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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D

@jasonhiggins.bsky.social
5.3K followers 1.9K following 353 posts

Author. Editor. Historian. Prisoners after War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration (UMass Press) Digital Scholarship Coordinator Virginia Tech Press; Assistant Professor. My views don’t reflect my employer. shorturl.at/HpPO7

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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Rest in peace to John Ketwig, Vietnam veteran and author of ...And a Hard Rain Fell. It was an honor to get to know John. He talked with my students at VT, reviewed my book, and participated in my NEH Summer Institute, where he talked about the war, memorialization, why he joined the VVAW.
John Ketwig at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial talking with a group of high school teachers about the war and his experiences coming home.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
I am looking forward to writing and researching this summer. I’ll hide away from humans for a while and do what I got my Ph.D to do.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
#NewPublicationAlert Dissidents: Veterans Speak Out for Justice is a peer-reviewed, digital humanities project published by Virginia Tech Publishing and Press, based on oral histories with veterans. dissidents.vt.domains/veterans
Dissidents: Veterans Speak Out for Justice, an oral history collection by Jason A. Higgins, photo of Wall of Vets Protest in Portland, during the summer of 2020 after the murders of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, by Dave Killen, The Oregonian.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
If you're interested in the environment and Oral History, you do not want to miss this conversation with authors Stephen Sloan and Mark Cave on Thursday, April 23 at 3:30 eastern, presented by the Oral History Association's Publications Committee. Register below: oralhistory.org/2026/03/17/o...
oralhistory.org
OHA Publications Committee Presents: A Conversation with Authors Mark Cave & Stephen Sloan - Oral History Association
The Oral History Association Publications Committee invites you to a virtual panel with authors Stephen M. Sloan and Mark Cave discussing their co-edited book
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Happy voting day in Virginia, aka a temporary moratorium on the endless mail and media propaganda.
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Open Culture @openculture.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
A Newly Discovered Recording Lets You Hear Delta Blues Legend Robert Johnson in Stunning Clarity
openculture.com
A Newly Discovered Recording Lets You Hear Delta Blues Legend Robert Johnson in Stunning Clarity
Great swathes of rock music since the nineteen-sixties would never have existed, we're sometimes told, were it not for the recordings of Robert Johnson. Certainly the likes of Keith Richards, Eric Cla...
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
The bicentennial in 1976 was a golden age for investment in U.S. public history projects and the humanities. The federal government provided generous funding to do the work of American history. Today, on the 250th, the humanities are being gutted and history censored. #talkabouthumanities
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Christopher Deutsch @drchrisdeutsch.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
This week: US foreign policy and imperial violence in the Cold War. The discussion will be imformed by @kimatiwagner.bsky.social's critiques as well as that of other southeast and east Asian scholars. To be paired with @jasonhiggins.bsky.social's brilliant history.
My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness by Howard Jones
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
I am honored that #PrisonersAfterWar won the Sturm Research Excellence Award, from the Kappa Phi Beta, Mu Chapter of Virginia. This is a university-wide award at Virginia Tech that encourages and rewards scholarship with a significant appeal to an educated audience beyond a narrow scholarly field.
Images show the cover of Prisoners after War and text reads,”Winner of the Albert L. Sturm Research Excellence Award”
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
#CoverReveal Coming soon from Virginia Tech Publishing, "Dissidents" is a peer-reviewed digital humanities project that features the stories of veterans who spoke out for justice. Through oral histories, it explores the anti-war movement and the experiences of Black, queer, and women veterans.
Dissidents: Veterans Speak Out for Justice, an oral history collection by Jason A. Higgins. The cover shows a photo taken during Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020 with the "wall of vets."
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Elizabeth Drummond @eadhistory.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Wow, just wow! Awe-inspiring beauty! Image credits: NASA www.nasa.gov/gallery/luna...
art002e009284 (April 6, 2026) – Earth appears tiny as the Moon looms large in this photo taken by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026. Taken 36 minutes before Earthset, our home planet is visible in the blackness of space off the limb of the illuminated Moon. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. Orientale mare basin, with its dark floor of cooled lava and outer rings of mountains, covers nearly the lower third of the imaged lunar surface. Different colors in the mare hint at its mineral composition. The lines of small indentations above Orientale are secondary crater chains, formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact. Both of the new craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested names for – Integrity and Carroll – are in full view. The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.art002e009288 (April 6, 2026) – Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.art002e009289 (April 6, 2026) – The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and its crew went behind the Moon and lost contact with Earth for 40 minutes before emerging on the other side. In this image, the dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime, while on its day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater shows terraced edges and a relatively flat floor marked by central peaks — formed when the surface rebounded upward during the impact that created the crater.art002e009301 (April 6, 2026) – Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth. The corona forms a glowing halo around the dark lunar disk, revealing details of the Sun’s outer atmosphere typically hidden by its brightness. Also visible are stars, typically too faint to see when imaging the Moon, but with the Moon in darkness stars are readily imaged. This unique vantage point provides both a striking visual and a valuable opportunity for astronauts to document and describe the corona during humanity’s return to deep space. The faint glow of the nearside of the Moon is visible in this image, having been illuminated by light reflected off the Earth.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
This guy steals all Nixon’s ideas. His threats are straight out of the Nixon’s “Madman Theory.” It did not work with Vietnam. It will not work with Iran. It’s like none of the lessons from the past 60 years of American war are ever learned.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
It was a great pleasure to speak with Jacey Anderson, book review editor for the Oral History Review for OHR Extra! We discuss oral history, my book Prisoners after War, and forthcoming projects. (@umasspress.bsky.social) If you're interested check it out. oralhistory.org/2026/03/24/a...
