Amardeep Singh
@electrostani.bsky.social
Professor of English at Lehigh University. Anglophone Postcolonial; Modernism; African American Literature; Digital Humanities.
https://www.electrostani.com/
https://www.electrostani.com/
Harlem Renaissance trivia:
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Bennett were born a year apart.
Both came from messy families w/feuding, separated parents; both had lonely, peripatetic upbringings.
Both studied at Columbia in 1921. Hughes didn't stay; Bennett got a degree in art at Pratt Institute 1/3
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Bennett were born a year apart.
Both came from messy families w/feuding, separated parents; both had lonely, peripatetic upbringings.
Both studied at Columbia in 1921. Hughes didn't stay; Bennett got a degree in art at Pratt Institute 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Harlem Renaissance trivia:
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Bennett were born a year apart.
Both came from messy families w/feuding, separated parents; both had lonely, peripatetic upbringings.
Both studied at Columbia in 1921. Hughes didn't stay; Bennett got a degree in art at Pratt Institute 1/3
Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Bennett were born a year apart.
Both came from messy families w/feuding, separated parents; both had lonely, peripatetic upbringings.
Both studied at Columbia in 1921. Hughes didn't stay; Bennett got a degree in art at Pratt Institute 1/3
"AI slop demonstrates not just the technological flexibility of Trump’s fascist aesthetics — it is the ultimate example of it, the culmination of the hateful dream of eliminating the human entirely." -Ed Simon in Hyperallergic
hyperallergic.com/1050277/the-...
hyperallergic.com/1050277/the-...
The Algorithmic Presidency
Just as 20th-century fascists deployed radio and film, today’s ideological descendants use memes, social media, and above all, artificial intelligence.
hyperallergic.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:50 PM
"AI slop demonstrates not just the technological flexibility of Trump’s fascist aesthetics — it is the ultimate example of it, the culmination of the hateful dream of eliminating the human entirely." -Ed Simon in Hyperallergic
hyperallergic.com/1050277/the-...
hyperallergic.com/1050277/the-...
For folks interested in DH and #CriticalAI, I'd recommend a new independent film from India called "Humans in the Loop."
It's the story of an indigenous (Adivasi) woman who gets hired to do data annotation. Raises questions of embodied labor, gender, and cultural bias in AI. Available on Netflix.
It's the story of an indigenous (Adivasi) woman who gets hired to do data annotation. Raises questions of embodied labor, gender, and cultural bias in AI. Available on Netflix.
November 11, 2025 at 4:54 PM
For folks interested in DH and #CriticalAI, I'd recommend a new independent film from India called "Humans in the Loop."
It's the story of an indigenous (Adivasi) woman who gets hired to do data annotation. Raises questions of embodied labor, gender, and cultural bias in AI. Available on Netflix.
It's the story of an indigenous (Adivasi) woman who gets hired to do data annotation. Raises questions of embodied labor, gender, and cultural bias in AI. Available on Netflix.
ICYMI, my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social on what Zohran Mamdani learned from his mother's films. I published a book on Mira Nair's films in 2018..
Here I focus on "Mississippi Masala" (-->immigration/ refugees) and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (-->Palestine).
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
Here I focus on "Mississippi Masala" (-->immigration/ refugees) and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (-->Palestine).
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
What Mamdani Learned from His Mother’s Films - Pittsburgh Review of Books
Zohran Mamdani, as most readers know by now, is the son of a filmmaker, Mira Nair. His parents met while she was working on Mississippi Masala (1992); his
pghrev.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:49 PM
ICYMI, my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social on what Zohran Mamdani learned from his mother's films. I published a book on Mira Nair's films in 2018..
Here I focus on "Mississippi Masala" (-->immigration/ refugees) and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (-->Palestine).
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
Here I focus on "Mississippi Masala" (-->immigration/ refugees) and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (-->Palestine).
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
This is some impressive TikTokery right here.
I knew it would take less than a day for a tiktok dj to make something.
November 5, 2025 at 5:49 PM
This is some impressive TikTokery right here.
It's election day in NYC. Rooting for Zohran!
Check out my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social called "What Mamdani Learned From His Mother's Films."
It's reading Zohran's ethics & politics through films like "Mississippi Masala" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist."
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
Check out my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social called "What Mamdani Learned From His Mother's Films."
It's reading Zohran's ethics & politics through films like "Mississippi Masala" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist."
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
What Mamdani Learned from His Mother’s Films - Pittsburgh Review of Books
Zohran Mamdani, as most readers know by now, is the son of a filmmaker, Mira Nair. His parents met while she was working on Mississippi Masala (1992); his
pghrev.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:14 PM
It's election day in NYC. Rooting for Zohran!
