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Randy Browne

@randybrowne.bsky.social
3.1K followers 554 following 362 posts

Historian of Atlantic slavery & the British Caribbean | Professor | Author of THE DRIVER'S STORY: LABOR AND POWER IN THE WORLD OF ATLANTIC SLAVERY (2024) and SURVIVING SLAVERY IN THE BRITISH CARIBBEAN (2017) | randymbrowne.com

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Not good! www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/n...
bizjournals.com
Fitch Ratings downgrades key borrowing score for Xavier University - Cincinnati Business Courier
University enrollment remains a major concern, Fitch said in its report.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A higher ed email truism: the more innocuous the subject line (e.g., "Message to the campus community"), the more devastating the content.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I'm looking forward to this online lecture and conversation on Sept. 30 at The Open University. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-driver...
eventbrite.co.uk
The Driver's Story: Labour and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery
Free online lecture by award-winning author and historian Professor Randy M. Browne (Xaiver University)
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"The worries that artificial intelligence is degrading education have been building for months. Students are using it for everything, including cheating...Many university leaders are embracing A.I. with enthusiasm anyway."
nytimes.com
Universities Sound Warnings About A.I. Even as They Embrace It
As A.I. upends education, university leaders have been all over the map about how to respond. It can be very confusing for students.
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Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
What the FUCK!!
Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe Al could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Surely they're interested in historians, too? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/w...
nytimes.com
Canada Hires U.S. Scholars From Harvard and Other Top Universities
A crackdown on American academia by the Trump administration has handed Canadian universities a rare opportunity to lure some top researchers north.
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Nitish Pahwa @nitishpahwa.com · 25/08/2026
I think the universal grieving comes in no small part from the fact she represented the best of what America could be, and that she never stopped chasing that ideal, artistically and socially
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🌈Tyranny🫧Sparkles🏳️‍🌈 @tyranny.sparklenoise.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton with Keith Haring in 1985, incredible woman and supporter of LGBTQ people for decades going back to a time when few others dared.
Black and white photo of Dolly Parton with gay artist Keith Haring.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
What are the chances THE Terry Gross uses a Gmail account to invite guests to come on @nprfreshair.bsky.social?
Screenshot of a phishing email from "Terry Gross" to invite the author of The Driver's Story (Me!) on Fresh Air
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Molly Warsh @mwarsh.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I mean, I know I'm biased as I am all in on @feegiconference.bsky.social, but it truly is a wonderful space to present work, meet new colleagues, and learn about wide-ranging scholarship on the early modern world. Next meeting is in Pittsburgh in April 2027! #earlymodern feegi.org/index.html
feegi.org
FEEGI
The Forum on Early-Modern Empires and Global Interactions (FEEGI) aims to encourage scholarship and collaboration across the boundaries of national histories and disciplinary frameworks.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
This entire story is amazing in every way www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
nytimes.com
Hiker Trekked 10 Miles to Safety After Impaling Himself on Pole
David Cifaldi was hiking up Granite Peak, Montana’s tallest mountain, last week when he slipped and fell on one of his trekking poles. A wound nurse, he went into survival mode.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
A year ago (almost). And here we are now...
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Happening right in front of us. The world's richest man.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Anyone with access to the International Journal of Maritime History able to do me a favor and send a copy of this review? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
This is a very thorough, generous review of THE DRIVER’S STORY from Matt Childs for H-Early-America. networks.h-net.org/group/review...
networks.h-net.org
Childs on Browne, 'The Driver's Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery' | H-Net
Browne, Randy M.. The Driver's Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery. : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2024. 224 pp. $39.95 (cloth), ISBN 9781512825862. Reviewed by Matt D. Childs...
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scarylawyerguy.bsky.social @scarylawyerguy.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Haitian migrants in Ohio fled a dangerous country to carve out a life in the U.S. doing shit work (factories, home health care, etc) that actual "Americans" refuse to do. it's the story of our nation's immigration patterns dating back 150 years and yet b/c of their skin color, they are vilified
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Annika Brockschmidt @ardenthistorian.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
“Watergate pales in comparison to what we’re doing” is quite the thing to imply
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Past and Present @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Our 2026 Supplement (#18) "Medicine, Race, and Slavery in the Transatlantic World, 1600–1850" Edited by @hsmurphy.bsky.social (@kingshistory.bsky.social @cemskcl.bsky.social) Has now been published by @academic.oup.com academic.oup.com/past/issue/2...
Cover of the 18th Past & Present history journal suppment "Medicine, Race and Slavery in the Transatlantic World, 1600-1850" edited by Hannah Murphy. It is in the journal's standard colours of red and grey with text providing key bibliographic information in white. Most of the lower half of the cover is taken up by a historical pen drawing likely from a medical handbook of various surgical and other medical instruments
