iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 27/09/2026

Currently reading the dog’s gaze.

0305

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 23/09/2026

Only one album possible for the drive in today, the centennial birthday of John Coltrane.

040

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 22/09/2026

The Rice University History Department is currently searching for a tenure-track assistant or associate professor in the history of artificial intelligence, broadly conceived. Read more …

020

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 18/09/2026

The opening night for the Beyond the Hedges: Historias de Latinidad at Rice University exhibit was incredible. So many kudos for the colleagues and students who put this together!

050

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 15/09/2026

Spotted a screech owl on campus this morning, almost to the day when I found one last year. Circling this week on the calendar!

000

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 04/09/2026

Looking forward to the opening of this new exhibit curated by colleagues at Rice: Beyond The Hedges: Historias de Latinidad at Rice University will be on view at the Houston Public Library’s Julia Ideson Building later this month!

A flyer with information about the Beyond the Hedges exhibition includes four archival photographs

010

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 03/09/2026

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Refugeed Slaves.

000

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 31/08/2026

Here’s a nice review of Slavery, Segregation, and the Second Founding of Rice University by Scot McFarlane.

010

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 29/08/2026

New office door decor, courtesy of Robin Sloan quoting John Salvatier and featuring a photograph of airmail pilot William “Wild Bill” Hopson. Salvatier used the phrase to make a point about physical reality. But I think it’s a good mantra for historians, too. 🗃️

Picture of a poster with a photograph of an early twentieth century pilot and the phrase Reality has a surprising amount of detail

1294

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 27/08/2026

I’ve spent the AM organizing some materials to deposit in special collections. Most relate to the Task Force and the Second Foundings Conference. Working on institutional history gives anyone new appreciation for how important it is to preserve such records, but it definitely takes time and care.

000

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 25/08/2026

A nice story and brief video about the matriculation ceremony for doctoral students at Rice, which I spoke at last week.

010

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 25/08/2026

TFW you meant to upload a receipt to your expense report and instead uploaded a photo of your house cat from 2002.

000

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 21/08/2026

This year I will be serving as interim department chair for history at Rice. Today we welcomed a great new cohort of doctoral students into our program.

2151

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 19/08/2026

One of the coolest things about Rice is the residential college system. Each college has faculty and staff associates who are assigned a small group of new students to get to know. Just finished writing welcome notes to each of ours, and now headed to dinner with them at Duncan College.

010

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 19/08/2026

This morning I spoke to all the matriculating doctoral students at Rice University. I told the story of Dr. Julius S. Scott and “The Dissertation.”

Slides from a powerpoint presentation about historian Julius S. Scott

030

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 08/08/2026

More of the exhibit at the Levi Jordan site. Proud to see the work of Rice students, led by mentors including Daniel Domingues da Silva and Molly Morgan, featured here.

030

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 08/08/2026

I spent the morning attending a meeting of the Texas Consortium of Universities and Colleges Studying Slavery and Race, and visiting the Levi Jordan Plantation Historic Site. There I was also able to see an exhibit created by Rice students on the trafficking of enslaved people to Texas.

070

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 06/08/2026

My new progressive lenses are in a frame called Hayden. It will probably take a couple weeks to get used to reading everything as emplotment.

100

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 23/07/2026

Why Regional Branches of the National Archives Matter 🗃️: updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/23/why-r…

Photograph of author examining the case file of Wood v. Ward at the Chicago branch of the National Archives

15421

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 16/07/2026

Still gathering my thoughts for this Saturday’s session honoring Jim Stewart at #SHEAR2026.

Photograph of handwritten notes and a page from the preface of a book by Jim Stewart

060

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 15/07/2026

I’ll be at #SHEAR2026 in Philadelphia this Saturday to chair a hybrid roundtable session honoring the late James Brewer Stewart. In preparation, I have had the pleasant task of going back through some of Jim’s scholarship, to which I a... updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/15/ill-b…

Photograph of three books written by James Brewer Stewart.

000

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 10/07/2026

I submitted a public comment on the OMB’s proposed changes to federal grant-making procedures, indicating my agreement with the warnings of the American Historical Association about the revisions. Here’s what I said: "As a p... updates.wcaleb.org/2026/07/10/i-sub…

020

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 10/07/2026

The full June 2026 issue of the open-access Journal of Texas History is out now from the Alliance for Texas History. It includes my article on “The First Juneteenth: Black Churches, Reconstruction Politics, and the Houston Origins of June 19 Celebrations.”

Cover of Volume 2, Issue 1, of the Journal of Texas History, including a photograph of a nineteenth-century newspaper article headlined "Freedmen's Celebration"

0296

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 09/07/2026

Summer is sometimes for throwing together what Robin Sloan calls home-cooked apps, like a simple page that just lets me search the stacks of my university library the way God intended.

