iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Family history and genealogy, media juicing up controversy and fawning over science while failing to get that yes the historical analysis was conclusive. I couldn't not write about this! Shorter: just read @agordonreed.bsky.social. karinwulf.com/trove/the-fa...

karinwulf.com

The Family History of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, and the Politics of Genealogy. - Karin Wulf

[The cover image is a page from Jefferson’s “Farm Book” at the Massachusetts Historical Society where he listed enslaved recipients of “Bread” at Monticello in 1810 –including Sally Hemings and four o...

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

1st day of the semester! (Let's be real, it was way too hot for the blazer except for the photo)

Photo of smiling blonde woman wearing a blue blazer

Photo of the same woman without the blazer

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Get your top five lists ready because it's time for the Historians At The Movies 8TH ANNIVERSARY WATCH PARTY. Join us on Netflix this Sunday, July 19th at 8pm eastern for HIGH FIDELITY. I can't believe we are still doing this so share this post widely and keep #HATM rocking and rolling.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I.... have no words. Actually, I have a lot of words. I just don't know where to start with this...

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I sent my manuscript to readers for my book workshop a couple of weeks ago & decided to add up the word count today... 127,777 in total! We'll see how that changes after the workshop, but for now I'm cruising right under the total I told the press 😂

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

It's been a week, y'all.. So, cheers

Bottles of Penelope Rio and Weller full proof bourbon sitting on a shelf

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I’m rarely at a loss for words but today I don’t have many for the enormity and the complexity of Gordon Wood’s legacy - I was inspired by his work even as I agreed with about 1/2 and was often irritated by the rest. RIP. A real one. www.brown.edu/news/2026-06...

brown.edu

Passages: Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Brown professor emeritus of history Gordon S. Wood

The prolific and preeminent historian of the American Revolution who taught at Brown for nearly four decades died on Sunday, June 7, at age 92.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Thanks! Mine have ranged so much recently that I'm trying to establish a baseline! (From about $250-500, depending on the organization).

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

I've been asked to speak somewhere locally, and they've asked what my typical rate is. It's been a few years since I've asked this, so I thought I'd check in -- what are y'all's typical honoraria these days? #skystorians 🗃

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I'll probably use a couple of chapters at least in my women's history classes!

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

This week Historians At The Movies is singing about the history of suffrage in America. Join us on PBS this Sunday, May 24 at 8pm eastern for SUFFS. If you like a little different side of history, then share this post and keep #HATM growing. See ya there.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Cheers to the end of the semester! (And year 1 at UNC)

Bottle of woodford bourbon sitting on a wooden shelf beside a glass of bourbon

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Whew! Looks like I finished grading and submitted grades just in time!

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Forget Dad Books. MORE MOM BOOKS. Here are 4 excellent, insightful books about mothers and mothering in early America and beyond. Likely available second hand, too, for modeling reuse and recycle.

Four books on a medium dark beat up wooden table top. Mother is a Verb by Sarah Knott, Maternal Bodies by Nora Doyle, Revolutionary Conceptions by Susan Klepp, Laboring Women by Jennifer Morgan.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

"when it comes down to it, it's the ordinary people who gather, protest, and create actual change in policies and societal norms. This should give us all the faith we need to continue fighting for the changes we want or need to see for our future and this country."

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

In case anyone else needs to see this today, here's what 1 of my students in my American democracy class wrote in their semester reflection:

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Rachel Shelden @rachelshelden.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I don't think it's a coincidence that lots of folks are publishing books this year that explain/contextualize this #SCOTUS & the current moment. Some to look for (& if you've got one I've missed, pls add!). Mine, the Political Supreme Court, will be out in October 1/ uncpress.org/978146969713...

uncpress.org

The Political Supreme Court

Today’s Supreme Court justices bristle at the label “politicians in robes,” insisting that they operate above the fray of partisan politics. But for th...