oralhistory.org
Author Interview: Jason A. Higgins - Oral History Association
By Jacey Anderson, Book Review Editor for the Oral History Review
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John M. Kinder @johnmkinder.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Glad to see this is "official." I look forward to accepting the award in Arlington, VA. Hope to see you there.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
An incredible digital #OpenAcess collection of newspapers published by incarcerated writers within the U.S. prison system.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Recently, I sat down for an interview with my hometown friend and high school classmate, Tercero Munoz with Suite P Productions out of Hot Springs Arkansas. We talk about veterans, history, mass incarceration, and System of a Down. Check it out in the link in the comments.
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Bryan Edward Stone (שָׁלוֹם) @bestonetx.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
And journal editors should never invite comment again from someone who submits an AI-generated peer review.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Added a new title to the reading list by journalist Wil Haygood. It joins a very short but excellent list of books on African American experiences during the Vietnam War.
The War within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home book on a shelf of Vietnam War books. Pp
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John M. Kinder @johnmkinder.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
I am humbled to announce that "World War Zoos" won the 2026 Distinguished Book Award from the Society of Military History. Thanks to everyone who believed in the book! share.google/G2gxOFSy2ZcF... @elisecapron.bsky.social @uchicagopress.bsky.social @tmennel.bsky.social
share.google
World War Zoos
A new and heartbreaking history of World War II as told through the shocking experiences of zoos across the globe.   As Europe lurched into war in 1939, zookeepers started killing their animals. On S...
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Rest in peace, Country Joe McDonald. youtu.be/CXuSQcyuPU8?...
youtu.be
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
I’ve been revising a digital humanities publication after some helpful and engaged peer-reviewers’ feedback. This has been an ongoing student-involved, community centered-oral history project that we started during my first year at Virginia Tech. I plan to share it at the NCPH/AASLH conference.
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John Garrison Marks @johngmarks.com · 01/03/2026
Reading “Until the Last Gun is Silent” by Matthew Delmont and let me tell you it’s a good time to be reading a book about the overlap between the anti-war and civil rights movements.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Job opening for a 2-year Postdoc in #OralHistory and Social Justice at Duke University: networks.h-net.org/jobs/69830/d...
networks.h-net.org
Duke University - Chafe Postdoctoral Fellowship in Oral History and Social Justice | H-Net
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Today marks the second-year publication anniversary of Prisoners after War. I had no clue how anti-climactic publishing a book would be, so I thought I would put together a thread about the trickling effects of book publishing. Maybe it’ll be interesting to first-time authors.
Prisoners after War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration by Jason A. Higgins book cover, shows the shadow of a person behind bars.
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Selena M Moon @selenammoon.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Thrilled to finally be sharing my Densho blog post on disabled Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII. #DisabilitySky #skystorians Glad it made it in time for #DayOfRemembrance #EO9066 #AcademicSky densho.org/catalyst/ask...
densho.org
Ask a Historian: What were the Experiences of Disabled People during WWII Incarceration? - Densho: Japanese American Incarceration and Japanese Internment
In this new installment of our running “Ask A Historian” series, guest writer Selena Moon—a PhD student researching Japanese American disability history and working on accessibility in various realms—...
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Rebecca Brenner Graham @theotherrbg.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
a great listen @sonyabonczek.bsky.social @uncpress.bsky.social @katecarp.bsky.social @draftingthepast.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...
podcasts.apple.com
Sonya Bonczek Gives Us the Scoop on Book Publicity
Podcast Episode · Drafting the Past · February 24 · 53m
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Christopher Deutsch @drchrisdeutsch.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I literally wrote about this for @nursingclio.bsky.social! The draft included a section on hazing and the military in the 1990s, which conservatives opined was essential to being made into a man. (I originally bragged about my blood wings and E5 party.) nursingclio.org/2025/06/04/n...
nursingclio.org
Neither Marine nor Maggot: Full Metal Jacket and the Crisis of Masculinity
In October 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump stood before his gathered rally attendees and made a promise: he would build a “Trump military” out of the supposed ruins that he claimed P…
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John M. Kinder @johnmkinder.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Thanks to Sarah Griswold for this story about my recent trip to Vietnam. @okstate.edu #AmericanStudies news.okstate.edu/articles/art...
news.okstate.edu
OSU history professor teaches American studies in Vietnam - Oklahoma State University
When Dr. John Kinder, professor of history and American studies at Oklahoma State University, traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam, this past December, he wasn’t just delivering a guest lecture. He was partic...