040

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 21/06/2026

My family made me a Father’s Day playlist of random earworms I woke up singing over the last year. From the Marx Brothers to Mavis Staples, it’s quite a journey (but no Journey).

020

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 20/06/2026

As part of this morning’s ceremony, four historical markers of lynchings in Harris County were unveiled in downtown Houston. In the background stands the county jail. These markers are part of EJI’s Community Remembrance Project.

04113

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 20/06/2026

Powerful ceremony this morning in Harris County for the unveiling of design plans for Remembrance Park in Houston.

051

Reposted by W. Caleb McDaniel

Allen AC @allenac009.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

“But Houston also played a crucial role in the origins of Juneteenth. In fact, my new research, just published in the Journal of Texas History, shows that the very first documented public celebration of the June 19 anniversary took place here — in Houston.”

01511

Reposted by W. Caleb McDaniel

Ronald Angelo Johnson @ronajohnson.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

“While Galveston is rightly renowned as the birthplace of #Juneteenth, Houstonians played an equally foundational role in the origins of the holiday.” New research on #Juneteenth from @wcaleb.org: www.alliancefortexashistory.org/juneteenth

143

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 19/06/2026

I spoke with “Houston Matters” this morning about the Houston origins of Juneteenth. Watch on YouTube …

A screenshot of Michael Hagerty (left) and Caleb McDaniel (right) discussing Juneteenth history on the livestream of Houston Matters, a radio show from Houston Public Media.

053

Reposted by W. Caleb McDaniel

Houston Chronicle @houstonchronicle.com · 18/06/2026

New research by Pulitzer-winning historian Caleb McDaniel on the first Juneteenth anniversary reveals what Houstonians risked to celebrate freedom and struggle for equality. bit.ly/3S71Ov3

01112

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 18/06/2026

My essay in the Houston Chronicle shares my new research on the first anniversary of June 19 in Houston and the lessons of Juneteenth for today. Read here or use the gift link.

Excerpt from the article “Freedmen’s Celebration” in the Houston Daily Evening Star from June 20, 1866.

0206

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 12/06/2026

Rice News has a story about my new research into Houston’s inaugural celebration of Juneteenth.

021

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 10/06/2026

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Arlington House, Juneteenth, Refugeed Slaves.

011

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 08/06/2026

On June 19, 1866, Black Texans marked the first anniversary of Juneteenth. But where and how was that day first publicly celebrated? My new article, “The First Juneteenth,” explores those questions and finds some surprising answers in Houston. www.alliancefortexashistory.org/juneteent…

42914

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 07/06/2026

Nearly 9 years since Hurricane Harvey, we still occasionally get submissions to the Harvey Memories Project. Yesterday another story came in, and the Contribution form remains open. harveymemories.org

073

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 07/06/2026

I’ve uploaded a PDF version of my new post on the history of Arlington House to Rice’s Research Repository. DOI: 10.25611/3KFS-1A94

173

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 05/06/2026

Grateful to have a write-up by Katharine Shilcutt for Rice’s research magazine about SSSFRU.

010

Reposted by W. Caleb McDaniel

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 03/06/2026

NEW POST: How “Arlington House” Became “The Robert E. Lee Memorial.” Read more …

A screenshot of the opening paragraph from my blog post on Arlington House

0108

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 03/06/2026

NEW POST: How “Arlington House” Became “The Robert E. Lee Memorial.” Read more …

0108

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 27/05/2026

Today I’m at the annual conference of the Alliance for Texas History, which is off to a great start!

030

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 20/05/2026

The AI-generated, fake book club solicitation emails are getting pretty weird …

072

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 13/05/2026

✅ Enter Spring 2026 grades.

010

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 13/05/2026

It’s commencement season! That’s me in the bumblebee suit on Saturday night, seated next to my dear colleague José Aranda. (Credit: Rosie Nguyen)

040

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 05/05/2026

I never know how to respond when the robot coffee machine in the business school asks me how my day is going.

030

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 23/04/2026

A student in my Civil War history course brought by an interesting artifact she once found in a Baltimore used book store. It appears to be a scrapbook kept by a journalist during the 1860s, with an index of topics in the front. Very cool!

1224

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 18/04/2026

Maybe it’s the historian in me, but one of the things I like about Record Store Day is the occasional opportunity to relive the experience of hearing music for the first time on a physical medium, never before available or stre... updates.wcaleb.org/2026/04/18/maybe…

110

W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 14/04/2026

I spoke about Henrietta Wood in an interview with the editors of a special America250 issue of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society.

010