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Very cool piece in the NYT by my Xavier colleague, Karim Tiro. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The Native Leader Who Tied His People’s Fate to the Patriot Cause
For the 250th anniversary, the Times Magazine asked leading historians to profile founding-era Americans whose roles in the drama have been often overlooked.
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Tuffy @smtuffy.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Man, Iran really took Trump to the cleaners. Eh?
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Just a friendly reminder. If the US had taken only a small fraction of the money and military equipment it has squandered fighting and losing to Iran, and instead helped Ukraine, the Middle East would be more stable and Russia would be facing defeat.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
London people, please join us and/or help spread the word about this Voices in Slavery's Archive workshop on July 1 in Brixton. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/workshop-v...
eventbrite.co.uk
Workshop: Voices in Slavery's Archive Project
The 'Voices' project works closely with descendant communities to understand potential uses of the reports of the 'Protector of Slaves'.
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#Slaveryarchive Digital Initiative @slaveryarchive.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Stories of enslaved Africans return to Guyana through ‘Voices’ archive, check these news about this new amazing project by historian Diana Paton, Randy Browne and other dear historians newsroom.gy/2026/06/10/s... #slaveryarchive
newsroom.gy
Stories of enslaved Africans return to Guyana through ‘Voices’ archive project
“These individual stories, we think, are very precious,” Professor Diana Paton said, as a project seeks to make slavery-era testimonies accessible in Guyana.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Glad to see this, @caseyjohnston.bsky.social! Congrats!
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Penn Press @pennpress.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Congratulations to author Casey Schmitt, whose book THE PREDATORY SEA has won the John Lyman Book Award in World Maritime History from the North American Society for Oceanic History! bit.ly/3QIXP7n
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Good article about our Voices in Slavery’s Archive project, focused on our work this week in Guyana. newsroom.gy/2026/06/10/s...
newsroom.gy
Stories of enslaved Africans return to Guyana through ‘Voices’ archive project
“These individual stories, we think, are very precious,” Professor Diana Paton said, as a project seeks to make slavery-era testimonies accessible in Guyana.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Nice to see this review of THE DRIVER'S STORY in @thejerpano.bsky.social. Linda Noel praises "its clear prose, informed observations, and brevity," & its "in-depth analysis of the workings of the system of slavery and the lives of individuals caught up within it." muse.jhu.edu/pub/12/artic...
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE -- Verification required!
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Anne E @anita5446.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
WILD shot in the electronic dark: does anyone know the population of Fort-de-France and Saint-Pierre (Martinique) in 1860? Preferably urban vs. whole municipality? 🗃️ I WILL THANK YOU FORMALLY!
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
As an impatient person, having a manuscript under review for nearly six month is...character building?
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
My university is going all in on an initiative to make sure all students learn how to "ethically" and "responsibly" use AI.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Nice to see this very positive review of THE DRIVER'S STORY in the German journal, sehepunkte, by Stephan Conermann. www.sehepunkte.de/2026/05/4126...
sehepunkte.de
SEHEPUNKTE - Rezension von: The Driver's Story - Ausgabe 26 (2026), Nr. 5
Rezension über Randy M. Browne: The Driver's Story. Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery (= Early American Studies), Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press 2024, 213 S., ISBN 9...
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Favorite Early America/Atlantic/Caribbean history books in Spanish? I have a (non-academic) friend who asked for suggestions but most of what I'd recommend to him I can't find in Spanish. Thanks for any suggestions.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Tired: suspecting a student work was done w/ ChatGPT Wired: suspecting an admin email was done w/ ChatGPT
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Eric Deggans @edeggans.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
NPR announces it has secured philanthropic gifts totaling more than $110 million -- including the largest by a living donor in NPR's history -- as a strategic investment in its future. This comes after Congress chose to eliminate federal funding for all public media. loom.ly/B71nWB8
editorandpublisher.com
Historic $113M investment catalyzes NPR's strategic push for digital growth and network sustainability - Editor and Publisher
NPR has received philanthropic gifts totaling more than $110 million — including the largest by a living donor in NPR's history — as a strategic investment in its future. These gifts will be used to expand audience connection, accelerate digital transformation and increase the sustainability of the national NPR Network.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
"Hampshire, in Amherst, Mass., joins an epidemic of college closures over the past two decades. More than 300 U.S. colleges and universities closed from 2008 to 2024, according to an analysis by The Hechinger Report."
nytimes.com
Hampshire College Will Close Amid Student Enrollment Declines
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Choice selected THE DRIVER'S STORY as one of five Outstanding Academic Titles in History, Geography & Area Studies. www.choice360.org/choice-pick/...
Choice Reviews text about THE DRIVER'S STORY next to a thumbnail image of the book's cover 

