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I'm heading out to the USC Union Literary and Arts Fest today. Going to read about comic book banning from Out of the Gutters. Real physical book copies on hand for free to folks who join CBLDF. cbldf.org/contribute/d...

Okay, this post shows some sloppy editing. I am mortified. It should read "Jorge and I were." smh

Jorge and was invited to present to the Book Club of California and graciously looped me in. Now we're slated to give an absolutely wild presentation on comics censorship in August. Get ready!

Last day, y'all. Take a second to submit an abstract for this guaranteed MLA roundtable on academic freedom for folks without tenure. CFP: mla.confex.com/mla/2027/web...

Encourage folks you know to submit and attend!
mla.confex.com/mla/2027/web...

I'm helping organize a panel for #MLA2027 on academic freedom for folks without tenure in this very dicey environment. I hope you'll send a proposal and spread the word: mla.confex.com/mla/2027/web...

Out of the Gutters. Obscenity, Censorship, and Transgression in American Comics. By Jorge J. Santos Jr. and Patrick S. Lawrence (eds.), Austin: University of Texas Press, 2025. 294 pp. $55 (e‐book). ISBN: 978‐1‐47‐733180‐4 (cloth), 978‐1‐47‐733181‐1 (PDF), 978‐1‐47‐733182‐8 (ePub) Click on the article title to read more.

New review of Out of the Gutters just dropped. Check it out! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Please share and apply to this timely MLA panel on academic freedom for teachers and scholars without tenure protections. A roundtable to discuss challenges and strategies. mla.confex.com/mla/2027/web...

So, Google thinks I was discussed in this IFLScience article? I'm not, so what is happening here?

Y'all reading books on Project Muse? Maybe just downloading chapters? Do either or both with _Out of the Gutters_ muse.jhu.edu/pub/15/monog...

Open-Rank Professor of Black Studies - Providence, RI 02918 - Indeed.com Providence College

The Black Studies Department at Providence College invites applications for a full-time open-rank, tenure-track, faculty position, with consideration for appointment with tenure, beginning August 2026. Salary range: $75,000 – $125,000.

www.indeed.com/m/viewjob?jk...

Jorge J. Santos et Patrick S. Lawrence (dir.), Out of the Gutters. ... Comme l’indique son sous-titre, Out of the Gutters s’intéresse à la question de l’obscénité et de la censure dans la bande dessinée américaine. Le titre de l’ouvrage repose sur un jeu de mots : Out...

Out of the Gutters got a French-language review recently. @advincensorship.bsky.social is highlighted, which is fun. Here's the review (Google will translate it into English for you in Chrome): journals.openedition.org/belphegor/7720

Hey y'all, thanks for your support. I was officially elected to the MLA Delegate Assembly as the member representing Academic Freedom. I'm excited to begin work, and I invite everyone to reach out to help me help you.
www.mla.org/About-Us/Gov...

I think I can share this link, right? Vote for me for MLA Academic Freedom Delegate. nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

And if you think others might value my work on legislative affairs, censorship, accreditation, and other venues where academic freedom is defended, let them know, too, please.

Hey everybody, if you're an MLA friend, please consider casting your vote for me in the current election. I'm up for the Academic Freedom professional issues seat on the delegate assembly. I want to get up there and keep our right to write safe.

The Comic Book Burnings Project Documenting and Mapping Fires in America, 1945-1955

If you're interested in comics censorship, you could check out this fascinating DH project on comic book burnings: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/7dee...

Cave drawing: Below a peace symbol, 4 human silhouettes face each other while carrying spears or long branches. One prepares to throw his spear.

It's 2025

Patrick S. Lawrence discusses the resurgence in comic and book censorship.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #politics #ComicStudies #comics #censorship #history #activism #solidarity #UniversityPress #2025 #freedom #ComicBooks #BannedBooks #CensorshipSucks

@utexaspress.bsky.social Jorge Santos and I will be live tomorrow mid-day!

Here's a convenient link to register for the Zoom for my talk tomorrow. Come learn about comics censorship of today and yesteryear: sc-edu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

(You gotta register via The QR in the link)

I'm doing a talk about Out of the Gutters next week. It's on Zoom if you want to hear me and the inimitable Jorge Santos talk about comics censorship! drive.google.com/file/d/1hirU...

Illustration: 7 people in business casual sit on a couch and chairs or stand nearby. 3 text boxes suggest conversation among them. One person shrugs with a question mark above their head.

Comics Studies Conferences in a Time of Crisis

Andrew J. Kunka considers the fallout of the presidential administration’s recent actions.
muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

@projectmuse.bsky.social #politics #AmericanPolitics #ComicStudies #comics #DEI #activism #comic #students #education #presidents

Volume 74, Numbers 1 & 2 Shenandoah has been publishing great writing for 75 years. Located at Washington and Lee University, the magazine is part of the English Department and is a tool used to teach students the art and cra...

Look at this cool collection of comics with @benpassmore.bsky.social Ebony Flowers, and others. With an intro by @qianawhitted.bsky.social www.shenandoahliterary.org/74-1-2/#comi...

I'm in here! Feels awesome.

Censorship history, like a lot of things these days, is looking like a recurring loop. I wrote about it for Inks: muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/artic...

An ominous bit about the EO on flag burning, which invokes fighting words doctrine to say some kinds of speech are so offensive they should be illegal: the original fighting words case upheld the conviction of Chaplinsky for calling someone a fascist: www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1...

I'm working on a new book on moralism in nationalist rhetoric. Smoot is a big figure in the 4th chapter about the early 20th.

But what I hope my students are now seeing is that constitutional rights are only real when we take seriously that they need protection. And when people tell you they want to take away your rights, you should believe them. (5/5)

Flag burning incident near White House leads to arrest hours after Trump's executive order The arrested man identified himself as a combat veteran and said he was burning the American flag in protest of an executive order Trump signed Monday targeting flag burning.

As the case of the combat vet who burned a flag near the white house today progresses, I expect to see the defenses given for an EO that clearly contradicts a pretty recent decision by a pretty conservative court to change like cuttlefish colors. (4/5) www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...