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

I have a 3:30 class on LDOC. Currently accepting bets for just how many of my students will actually show up. (There have been activities since 11. There's a cookout starting at 3, and games, etc. starting at 4....)

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

My diss advisor wrote an article that uses her first book to explain how she (and others writing in the field at the time) *completely* missed something that changes everything. It's awesome, and I always assign it to grad students

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Melissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Favorite books about women's history? Any time period, any geographic location. It's for a thing

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

I'm going to stop there, but I have so many more!

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Ooohhh... I have so many thoughts. @alexfinley.bsky.social's Intimate Economy is top of the list. @cgoodhistorian.bsky.social's Founding Friendships. @kawulf.bsky.social's Not All Wives. @marthasjones.bsky.social's All Bound up Together. Tera Hunter's To 'Joy My Freedom.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Congratulations, Rachel! Can't wait to read it

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Reposted by Dr. Mandy Cooper

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

And true beyond the US! The anomaly of the mid 20th c being mistaken for the norm has so many implications — As does History popular and academic often ignoring rather than centering history of family.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

"These readings suggest that democracy is not a self-sustaining system. It requires a constant, often violent, negotiation of power, race, and the limits of state authority."

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

My students, y'all. Anytime I need to feel better about something, or need some perspective amidst everything going on, (and remember why I do what I do), I just read their reading journals. This week's insight is from a freshman in my class on American democracy:

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

I went to QuiltCon this weekend, & I'm still thinking about some of the amazing resistance quilts. These two have stuck with me, but there were so many more.

Photo of a quilt made to look like a sheet of notebook paper with the words: "This is the part of history that makes school kids ask why didn't anyone do anything to stop them?:

Artist statement for "The Part of History" by Karin Rabe.

Quilt by Maritza Soto with the words "Nobody's free until everybody's free".

Maritza Soto's artist statement for the quilt "Nobody's Free Until Everybody's Free."

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

She continued "In the early US, that meant law was inconsistent and rooted in local communities. Federalism was less about perfect balance and more about ongoing tension between national ideals and local control." Y'ALL. This is a *first year* student.

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

I'm reading through my students' reflections on our discussion of federalism at the local level in the early US, & WOW. One said: "federalism is not just a technical division of powers written in the Constitution. It is a system that allows local variation, negotiation, & sometimes resistance."

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Of course! Your book teaches SO well. I use it in every class I can!

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

We looked at enslaved women last week, reading a chapter from @alexfinley.bsky.social's fantastic book alongside a piece from Harriet Jacobs, some runaway ads, etc., and these students just ran with it

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

With so much going on in the world, reading my students' journals every week gives me hope. One student said this: "Starting with women’s experiences this week made me appreciate how historical narratives can change when we look to uncover the lives that the archive was never designed to preserve"

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

It's the 1st day of the spring semester, & for the 1st time in about 10 years, I was able to completely disconnect over the winter break & not check email. Every other year I've been anxiously waiting on emails about various jobs. I didn't realize how badly I needed that true break until I had it

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Old fashioned cocktail in front of a Christmas tree

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

"And fireball" 😂😂 I love it

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

A small minority, but yeah, I can guess the gender dynamic

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I'm also a bit sensitive to this because I get comments about this from students every semester in my evals, even when I start the course by explaining my approach. (And I read my evals 3 days ago, so it's a fresh annoyance)

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I don't, but it looks fantastic! I talk about camp followers and have them look at some primary sources about them

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Lol! Well, better than me, anyway

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Very true! I cover the war, using my notes from a military history course I took and some extra reading. It just isn't enough for students who expect the majority of the class to be that

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I know y'all do! I just don't do as much of the battles/strategy, and some students expect it. I leave it to y'all because y'all know it so much better

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Dr. Mandy Cooper @mlcooper.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

My Revolution class at UNC this semester was much more social/cultural/politics focused, & there was a clear subset of students who expected an emphasis on strategy/tactics/battles. But honestly the social/cultural side is so much more interesting! (& my mil history colleagues can teach the other..)

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