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Bastards. www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/01/cons...
saturdayeveningpost.com
Considering History: Public Broadcasting’s Origins Remind Us of Its Vital Role Today | The Saturday Evening Post
This institution has played an important role in American society for nearly 60 years.
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Mary Dudziak @marydudziak.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
So glad to see Judith Resnik's crucial new book.
A book: Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy by Judith Resnik.
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KEW @kidadaewilliams.com · 17/02/2026
“Jefferson’s life and legacies cannot be fully understood without understanding American chattel slavery, nor can it be understood without understanding the lives of the hundreds of enslaved individuals that lived and labored at Monticello,” ~Andrew Davenport www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2026...
cavalierdaily.com
During Black History Month, Monticello reflects on America’s founding
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello commemorated Black History Month with a series of events centered around sharing the history of Monticello's enslaved community.
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
+ Please share the thread widely to get all this great public scholarship to all the folks, & enjoy, all! blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com
#ScholarSunday Thread 263 (2/15/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
Celebrating Presidents in 2026? Fraught as hell, but what’s not is celebrating all the great public scholarship in my 263rd #ScholarSunday thread of writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books. Add mor...
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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Celebrating Presidents in 2026? Fraught as hell, but what’s not is celebrating all the great public scholarship in my 263rd #ScholarSunday thread of writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com
#ScholarSunday Thread 263 (2/15/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
Celebrating Presidents in 2026? Fraught as hell, but what’s not is celebrating all the great public scholarship in my 263rd #ScholarSunday thread of writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books. Add mor...
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KEW @kidadaewilliams.com · 14/02/2026
An interview w/Thomas Foster (au of Rethinking Rufus) on enslavers' sexual predation on the people they held in bondage. truthout.org/articles/bla... "This reality speaks to just how bad slavery was, how pervasively sexually violent it was toward both enslaved Black women [& girls] & men [& boys]."
truthout.org
Black Men Endured Sexual Exploitation Under Slavery. Their Story Is Rarely Told.
Historian Thomas A. Foster discusses his new book Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men.
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John Garrison Marks @johngmarks.com · 14/02/2026
Truly a great library day today.
Covers of Fear and Fury by Heather Ann Thompson and Until the Last Gun is Silent by Matthew Delmont on a marble top table
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Heck yeah! I’m in the People’s Choice category!
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Wow. I wonder why...
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
It was so much “fun” to do a deep dive analysis of Taxi Driver on its 50th anniversary. Check it out if you’re interested in psychiatric trauma in Vietnam veteran homecoming narratives, tropes, or even in intensely violent, noir films!
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Sarah King @sarahking.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Great analysis by @jasonhiggins.bsky.social on the 50th anniversary of Taxi Driver. A must-read for those interested in the #VietnamWar, #filmhistory, and #veterans and their representation on film.
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Here’s an #OralHistory of the most magical Super Bowl halftime show ever. www.theringer.com/2020/01/29/m...
theringer.com
Pure Magic: The Oral History of Prince’s Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show
As the heavens opened up and rain poured down, the Purple One ran through a handful of covers and some of his own songs, delivering an iconic set on the biggest stage possible and only expanding his l...
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Listen, no one will ever top Prince’s halftime show. Full stop.
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Heather M. Haley @heatherhaleyphd.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Thrilled to return my author’s agreement for my chapter—𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝘆: 𝗭𝘂𝗺𝘄𝗮𝗹𝘁, 𝗭-𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲—in an edited volume from @usni.org, forthcoming in 2026. 🥹📖🖊️⚓️💪🏼
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Jason A. Higgins, Ph.D @jasonhiggins.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I'm pleased to share that Prisoners after War: Veterans in the Age of Mass Incarceration is a finalist for the Veterans Studies Association 2026 Book Award. As a civilian, I have always been a guest in veterans’ spaces, so I'm deeply honored to be recognized in this field.
uplopen.com
Prisoners after War | University Press Library Open
<p>The United States has both the largest, most expensive, and most powerful military and the largest, most expensive, and most punitive carceral system in the history of the world. Since the American...
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Robert Gumpert @ragumpert.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Arkansas moves to ban books in prisons as a drug-fighting measure Corrections officials would also prohibit magazines and newspapers from being sent to inmates. It would be the strictest ban in the country. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...
washingtonpost.com
Arkansas moves to ban books in prisons as a drug-fighting measure
In addition to banning books, Arkansas corrections officials would prohibit magazines and newspapers from being sent to inmates. It would be the strictest ban in the U.S.
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Judith Weisenfeld @jlweisenfeld.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
#BlackHistoryMonth sale at NYU Press, including on two of my books: *Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake* and *New World A-Coming: Black Religion and Racial Identity during the Great Migration.*
nyupress.org
All Black History Month Titles - NYU Press
Use code HOLIDAY to save 30% on all titles. Orders over $40 receive free domestic shipping!
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