Check out my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social called "What Mamdani Learned From His Mother's Films."
It's reading Zohran's ethics & politics through films like "Mississippi Masala" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist."
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
Check out my piece in @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social called "What Mamdani Learned From His Mother's Films."
It's reading Zohran's ethics & politics through films like "Mississippi Masala" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist."
pghrev.com/what-mamdani...
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
"Computational Humanities is far more than a collection of essays; it is a meticulously curated critical tool kit."
This is exactly what we were going for! dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/projects/com...
This is exactly what we were going for! dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/projects/com...
November 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
"Computational Humanities is far more than a collection of essays; it is a meticulously curated critical tool kit."
This is exactly what we were going for! dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/projects/com...
This is exactly what we were going for! dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/projects/com...
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
As DH grows, it’s increasingly important to publish conference papers, but there hasn’t been a clear venue for that.
So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.
Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!
bit.ly/ach-anthology
So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.
Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!
bit.ly/ach-anthology
October 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
As DH grows, it’s increasingly important to publish conference papers, but there hasn’t been a clear venue for that.
So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.
Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!
bit.ly/ach-anthology
So I’m thrilled to share this new home for DH proceedings, which will include CHR papers & more.
Thanks to @taylor-arnold.bsky.social for leading this effort!
bit.ly/ach-anthology
A bit of Modernist trivia:
James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were both born and both died on the same years (1882-1941).
They were born about a week apart (1/25 for Woolf vs. 2/2 for Joyce), and they died about two and a half months apart (1/13 for Joyce, 3/28 for Woolf).
James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were both born and both died on the same years (1882-1941).
They were born about a week apart (1/25 for Woolf vs. 2/2 for Joyce), and they died about two and a half months apart (1/13 for Joyce, 3/28 for Woolf).
October 27, 2025 at 4:36 PM
A bit of Modernist trivia:
James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were both born and both died on the same years (1882-1941).
They were born about a week apart (1/25 for Woolf vs. 2/2 for Joyce), and they died about two and a half months apart (1/13 for Joyce, 3/28 for Woolf).
James Joyce and Virginia Woolf were both born and both died on the same years (1882-1941).
They were born about a week apart (1/25 for Woolf vs. 2/2 for Joyce), and they died about two and a half months apart (1/13 for Joyce, 3/28 for Woolf).
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
This by Matt Erlin, Douglas Knox, Claudia Carroll, @jeysushil.bsky.social, Tumaini Ussiri & Sadahisa Watanabe is excellent: postcolonial corpus comparison, using quantitative proxies for 'literariness' and 'cosmopolitanism'
October 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM
This by Matt Erlin, Douglas Knox, Claudia Carroll, @jeysushil.bsky.social, Tumaini Ussiri & Sadahisa Watanabe is excellent: postcolonial corpus comparison, using quantitative proxies for 'literariness' and 'cosmopolitanism'
Today's Versedle was a challenge for me. First time in awhile when I really had no idea...
Versedle is taking the group chats by storm! (Ok not really, but one group chat is enjoying it.)
Today's poem is a good one, in my humble opinion. It could be a good day to start playing...
melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/
Today's poem is a good one, in my humble opinion. It could be a good day to start playing...
melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/
October 17, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Today's Versedle was a challenge for me. First time in awhile when I really had no idea...
Lehigh English is having a Graduate Open House: Tuesday October 28 @ noon ET.
Please forward to students interested in fully-funded M.A. or Ph.D. programs. Prospective applicants can register at the link below; feel free to DM me with questions.
lehigh.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Please forward to students interested in fully-funded M.A. or Ph.D. programs. Prospective applicants can register at the link below; feel free to DM me with questions.
lehigh.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
October 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Lehigh English is having a Graduate Open House: Tuesday October 28 @ noon ET.
Please forward to students interested in fully-funded M.A. or Ph.D. programs. Prospective applicants can register at the link below; feel free to DM me with questions.
lehigh.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Please forward to students interested in fully-funded M.A. or Ph.D. programs. Prospective applicants can register at the link below; feel free to DM me with questions.
lehigh.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
Perfect timing for my Harlem Ren class (in the UK)
'McKay discovered that reality did not match his ideal of “literary England”. He was disturbed to find that racial violence had followed him across the Atlantic. By the autumn of 1919, riots had taken place in London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Manchester and Hull.'
‘The jobless should lead the attack’: a radical Jamaican journalist in 1920s London
The long read: Economic insecurity, race riots, incendiary media … Claude McKay was one of the few Black journalists covering a turbulent period that sounds all too familiar to us today
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Perfect timing for my Harlem Ren class (in the UK)
A few notes and highlights from my MSA 2025. The Baroness and Djuna Barnes; Marianne Moore; H.D. and Bryher; Anticolonial manifestoes; South Asian modernism. And: remembering Sejal Sutaria.
