iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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

Currently reading the dog’s gaze.

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

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

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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!

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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"

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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…

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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

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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!

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

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

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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)

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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!

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 31/03/2026

Tonight I will be at the NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery, Alabama, to talk about Sweet Taste of Liberty.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 30/03/2026

I’m in Montgomery today visiting the EJI Legacy Museum and seeing historic sites. I don’t think I had previously appreciated just how close Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is to the state capitol.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 13/03/2026

Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking some Rice students to the law offices of Baker Botts LLP, where we were given a tour of the firm’s historic records by senior partner Bill Kroger. One of the fascinating things we sa... updates.wcaleb.org/2026/03/13/yeste…

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 17/02/2026

My essay “Slouching Towards Arlington House” is out now in a special issue of the Journal of the Civil War Era, featuring “Historians of Crisis in a Moment of Crisis.” The whole issue is open access this month, thanks to the good folks at @uncpress.bsky.social.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 11/02/2026

I’ll be at Kindred Stories tonight with Alex Byrd and April Frazier to talk about Slavery, Segregation, and the Second Founding of Rice University.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 09/02/2026

My author’s copy of this special issue came over the weekend. Looking forward to reading the other contributions, especially one from @profmsinha.bsky.social.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 04/02/2026

Enjoyed speaking with host Craig Cohen and my co-author Alex Byrd on this morning’s Houston Matters about our book, Slavery, Segregation, and the Second Founding of Rice University.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 02/02/2026

Tomorrow evening I’ll be joining colleagues here at Rice for a panel discussion on “The Black Experience at Rice: The Past, Present, and Future.” Sponsored by the Center for African and African American Studies, the event is part of a series of programs at Rice for Black History Month.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 30/01/2026

Good planning meeting this morning for a continuing studies course that I’ll be teaching with my colleagues this spring at Rice: Semiquincentennial: The United States at 250. Enrollment in the course is open to the public, and scholarships are available. glasscock.rice.edu/course?id=584164…

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 18/01/2026

Looking forward to Monday evening at Brazos Bookstore! Read more …

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 14/01/2026

Has the U.S. Citizenship Test done away with the Civil War causation question?: updates.wcaleb.org/2026/01/14/has-t…

Two red flashcards produced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services ask about Civil War causation and feature images of the Statue of Liberty and Robert E. Lee

A screenshot of questions about the Civil War from the 2025 US citizenship test published by the USCIS

A screenshot of a page from Chapter 10 of a study guide for the U.S. citizenship test from 2025

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 05/01/2026

Alex Byrd and I will be signing and speaking about our new book, Slavery, Segregation, and the Second Founding of Rice University, at several events this spring: On January 19 at 6:30 p.m., we will be at Brazos Bookstore in conversa... updates.wcaleb.org/2026/01/05/alex-…

A photograph of book coauthors Alexander Byrd and Caleb McDaniel in the Woodson Research Center at Fondren Library, standing at a table with historical documents including a blueprint and a black-and-white photograph. Archival boxes are on the shelves behind them.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 28/12/2025

A “time of gifts” indeed! Or a gift of tomes?

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 19/12/2025

As part of its America 250 programming, the Woodson Research Center at Rice has put together an exhibit of campaign materials, including this plea from Barbara Jordan in her first bid for elected office.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 17/12/2025

Today in the offices of the Journal of Southern History, we had a cake to honor Randal Hall as he concludes his twelve years as Editor. I certainly have some big shoes to fill!

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 26/11/2025

There’s a burn ban in effect at our campsite, so my teenager improvised.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 22/11/2025

My dog seems especially interested in the lyrics to James Taylor’s “The Walking Man.”

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 17/11/2025

Well this is pretty cool: a sermon delivered by Rev. Elias Dibble. Born enslaved, Dibble ministered to Houston’s first independent Black Methodist church and is remembered as one of the founders of Emancipation Park. His sermon appeared in the New Orleans Advocate on March 3, 1866. (Hat tip.)

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 16/11/2025

Checking in at today’s gala event for Olivewood Cemetery, hosted by Descendants of Olivewood at the historic DeLuxe Theater in Houston’s Fifth Ward.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 06/11/2025

Now surveying the name badge options at the SHA.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 06/11/2025

Surveying the airport snacks in Houston while waiting to board my flight for the Annual Meeting of the SHA.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 22/10/2025

LSU Press reminds me that today is officially publication day for the book! Thanks @lsupress.bsky.social. See bit.ly/secondfounding for more.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 22/10/2025

The Rice Thresher has a write-up today about the Second Foundings conference, which wrapped up on October 13. Grateful to all who came!

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 09/10/2025

Final preparations for this weekend’s conference are underway! Programs for Saturday’s keynote, ready to go.

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W. Caleb McDaniel @wcaleb.org · 06/10/2025

It was wonderful to celebrate Jan West at her recent retirement party at Rice, where a photo from her student days was prominently displayed. One of the true founders of the university we enjoy today.

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