The Historical Novel (A Tale of Today, Episode #5)
Organized around a comparison of György Lukács’s “The Historical Novel” (1937) and Mark Twain & Charles Dudley Warner’s “The Gilded Age” (1873).
Category: The American Vandal
Always Historicize? (A Tale of Today, Episode #4)
A series of conversations about historicisms, hinge points, and historical novels.
Strategic Presentism & Resistance History (A Tale of Today, Episode #3)
Is it presentism all the way down?
Cruel Optimism and The Enclosure of The Commons (A Tale of Today, Episode #2)
A revisionist tale of Robin Hood prefaces a discussion of political economy and emotion in The Gilded Age.
The Age of Insecurity (A Tale of Today, Episode #1)
The American Vandal Podcast launches its eleventh series, “A Tale of Today,” marking the 150th year of Mark Twain’s first novel, “The Gilded Age.”
Criticism LTD: Continuing The Dialogue (A Project Narrative Event)
Recorded at The Ohio State University, as part of the Project Narrative series, Matt Seybold reflects on the making of “Criticism LTD.”
Close Reading Feudalism(s) in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with James Phelan (A Project Narrative Crossover)
James Phelan and Matt Seybold read and discuss the Shepherdsons and Grangerfords episode.
2024 with Anna Kornbluh & J. D. Connor
Media theorists consider the potential “perfect storm” of media disruption in 2024.
iLiberalism, The Morning Show, & The Sheeny Blandness of Apple TV+ with Anna Shechtman & Michael Szalay
Our series on corporate allegory continues with an extended discussion of Apple TV+.
Close Reading, Conglomerate Authorship, & Qween Danielle Steel with Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant
A coda to “Criticism LTD” and a herald of 2024. Happy New Year!