@moderniststudies.bsky.social @ria4983.bsky.social
www.electrostani.com/2025/10/note...
@moderniststudies.bsky.social @ria4983.bsky.social
www.electrostani.com/2025/10/note...
October 14, 2025 at 4:56 PM
A few notes and highlights from my MSA 2025. The Baroness and Djuna Barnes; Marianne Moore; H.D. and Bryher; Anticolonial manifestoes; South Asian modernism. And: remembering Sejal Sutaria.
@moderniststudies.bsky.social @ria4983.bsky.social
www.electrostani.com/2025/10/note...
@moderniststudies.bsky.social @ria4983.bsky.social
www.electrostani.com/2025/10/note...
Every day there's some new absurd overreach.
Trump caps international student enrollment at top US universities, limits set at 15%
www.businesstoday.in/nri/study/st...
www.businesstoday.in/nri/study/st...
Trump caps international student enrollment at top US universities, limits set at 15% - BusinessToday
This move is part of a broader policy aimed at regulating academic admissions and funding, and it is set to have significant repercussions for colleges and universities across the United States.
www.businesstoday.in
October 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Every day there's some new absurd overreach.
There's a nice multimedia, link-rich piece in the NYT about the new production of Hurston's never-produced play "Spunk" at Yale Rep.
You can find plain text versions of Zora Neale Hurston's early works, including the short story version of "Spunk" (1925) here:
scalar.lehigh.edu/african-amer...
You can find plain text versions of Zora Neale Hurston's early works, including the short story version of "Spunk" (1925) here:
scalar.lehigh.edu/african-amer...
African American Poetry: Zora Neale Hurston (Author Page)
Zora Neale Hurston: Brief Bio and Links to Poems and Stories
scalar.lehigh.edu
October 13, 2025 at 12:40 PM
There's a nice multimedia, link-rich piece in the NYT about the new production of Hurston's never-produced play "Spunk" at Yale Rep.
You can find plain text versions of Zora Neale Hurston's early works, including the short story version of "Spunk" (1925) here:
scalar.lehigh.edu/african-amer...
You can find plain text versions of Zora Neale Hurston's early works, including the short story version of "Spunk" (1925) here:
scalar.lehigh.edu/african-amer...
Yes to this. And I would add:
Nuance
Context
Complexity
Uncertainty
Point of View
Alterity (other ways of being, other ways of living)
Heterogeneity
Care
Compassion
Alternatives to violence
Empathy & Sympathy
Nuance
Context
Complexity
Uncertainty
Point of View
Alterity (other ways of being, other ways of living)
Heterogeneity
Care
Compassion
Alternatives to violence
Empathy & Sympathy
Of course the bigots and fascists don’t want you to study English.
The enemy of fascism is:
Close reading
Clear communication
Questioning the meaning of what you read
Accurate spelling & grammar
Thinking for yourself
Creativity
Understanding the mechanics of argument
Imagination
Enjoyment
Joy
The enemy of fascism is:
Close reading
Clear communication
Questioning the meaning of what you read
Accurate spelling & grammar
Thinking for yourself
Creativity
Understanding the mechanics of argument
Imagination
Enjoyment
Joy
October 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Yes to this. And I would add:
Nuance
Context
Complexity
Uncertainty
Point of View
Alterity (other ways of being, other ways of living)
Heterogeneity
Care
Compassion
Alternatives to violence
Empathy & Sympathy
Nuance
Context
Complexity
Uncertainty
Point of View
Alterity (other ways of being, other ways of living)
Heterogeneity
Care
Compassion
Alternatives to violence
Empathy & Sympathy
Looking forward to the MSA @moderniststudies.bsky.social later this week in Boston! I'll be giving a talk on one panel, chairing another, and participating in a really cool workshop.
My talk is on Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent, two amazing authors I'm writing about for the first time.
My talk is on Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent, two amazing authors I'm writing about for the first time.
October 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Looking forward to the MSA @moderniststudies.bsky.social later this week in Boston! I'll be giving a talk on one panel, chairing another, and participating in a really cool workshop.
My talk is on Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent, two amazing authors I'm writing about for the first time.
My talk is on Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent, two amazing authors I'm writing about for the first time.
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
My blog post reporting on testing the use of agentic AI (the Fellou.ai browser) to start a research project on gathering definitions of the humanities: “Humanities Definitions Research Project: An Experiment with Agentic AI” (liu.english.ucsb.edu/humanities-d...).
October 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
My blog post reporting on testing the use of agentic AI (the Fellou.ai browser) to start a research project on gathering definitions of the humanities: “Humanities Definitions Research Project: An Experiment with Agentic AI” (liu.english.ucsb.edu/humanities-d...).
