Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
@klhkhistorian.bsky.social
Cat-obsessed doctrix of medieval history working in arts & humanities communications; public humanities & alt-ac/post-ac advocate; cute critters, nature, baking, crafts, art, nerdom.
📍Cville
📍Cville
Pinned
On Mud-Turtles, Flowers, and America
Flowers sent by Charles Wilkins to his sister Henrietta in 1862 In 1842, Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne moved into the Old Manse—already a historic building at the time—in Concord, Massachusetts. F…
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In 2005, I found a wooden box tucked under a chair in my grandparents' living room. Inside were letters from the U.S. Civil War. I write about some of them here, and about the cross-generational efforts to save America from those who would destroy it.
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@womenknowhistory.bsky.social
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@womenknowhistory.bsky.social
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
More cracks in the dam
November 29, 2025 at 4:50 AM
More cracks in the dam
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
This is the most corrupt, lawless administration in the history of the United States and there’s no close second.
November 29, 2025 at 5:03 AM
This is the most corrupt, lawless administration in the history of the United States and there’s no close second.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Hegseth wasn't chosen as merely a Fox News buffoon who then bumbles his way into war crimes out of machismo incompetence. He was chosen specifically because he is, and has been for a long time, a proud, open, and explicit advocate of war crimes as a good thing we should do.
A chapter in Hegseth’s book is literally titled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers.”
It’s almost as if there were signs!
It’s almost as if there were signs!
November 29, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Hegseth wasn't chosen as merely a Fox News buffoon who then bumbles his way into war crimes out of machismo incompetence. He was chosen specifically because he is, and has been for a long time, a proud, open, and explicit advocate of war crimes as a good thing we should do.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
A running theme of Trump II is cautious, level-headed, mainstream, career professional experts sounding existential alarms about how we aren't panicking nearly enough.
I know you already know, but for other folks who don't, Goldsmith was previously head of OLC, is a genuinely brilliant mind on executive authority and separation of powers, and is usually very cautious about making claims this unqualified and direct. That he is saying it so starkly is v significant
November 29, 2025 at 6:05 AM
A running theme of Trump II is cautious, level-headed, mainstream, career professional experts sounding existential alarms about how we aren't panicking nearly enough.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
trump: “no see we HAVE to blow up those boats in the caribbean, they could be carrying drugs!”
also trump:
also trump:
November 29, 2025 at 12:01 AM
trump: “no see we HAVE to blow up those boats in the caribbean, they could be carrying drugs!”
also trump:
also trump:
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
yeah I feel a very high sense of alarm about what the "incapable of loving our country" goalposts are going to include
quite certainly they're going to try very hard to use it on elected Democrats which is at least one reason I feel like we need to be TALKING ABOUT IMPEACHMENT WAY MORE THAN WE ARE
quite certainly they're going to try very hard to use it on elected Democrats which is at least one reason I feel like we need to be TALKING ABOUT IMPEACHMENT WAY MORE THAN WE ARE
In case you thought you were safe bc you aren't one of his currently identified enemies to kidnap and deport, take a look at this line:
"and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country..."
No one is safe when a bully is in charge.
"and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country..."
No one is safe when a bully is in charge.
November 29, 2025 at 12:26 AM
yeah I feel a very high sense of alarm about what the "incapable of loving our country" goalposts are going to include
quite certainly they're going to try very hard to use it on elected Democrats which is at least one reason I feel like we need to be TALKING ABOUT IMPEACHMENT WAY MORE THAN WE ARE
quite certainly they're going to try very hard to use it on elected Democrats which is at least one reason I feel like we need to be TALKING ABOUT IMPEACHMENT WAY MORE THAN WE ARE
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Northwestern University Nears Deal to Resolve Its Conflict With the White House
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:07 AM
How did the @nytimes.com editors let this sentence appear?
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
"Critics have likened Mr. Trump’s approach to extortion, while others have chalked it up as a cost of doing business with this administration."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Northwestern: We are only doing this because of government coercion.
Very helpful for any future faculty lawsuits in light of the caselaw on informal coercion / jawboning (e.g., NRA v. Vullo (2024))
Very helpful for any future faculty lawsuits in light of the caselaw on informal coercion / jawboning (e.g., NRA v. Vullo (2024))
November 29, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Northwestern: We are only doing this because of government coercion.
Very helpful for any future faculty lawsuits in light of the caselaw on informal coercion / jawboning (e.g., NRA v. Vullo (2024))
Very helpful for any future faculty lawsuits in light of the caselaw on informal coercion / jawboning (e.g., NRA v. Vullo (2024))
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
The legal, media, and academic institutions capitulating to an authoritarian ordering payments for favorable treatment are damning themselves to irrelevance. They are destroying their institutions. They will be — and should be — shunned for failing in their most basic purposes for existing.
