abstracted" (i.e., took) a package containing $18,500 worth of federal bonds--equivalent to about half a million dollars today!
Currently investigating massive hay fraud in the Civil War. Two entire reels of microfilm for just this one case. Turns out it was extremely lucrative to skim forage and sell it on the side.
August 14, 2025 at 8:25 PM
MORE SHOCKING HAY FRAUDS!!!
On the arrest of Captain Ferguson at his office in the Alexandria depot, a Mr. Rowland (a clerk and also Ferguson's brother in law) "abstracted" (i.e., took) a package containing $18,500 worth of federal bonds--equivalent to about half a million dollars today!
On the arrest of Captain Ferguson at his office in the Alexandria depot, a Mr. Rowland (a clerk and also Ferguson's brother in law) "abstracted" (i.e., took) a package containing $18,500 worth of federal bonds--equivalent to about half a million dollars today!
Reposted by Brian Luskey
lincoln-institute.org/scholarship-... The Abraham Lincoln Institute announces a travel grant of $1,000.00 (one thousand dollars) for graduate students in the Civil War field. #Skystorians #CivilWarHistory
July 27, 2025 at 11:27 PM
lincoln-institute.org/scholarship-... The Abraham Lincoln Institute announces a travel grant of $1,000.00 (one thousand dollars) for graduate students in the Civil War field. #Skystorians #CivilWarHistory
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Last week, a very special package from @uncpress.bsky.social arrived! I was traveling and eager to touch the Word files turned into PDF files transformed into real paper between glossy covers. Canal Dreamers is a dream come true for me! My nine-year-old son snapped a perfect memory of the moment. 🗃️
July 21, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Last week, a very special package from @uncpress.bsky.social arrived! I was traveling and eager to touch the Word files turned into PDF files transformed into real paper between glossy covers. Canal Dreamers is a dream come true for me! My nine-year-old son snapped a perfect memory of the moment. 🗃️
So exciting!
Reading the proofs of April Masten’s brilliant book, *Diamond and Juba: The Raucous World of 19th-Cenury Challenge Dancing*, coming from @illinoispress.bsky.social in Dec. 2025. Readers, get ready: this is a powerful book and an original one.
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=c0...
www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=c0...
July 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
So exciting!
Reposted by Brian Luskey
So, here it is. Thanks to a new state law that was NEVER DEBATED, Indiana University has committed itself to abolishing majors in African-American/African Diaspora Studies: American Studies; Art History; French; Italian; Religious Studies etc. DOZENS of majors. www.ipm.org/news-section...
Indiana public colleges cut almost 20% of degrees
Public Indiana colleges and universities have eliminated 19 percent of their degree programs to meet requirements added to the state’s budget, according to the Commission for Higher Education.
www.ipm.org
June 30, 2025 at 9:12 PM
So, here it is. Thanks to a new state law that was NEVER DEBATED, Indiana University has committed itself to abolishing majors in African-American/African Diaspora Studies: American Studies; Art History; French; Italian; Religious Studies etc. DOZENS of majors. www.ipm.org/news-section...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Interesting conversation here about AI and higher ed. One small moment stood out to me. It's possible that LLM's know how to create watermarks in everything they produce that would make AI generated text easy to detect. But of course, they're choosing not to do it. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
If AI can do your classwork, why go to college?
Podcast Episode · The Gray Area with Sean Illing · 06/30/2025 · 59m
podcasts.apple.com
June 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Interesting conversation here about AI and higher ed. One small moment stood out to me. It's possible that LLM's know how to create watermarks in everything they produce that would make AI generated text easy to detect. But of course, they're choosing not to do it. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Very pleased to announce preorders for my forthcoming book, Living in the D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made (Atria/One Signal), is available wherever you buy your books. Coming out January 2026! The preorder link is in the comments.
I can't wait for you all to read!
I can't wait for you all to read!
June 19, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Very pleased to announce preorders for my forthcoming book, Living in the D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made (Atria/One Signal), is available wherever you buy your books. Coming out January 2026! The preorder link is in the comments.
I can't wait for you all to read!
I can't wait for you all to read!
Reposted by Brian Luskey
About that New York Times Article on "A.I." and History: https://updates.wcaleb.org/2025/06/17/about-that-new-york-times.html
June 17, 2025 at 3:50 PM
About that New York Times Article on "A.I." and History: https://updates.wcaleb.org/2025/06/17/about-that-new-york-times.html
Reposted by Brian Luskey
www.clarku.edu/news/2025/06...
