hello from Tucson

also: the star of the documentary is my ASU colleague Lois Brown (who also directs our Center for the Study of Race and Democracy) -- she is SO GOOD in the film

honestly the same is true for the documentary, which gives a nicely complicated view of Thoreau's life, his work as an abolitionist, his changing relationship to indigenous Americans ... well worth your 3 hours

ANYWAY fast forward to last week: I got to meet the Ewers brothers for lunch just before we showed Henry David Thoreau (the documentary) on campus and wow, they exceeded expectations with their smartness and kindness and love of sustained attentiveness

(he misunderstood Walden in that hippie way, sold or gave away everything he owned, and lived as a wanderer for a year. "I wish I still had my yearbook" he admitted)

I grew up not so far from Walden Pond: my mom would pack the kids into the car to take them there and swim on hot summer days. Only later did I realize why the pond matters -- and in high school I became a Thoreau fan after my 10th grade English teacher told us the book Walden had ruined his life

We had an amazing turnout at our first Founding Values event on Wednesday! What an insightful reflection on the virtue of "Reflective Patriotism." We will see you again today at 4pm for Speech and Press with the Cronkite School.

Thank you @neacarter.bsky.social ! Can’t wait to see the images.

Thanks for sharing this deeply touching personal context that is part of your work's journey. Congratulations on publication!!

cannot wait to read this book

Hungarian translation of "Monster Culture (Seven Theses)"

I'm big in Hungary!
(thank you Ildikó Limpár)

www.apertura.hu/2025/osz/coh...

it's true

Toronto in two days for #MLA26 is going to be a hard transition

happy new year
may it be brilliant

So much of any year is flammable

Naomi Shihab Nye, "Burning the Old Year"
#everynightapoem

"Emphasizing pleasure and fun" ... two entry affects for expanding the imagination, opening up the possible, and widening the world. What has a better ROI on than that?

every since humans were dwelling in Plato's cave they have been entranced by screen based entertainments

white board end of year rituals

white board
futurelostarchive.beehiiv.com/p/white-board

a neon sign boneyard in Vegas

a neon sign boneyard in Vegas

this essay title 👹🧌

Frankenstein poster

Del Toro, and Del Toro, and Del Toro
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded frame;
And all our Frankensteins have lighted fools
The way to boring films.

"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts

"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe

finally some sun this morning in PHX

'Merlin's Mound' to be restored and archaeological probe launched Marlborough College has been given the go-ahead to remove 20th Century buildings from the mound.

@stoneclub.bsky.social
www.bbc.com/news/article...

terrible if wholly predictable environmental news for Alaska

that's my son @alexcohen.bsky.social with the spot on quote

apnews.com/article/alas...

For a project in progress I’ve had to return to some older writing and this line really hits years later

“Apocalypse is a failure of the imagination, a giving up on the future instead of a commitment to the difficult work of composing a better present.”

An image of a panel of ASU humanities alumni discussing their careers on Oct. 24, in a session moderated by Dean of Humanities Jeffrey Cohen. Photo by Meghan Finnerty/ASU.

ICYMI: ASU English alumni @leahenewsom.bsky.social, Daryn Orr and Sharon Enck along with other grads from The College chatted with Dean @jeffreyjcohen.bsky.social about how their #ASUHumanities degrees prepared them for careers and beyond.

Watch: t.co/vSRoG9LOOV