iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 23h

Here's the flyer for my senior seminar this coming spring. 🗃️

A flyer for "The United States since 1968" featuring a photograph of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in jogging attire and holding McDonald's cups. The rest of the text on the flyer reads: "Senior Seminar; HIS 4935-1; Professor Paul Renfro; Spring 2027; Wednesdays, 3–5:45 p.m."

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Congrats, @micalraz.bsky.social! This looks great. uncpress.org/978146969468... 🗃️

The cover of Mical Raz’s new book BREAKING FAMILIES, MAKING FAMILIES: ADOPTION AND CHILD WELFARE IN THE 1990s (UNC Press, 2026).

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Oh, get fucked, @wsj.com. Now and forever. 🗃️

A fatuous WSJ editorial titled “The Ph.D. Job Crisis Is a Needed Market Correction.” The dek reads:
“Universities will produce fewer underemployed, overcredentialed and aggrieved young people.”

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Typical Saturday morning formation. (Go Hawks.)

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

That iced coffee looks good as hell. How could you say no to that?

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I’ve served on and led several search committees at my university over the past several years. The topic of candidates bringing drinks into their job interviews has literally never come up. If a colleague ever tried to enforce Kai’s rule here, they would probably be removed from the committee.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Forty percent of Americans view socialism in a positive light, even amid a low-grade red scare and a steady stream of capitalist propaganda. Liberal capitalism has failed to deliver on its promise of prosperity and freedom. Still, the nation’s two major political parties remain committed to an

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Got my flu shot and my 5G COVID booster. (Go Hawks.)

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today, we talked about penal modernization in Florida during the civil rights era. We spent a lot of time discussing regional dynamics within and beyond Florida. (“The further north you go, the further South you get,” as they say.) Another great conversation with a great group of young people. 🗃️

The cover of Heather Schoenfeld’s 2018 book BUILDING THE PRISON STATE: RACE & THE POLITICS OF MASS INCARCERATION.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In our class today, we talked about Sam Klug’s excellent book THE INTERNAL COLONY; Black internationalism; the utility and the limits of the colonial analogy; and the distinctions and commonalities between transnational, comparative, global, postcolonial, imperial, and other histories. 🗃️

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Let’s fucking gooooooooooo!

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Reposted by Paul Renfro

Derek Gottlieb @derekgottliebphd.com · 22/09/2026

I indexed this book! I was working on my education diss at the time and it TOTALLY changed my view of education efforts

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Today in my Mass Incarceration class, we discussed a chapter from Naomi Murakawa’s brilliant book THE FIRST CIVIL RIGHT. We talked about regional imaginaries, “legitimate” vs. “illegitimate” violence, and the paradoxes of “liberal law and order.” 🗃️

The cover of Naomi Murakawa’s 2014 book THE FIRST CIVIL RIGHT: HOW LIBERALS BUILT PRISON AMERICA.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Incarcerated people in Texas “deserve” AC just as much as Parisians do.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Not sure how the fart left can recover from this.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

For some odd reason, the entertainment system on my 2016 Subaru Outback thinks that the eminent legal scholar Michelle Adams and Michelle Williams (of Destiny’s Child fame) are the same person.

“Bluetooth Audio: Michelle Adams, Chapter 6: Democracy’s Finest Hour, THE CONTAINMENT,” accompanied by a photo of Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Condoleezza Rice is a co-owner of the Denver Broncos? Yet another reason to support the greatest franchise in NFL history, my beloved Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

1992 Large Neighborhood of the Year, babyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

A Leon County, Florida, plaque designating Woodgate as:

1992 Large Neighborhood of the Year, 1993 CONA Neighborhood of the Year, 2011 City of Tallahassee Large Neighborhood of the Year, and 2020 City of Tallahassee Best
Neighborhood Program Award (Social Improvement)

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Lectured about the New Deal and Huey Long today, so you know I had to show the students a picture of my firstborn son Huey (and his namesake)

Paul Renfro with a young Huey; Huey Long himself; and a flyer from the Share Our Wealth campaign.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The long shadow of Dick Cheney.