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 1:37 AM
The legal, media, and academic institutions capitulating to an authoritarian ordering payments for favorable treatment are damning themselves to irrelevance. They are destroying their institutions. They will be — and should be — shunned for failing in their most basic purposes for existing.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Remember: If we allow ourselves to fall into fatalism, or wallow in disappointment, or become resigned to what is rather than what should be, we will lose the long game.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
November 28, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Remember: If we allow ourselves to fall into fatalism, or wallow in disappointment, or become resigned to what is rather than what should be, we will lose the long game.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
The president is such a bumbling idiot he thinks tweeting out the word "hereby" a couple times on his white supremacist social media site is the same thing as making an actual law.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
It should go without saying, but the president has no authority to do this, and anyone reporting the story needs to say as such.
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The president is such a bumbling idiot he thinks tweeting out the word "hereby" a couple times on his white supremacist social media site is the same thing as making an actual law.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
is Microsoft Excel a feminist? Is Gemini a queer ally? Is this graphing calculator my friend
November 28, 2025 at 9:57 PM
is Microsoft Excel a feminist? Is Gemini a queer ally? Is this graphing calculator my friend
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
November 28, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
I've never encountered more students who say they hate reading. Students who want to be teachers, writers, or both. I wonder if "hate" means "I have trouble reading," but I also talk with so many students who write in a genre but refuse to read in it. They can't see themselves in relation to others.
November 28, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I've never encountered more students who say they hate reading. Students who want to be teachers, writers, or both. I wonder if "hate" means "I have trouble reading," but I also talk with so many students who write in a genre but refuse to read in it. They can't see themselves in relation to others.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
We keep adjusting our goalposts, trying to meet students where they're at--but for some, that place is a kind of non-place, where they don't complete any work or engage with the class, but still receive a high grade. Emails are ignored. They can't meet a deadline or keep an appointment.
November 28, 2025 at 10:19 PM
We keep adjusting our goalposts, trying to meet students where they're at--but for some, that place is a kind of non-place, where they don't complete any work or engage with the class, but still receive a high grade. Emails are ignored. They can't meet a deadline or keep an appointment.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Admin wants "success" numbers to go up, but don't want class sizes to go down. Students want a credential that gets them a job, but don't care much about learning. All of society reinforces these stances.
Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
November 29, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Admin wants "success" numbers to go up, but don't want class sizes to go down. Students want a credential that gets them a job, but don't care much about learning. All of society reinforces these stances.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
A reminder for those who are not aware: "remigration" is the process of deporting all non-white people from a country. It includes citizens and is, by definition, ethnic cleansing.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
November 28, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A reminder for those who are not aware: "remigration" is the process of deporting all non-white people from a country. It includes citizens and is, by definition, ethnic cleansing.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
And to be clear: this is not fake. I just screenshot it myself.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
If Trump proactively pardons Hegseth, the solution is to signal either to the ICC or the country of origin of the murdered men that we will honor extradition requests on this point.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
November 28, 2025 at 6:40 PM
If Trump proactively pardons Hegseth, the solution is to signal either to the ICC or the country of origin of the murdered men that we will honor extradition requests on this point.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
And then, in something of an irony, Noem him out of the country before anyone can react.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Someone said today is “pre-covid regular prices” and that hit me.
November 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Someone said today is “pre-covid regular prices” and that hit me.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
with all disrespect to the brands, 30% off is really not all that exciting in this economy
November 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
with all disrespect to the brands, 30% off is really not all that exciting in this economy
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
Stephen Miller is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. His great-grandparents inhabited the Pale of Settlement (western Russia where Jews were allowed to live) and escaped Russian pogroms and the Holocaust. All the same racist, xenophobic, ignorant things he is saying were said about his own family.
November 28, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Stephen Miller is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. His great-grandparents inhabited the Pale of Settlement (western Russia where Jews were allowed to live) and escaped Russian pogroms and the Holocaust. All the same racist, xenophobic, ignorant things he is saying were said about his own family.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
They were always going to unleash full-on ethnic cleansing. They were just waiting for a plausible excuse.
Trump: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries … denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.“
November 28, 2025 at 3:57 PM
They were always going to unleash full-on ethnic cleansing. They were just waiting for a plausible excuse.
Reposted by Katie Hodges-Kluck, PhD
The Trump DOJ played down the risk of deploying the National Guard to DC, despite warnings, and now one of them is dead. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 28, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The Trump DOJ played down the risk of deploying the National Guard to DC, despite warnings, and now one of them is dead. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...