Last week we explored the art of the New Deal era, from Holger Cahill’s exhibition writings to more recent works exploring the political dimensions of 1930s art. Today, we’ll be considering a topic that has played a seminal role in my professional and personal life: museums. Most broadly, the texts I’ve been working through are… Continue reading Thinking (and Reading) About Museums
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Thinking (and Reading) About the Art of the 1930s
We have reached the final list for my comprehensive exams: American art history. For the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at what I’ve been reading about art history, beginning with today’s post on the 1930s. Many of the works I have been reading have delved into the political nature of 1930s American art.… Continue reading Thinking (and Reading) About the Art of the 1930s
Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist
As part of our ongoing work to challenge racism, this month we’re going to be taking a look at Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist. First, a little about Kendi himself, because this book is closely linked to his life and work. Kendi is a historian, professor, and antiracist activist. He is… Continue reading Ibram X. Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist
Thinking (and Reading) About Urban Segregation
I’ve been thinking recently about one of the first jobs I had after I finished my Master’s degree. From the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2011, I was a curatorial intern at the Dallas Museum of Art. During those nine months, I gave tours, curated my first exhibition, helped write a couple of… Continue reading Thinking (and Reading) About Urban Segregation
Thinking About Public Histories
One of my first museum jobs was a summer fellowship at the Old York Historical Society in York, Maine. I held this position during the summer of 2009, between the first and second years of my Master’s program at Williams College. I remember it as a pleasant summer overall. I made some great friends, and… Continue reading Thinking About Public Histories
Antiracist Reading: Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race
As promised, the first post of the month will focus on a contemporary work of anti-racist reading. Today, we’ll take a closer look at Ijeoma Oluo’s seminal book, So You Want to Talk About Race. Before we get into this book, here’s a quick bio. Based in Seattle, Oluo describes herself as “a writer, speaker,… Continue reading Antiracist Reading: Ijeoma Oluo’s So You Want to Talk About Race
The Multifaceted World of Cultural History
Some of the most engaging readings that I’ve explored on my history list so far belong to the genre of cultural history. This is partly because cultural histories tend to encompass unusual subject matter (see my recent post on toilet paper advertising), and over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been able to read about… Continue reading The Multifaceted World of Cultural History
Rethinking the New Deal
Last week’s post explored some recent texts that examine the growth of the federal state. Today, I’d like to take a look at some works that address the period frequently credited with the development of the modern State: the New Deal. The driving questions underpinning these texts is assessing the historical impact of the New… Continue reading Rethinking the New Deal
Thinking About the State
Today I wanted to get started with talking about my third reading list, but don’t think that we’re finished with talking about antiracism here. I’ll be sharing a new book here on the first of every month, so we can keep learning together. More importantly, we need to keep taking action through donating money, protesting,… Continue reading Thinking About the State
Thinking (and Reading) about White Fragility
In the spirit of last week’s post, I’ve been working to better educate myself about white privilege and systemic racism. This is ongoing work that will never be finished, but it’s important for us white people to be willing to learn and embrace change when it comes to our attitudes about racism. With that in… Continue reading Thinking (and Reading) about White Fragility