“<
Dick Cheney (1941-2025) V
• • •
Jon Kyl, Senator Known for His Skills Behind the Scenes,
Dies at 84
The Arizona politician rose to the second-highest position in the Republican-held Senate caucus thanks to his policy smarts and deft political sensibilities.”

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I’ve neglected to update you all on what’s happening in my US since 1965 grad course! Today we discussed Jesse Montgomery’s IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SURVIVE and @profceciliam.bsky.social’s MAKING THE LATINO SOUTH—both tremendous books that sparked a wide-ranging and lively conversation. 🗃️

The cover of Jesse Montgomery’s IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SURVIVE.

The cover of Cecilia Márquez’s MAKING THE LATINO SOUTH.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

We’re hiring in Latin American history! I’m not on the search committee, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have about the job, the department, FSU, or Tallahassee. Please share widely. 🗃️ networks.h-net.org/jobs/70384/f...

networks.h-net.org

Florida State University - Assistant Professor, 9 Month Salaried - Latin American History | H-Net

Doctoral degree from an accredited institution or the highest degree appropriate in the field of specialization required.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My “I am not complicit” T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Reading about the author of the anti-Obama screed “Where’s the Birth Certificate?” (2011) for some reason, and he definitely looks like I thought he might look.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Setting aside the ahistoricity of this post, the thing about “rights” is they’re not contingent on the “persuasiveness” of the people they ought to empower and protect.

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Paul Rosenberg @paulrosenberg.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I am, overall, a HUGE Paul Klee fan, but that “Woman in a Purple Coat”--WOW!!!

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Winslow Homer’s a little fruity for this one.

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Matthew Guariglia @mguariglia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Really happy to say that today's episode of @npr.org's Code Switch is wide reaching interview with me about the current state of police surveillance, the harms being caused by this system, and the deep history of how we got here.

npr.org

Why we’re all being watched : Code Switch

There’s a growing backlash to the surveillance systems that have quietly wired themselves into American neighborhoods, with concern growing among people who have never felt watched this way before. Ge...

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Two Matisses, a Picasso, and a Klee from the Museum Berggruen exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Henri Matisse, “In the Studio in Nice” (1929)

Henri Matisse, “Woman in a Purple Coat” (1937)

Paul Klee, “Architecture of the Plain” (1923)

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

PR’s still setting PRs at the age of thirty-nine.

“A cheeky, humid 5K through the hellscape of suburban Houston”

“PR: Your fastest mile in 2026!”

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Didn’t think he’d ever come out.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Proud of my alma mater's Board of Regents for pushing back against UI's ridiculous, feckless "Center for Intellectual Freedom" (during Cy-Hawk Week too!). Such hyper-partisan, intellectually bankrupt "civics" initiatives must be challenged at every stage. 🗃️ www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...

insidehighered.com

Regents Block Iowa Civics Center Director From Conferences

The Iowa Board of Regents is refusing to pay for Luciano de Castro, interim director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, to attend three upcoming conferences in Indiana, ...

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

BREAKING: MEDIOCRE GAY LEFTIST History Professor Enters Final Year of His Thirties, Gets Mauled By Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Paul Renfro getting mauled by Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on a fabulous chinoiserie sofa.

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I was interviewed for this piece in US News and World Report. Check it out, if you’re interested. 🗃️ www.usnews.com/news/nationa...

usnews.com

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Paul Renfro @renfro.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Just submitted this to my editor and agent. More soon! 🗃️

"Those Fearful Days: Murder, Race, and Power in the Post-Civil Rights South," by Paul Renfro (Liveright/W. W. Norton & Company), September 2026.

"This is a rough draft. Please do not circulate without permission from the author."

Word Count:

Statistics:
Pages: 416
Words: 132,800
Characters (no spaces): 706,218
Characters (with spaces): 837,208
Paragraphs: 1,965
Lines: 9,872

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