I just tried this and it's fun and beautifully designed (and maybe not *that* hard for someone who teaches English lit.!).
I made a lil game inspired by the Wordle universe. It's called Versedle (pronounced Verse-a-dle). You guess who wrote famous lines of literature.
As my parents can attest, it's hard! I made them an Easy Mode, but it's still kinda hard. Maybe you'll like it!
▶️ 📚: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/
As my parents can attest, it's hard! I made them an Easy Mode, but it's still kinda hard. Maybe you'll like it!
▶️ 📚: melaniewalsh.github.io/versedle/
VERSEDLE
Test your literary knowledge with Versedle!
melaniewalsh.github.io
October 2, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I just tried this and it's fun and beautifully designed (and maybe not *that* hard for someone who teaches English lit.!).
With all the depressing news this week, seems good to take a minute to enjoy the Alaskan Fat Bear competition story, which I translate as "middle age life goals," as I eat an extra slice of my kid's birthday cake for second breakfast.
www.usatoday.com/story/pets-a...
www.usatoday.com/story/pets-a...
October 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
With all the depressing news this week, seems good to take a minute to enjoy the Alaskan Fat Bear competition story, which I translate as "middle age life goals," as I eat an extra slice of my kid's birthday cake for second breakfast.
www.usatoday.com/story/pets-a...
www.usatoday.com/story/pets-a...
"Poetry’s worth within commercial publishing comes from its literariness, an abstract matrix of style and taste that operates to demarcate books, authors, and genres as artistic. The oldest and most artful of genres, poetry is the apotheosis of literariness. It has cachet."
It's the end of The Best American Poetry.
I wrote about the forty-year anthology project, poetry’s place in Big Five publishing, and editor David Lehman's culture wars vision of American verse.
defector.com/good-riddanc...
I wrote about the forty-year anthology project, poetry’s place in Big Five publishing, and editor David Lehman's culture wars vision of American verse.
defector.com/good-riddanc...
Good Riddance To ‘The Best American Poetry’ | Defector
When David Lehman, a poet then working as a book critic for Newsweek, proposed the project for The Best American Poetry anthology, he was searching for a national platform. His first anthology project...
defector.com
September 30, 2025 at 6:37 PM
"Poetry’s worth within commercial publishing comes from its literariness, an abstract matrix of style and taste that operates to demarcate books, authors, and genres as artistic. The oldest and most artful of genres, poetry is the apotheosis of literariness. It has cachet."
"If President Trump wants to highlight the greatness of America, he should be doing more to teach us about men like John Brown ... He should be praising the more than 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors—many of whom were enslaved when the war began—who fought to preserve the nation and end slavery."
"These are the facts of American history. They are not distortions, nor is displaying this information at national parks ideologically motivated. These and similar facts explain much about our nation." slate.com/news-and-pol...
Trump Is Trying to Memory-Hole One of the Most Important Historical Images of Slavery
Virtually every historian of the Civil War knows that slavery was the moving force for secession which led to the Civil War.
slate.com
September 25, 2025 at 12:22 PM
"If President Trump wants to highlight the greatness of America, he should be doing more to teach us about men like John Brown ... He should be praising the more than 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors—many of whom were enslaved when the war began—who fought to preserve the nation and end slavery."
Reposted by Amardeep Singh
A birthday present for Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s 200th: you can now read Chapter 1 of my new book Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Civil War and Reconstruction online for free for a limited time! Please share widely. Book info in the comments. Check out: academic.oup.com/book/60645/c...
September 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
A birthday present for Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s 200th: you can now read Chapter 1 of my new book Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Civil War and Reconstruction online for free for a limited time! Please share widely. Book info in the comments. Check out: academic.oup.com/book/60645/c...
Was at Cornell this past weekend -- giving a talk on Toni Morrison in the new *Toni Morrison Hall*. Pretty cool & a nice conference overall.
I also drove down to Penn State for the Frances Harper 200 conference.
A few highlights from both conferences here:
www.electrostani.com/2025/09/two-...
I also drove down to Penn State for the Frances Harper 200 conference.
A few highlights from both conferences here:
www.electrostani.com/2025/09/two-...
September 22, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Was at Cornell this past weekend -- giving a talk on Toni Morrison in the new *Toni Morrison Hall*. Pretty cool & a nice conference overall.
I also drove down to Penn State for the Frances Harper 200 conference.
A few highlights from both conferences here:
www.electrostani.com/2025/09/two-...
I also drove down to Penn State for the Frances Harper 200 conference.
A few highlights from both conferences here:
www.electrostani.com/2025/09/two-...