Amy J. Rutenberg
@amyjay401
Historian of War, Gender, and the Modern U.S. Author of Rough Draft: Cold War Military Manpower Policy and the Origins of Vietnam-Era Draft Resistance. Working on a book on the effects of peace activism on the US military. Former high school teacher.
This came across my FB feed for whatever reason, and in all seriousness, WTAF?
Four weeks away from home left an overwhelming pile of mail to sort upon homecoming. But this was a serious bright spot in the chaos. I struggled like hell to write my chapter, but I ended up with something I’m really proud of - and the company my chapter keeps cannot be beat. 🗃️
I'm super biased, but this is a banger of a book (as academic edited collections go, anyway). Check out the amazing scholars who contributed to it and the nice thing reviewers have said here: kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700643530/. And while you're there, consider pre-ordering with the discount below. 🗃️
Cover reveal! I am beyond excited for this book. Contributions from an amazing array of scholars have come together into a banger of a book. Even if it feels far away, we should all be paying attention to the assumptions that underlie systems of conscription as well as the consequences. #milhist 🗃️
Tonight’s pinprick of hope: This is only a fraction of the standing-room crowd at a protest-song fundraiser for the Iowa Migrant Movent for Justice in central Iowa. A cross-generational crowd on a Wednesday night, no less.
Ames, Iowa. And anyone else who wants to share in their communities.
Something calming, because we all need it. Aurora borealis in Iowa.
Because there is not enough gross, weird, or funny on this app, here is what a two-pound gummy worm looks like - just in case anyone is interested 🤢
In case anyone’s wondering, the DOD website now redirects to war.gov and the “narcoterrorists neutralized” was a US bombing of a ship in likely violation of international law.
I’ve been to DC a bunch over the years, and reading this panel at the @ushmm.bsky.social in March was the most scared I’ve ever been. I wonder if it will survive the purge of the #Smithsonian or if it’s too “woke” for people to know how fascism comes to be. 🗃️
Brewing up something special for the first week of classes. Time for students to engage with some primary sources 🤣🗃️
If you ever find yourself in upstate NY, definitely go out of your way to visit the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester. The teen, almost-tween, and adults all loved it!
This orange guy was modeling for onlookers like royalty in a patch of sun on the roof of a car on the streets of Reykjavik for #caturday
#HandsOff Ames, Iowa (and it wasn’t just the university folks showing up)
At the US Holocaust Museum today, in the context of Iowa stripping civil rights from trans ppl and Trump’s gutting of the civil service, I read about stripping civil rights as the 1st step toward fascism and gutting the civil service as the 2nd. #EverythingHasAHistory and we’ve chosen to forget it.
Hey #skystorians, at least someone is throwing us a little love. @raygunsite.com knows what’s important. #academicsky 🗺️🗃️
I needed labels for something and the ones available in the History office are historical unto themselves! 🗃️
The young one discovered the radio (from Radio Shack, no less) we keep in case of power outage and declared he must listen to it “like it’s 1979.”
An armful of sleepy cats solves nothing - but it does temporarily take the edge off.
We really have reached the point where our worlds are completely separate, haven’t we? (Screen 1 at the gym is FoxNews going on about how Democrats talk down to Americans through “idiotic NPR jargon.” Screen 2 is Jimmy Carter’s state funeral on CNN).