#Skystorians we’ve lost a friend and a great scholar, Amy Richter of Clark University. Please repost.
#Skystorians we’ve lost a friend and a great scholar, Amy Richter of Clark University. Please repost.
‘She left an indelible mark’ | ClarkU News
Colleagues remember Professor Amy Richter
www.clarku.edu
June 5, 2025 at 10:16 PM
www.clarku.edu/news/2025/06...
#Skystorians we’ve lost a friend and a great scholar, Amy Richter of Clark University. Please repost.
#Skystorians we’ve lost a friend and a great scholar, Amy Richter of Clark University. Please repost.
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Just updated my U.S. History Research Toolkit on @padlet.com. It gathers links to digitized primary source collections for students in research courses—NO login required. Check it out! 🗃️
padlet.com/kristenepps/...
padlet.com/kristenepps/...
U.S. History Research Toolkit
Below are collections of free, open-access digitized primary sources related to the history of the United States. (The focus is not on secondary sources or instructional materials.) Items in each cate...
padlet.com
June 4, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Just updated my U.S. History Research Toolkit on @padlet.com. It gathers links to digitized primary source collections for students in research courses—NO login required. Check it out! 🗃️
padlet.com/kristenepps/...
padlet.com/kristenepps/...
Reposted by Brian Luskey
@kerileighmerritt.bsky.social once argued for the historical value of coroners' reports by explaining that "how people die tells you a lot about society." That really stuck with me. The 1830s Boston Coroners Inquests offer a sad but deeply revealing glimpse into the lives of poor African Americans 🗃️
June 5, 2025 at 12:37 AM
@kerileighmerritt.bsky.social once argued for the historical value of coroners' reports by explaining that "how people die tells you a lot about society." That really stuck with me. The 1830s Boston Coroners Inquests offer a sad but deeply revealing glimpse into the lives of poor African Americans 🗃️
Reposted by Brian Luskey
bsky.app/profile/geau...
today in AI *makes* extra, useless work: now scholars, authors, and journalists have to defend themselves - their expertise, their reputations, their dignity, their safety - from hallucinated horseshit
today in AI *makes* extra, useless work: now scholars, authors, and journalists have to defend themselves - their expertise, their reputations, their dignity, their safety - from hallucinated horseshit
today in dubious career milestones
professor writes to ask whether an academic article by me cited in a student paper is
A). simply hard to track down
or
B). an AI hallucination
professor writes to ask whether an academic article by me cited in a student paper is
A). simply hard to track down
or
B). an AI hallucination
May 30, 2025 at 10:21 PM
bsky.app/profile/geau...
today in AI *makes* extra, useless work: now scholars, authors, and journalists have to defend themselves - their expertise, their reputations, their dignity, their safety - from hallucinated horseshit
today in AI *makes* extra, useless work: now scholars, authors, and journalists have to defend themselves - their expertise, their reputations, their dignity, their safety - from hallucinated horseshit
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Supremely helpful thread for anyone making their first visit to NARA this summer 🗃️
Summer is almost upon us, which means a lot of people are going to be embarking on research trips, including people who making their first visits to the National Archives in D.C. or College Park, Maryland. I wanted to offer a few tips to make your research experiences easier there.🧵
May 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Supremely helpful thread for anyone making their first visit to NARA this summer 🗃️
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Happy Memorial Day to everyone - especially those who remember how the holiday began:
That is, as a day to commemorate those who died saving the country from an *actual* attempt to destroy it
That is, as a day to commemorate those who died saving the country from an *actual* attempt to destroy it
May 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Happy Memorial Day to everyone - especially those who remember how the holiday began:
That is, as a day to commemorate those who died saving the country from an *actual* attempt to destroy it
That is, as a day to commemorate those who died saving the country from an *actual* attempt to destroy it
Reposted by Brian Luskey
We’re doing a thing! Want to talk about how to do a conference? Come ask somebody who’s made all the mistakes and survived: Me! . . . and also Will and @carolyneastman.bsky.social, who make far fewer mistakes ;)
May 20, 2025 at 11:55 PM
We’re doing a thing! Want to talk about how to do a conference? Come ask somebody who’s made all the mistakes and survived: Me! . . . and also Will and @carolyneastman.bsky.social, who make far fewer mistakes ;)
Reposted by Brian Luskey
Author copies have arrived!!!! It's real!!!
@yalepress.bsky.social
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
@yalepress.bsky.social
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
May 6, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Author copies have arrived!!!! It's real!!!
@yalepress.bsky.social
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
@yalepress.bsky.social
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...