Text reads:

This thoughtful book reexamines one of the most vilified and caricatured figures in Atlantic slavery: the overseer, or what Browne (Xavier Univ.) calls “the driver.” Drivers have come to symbolize the Atlantic slave regime’s brutal tactics, namely whipping and sexual assault. However, lay readers may not know that most drivers were enslaved Black men. As much as drivers enforced, wielded, and upheld the violence of the slave system, enslavers also subjected these men, and occasionally women, to “relentless surveillance and brutal discipline,” trapping them “at the center of the very labor system they were forced to uphold.” Browne explores the driver’s “fraught negotiations, contingent alliances, and difficult compromises.” Yet, the story of the driver is also necessarily that of enslavers, enslaved laborers, fiscals, judges, and other legal officials. Filtering what is essentially a micro-study of the plantation through the perspective of the driver, Browne shows that resistance often lay at the heart of the driving system—drivers could both punish and protect other enslaved people and were at the forefront of many well-known slave revolts and rebellions across the Caribbean precisely because of their influence and authority. To produce this empathetic “human history,” Browne expertly and painstakingly sifted through archival records found across the Atlantic World from Guyana to the UK.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Could someone with access to Past & Present send me a PDF of this article, please? academic.oup.com/past/article...
academic.oup.com
Conceptualizing ‘Liberated Africans’ and Slave Trade Abolition: Government Schemes to Indenture Enslaved People Captured from Slavery, 1800–1920*
Abstract. A new survey of ‘Liberated Africans’ exposes how global calculations of involuntary African indentured labour after 1800 have been significantly
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Excellent news for the field www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo...
ucl.ac.uk
UCL History Secures $575k Grant for Caribbean Enslaved People Database
A $575,000 grant from a North American funder will support the development of a database of enslaved people at the UCL Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery (CSLBS).
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Literally life-changing news www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/h...
nytimes.com
Judge Strikes Down Kennedy’s Vaccine Policies
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
This reviewer really understood what I aimed to do with THE DRIVER'S STORY.
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Didn’t write a single word but spring break sure was productive.
Goofy footed surfer making a too late bottom turn on a right in El Salvador during a big swell
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Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
“Unfortunately, there’s no money for that”
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Mythic 🦊 @mythicalredfox.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Thinking about this quote from Persepolis creator Marjane Satrapi again.
Picture of Marjane Satrapi alongside a quote from her. The quote reads:

The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you.

And our governments are very much the same...

- Marjane Satrapi, Iranian-French graphic novelist
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 03/03/2026
Truly the Fyre Festival of strategic campaigns.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
NEW YouGov poll: Abolishing ICE is now at a *record high* level of support in the United States 50% support 39% oppose Independents are now +17 on abolishing ICE Moderates +6 23% of Republicans now support abolishing ICE
NEW YouGov poll:
Abolishing ICE is now at a *record high* level of support in the United States

50% support
39% oppose

Independents are now +17 on abolishing ICE
Moderates +6

23% of Republicans now support abolishing ICE
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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
"Voices in Slavery’s Archive: New project to map enslaved people’s testimony across Guyana." I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to do this project w/ colleagues I deeply respect in Guyana and the UK. www.stabroeknews.com/2026/03/03/f...
stabroeknews.com
Voices in Slavery’s Archive: New project to map enslaved people’s testimony across Guyana - Stabroek News
By Estherine Adams, Randy Browne, Juanita Cox, Philippa Hellawell, Linsey McMillan, Diana Paton and Kimberley Thomas. The authors are members of the
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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
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Elise A. Mitchell @bydreamphd.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
It’s officially pub day for this incredible work! Thank you to Oscar de la Torre for making this possible!! And thank you to CUNY DSI for research consults and permission to use your images in my work!! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978088...
hup.harvard.edu
Black Atlantic Worlds — Harvard University Press
Landscapes are key to the Black Atlantic. The history of how Africans and their descendants populated and transformed nations, regions, and ecosystems has always been attentive to the multiple meaning...
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