Mattie Christine Webb
@mattiecwebb.bsky.social
130 followers 180 following 11 posts
Assistant Professor of History at VMI | Rhodes University Affiliate | Formerly: Yale Postdoc, UCSB History PhD Rhodes University Affiliate | US in the World, Global Anti-Apartheid, Labor | Marathon runner
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Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
Check out this LAWCHA roundtable on Emma Amador's book! The Politics of Care Work: Puerto Rico Women Organizing for Social Justice...Wed., Oct. 22, 7pm...
I also reflect on the state of archives, digital/public hist initiatives, and university–community collaboration. Taken together, the roundtable essays “reflect the dynamism of the field but equally the constraints and limitations of historical work 30 years into SA’s democracy"
I’m honored to have contributed to the South African Historical Journal’s “30 Years of Democracy: 1994–2024” roundtable. My essay, “Reflecting on South African History,” offers an overview of post-1994 trends in transnational and labor history. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
30 Years of Democracy: 1994–2024 Roundtable
Published in South African Historical Journal (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
Looking forward to participating in the "What Force on Earth? Theorizing the Labor Movement" conference at the University of Chicago this weekend. I'll be on a panel on economic democracy. The lineup looks fantastic:

neubauercollegium.uchicago.edu/events/what-...
The Neubauer Collegium - The Neubauer Collegium
neubauercollegium.uchicago.edu
Looks like an excellent panel!
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
If you find yourself this afternoon at Day 2 of #SHAFR2025, come on by Studio D from 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm for an incredible lightning round of research from rising junior scholars @shafrhistorians.bsky.social
On the way to DC for the annual SHAFR conference. I’m looking forward to catching up with friends, attending some exciting panels, and suffering through the current DC heat wave. If you’re free, come to our Sat morning roundtable on The Global Cold War at 20! @shafrhistorians.bsky.social
“By casting Afrikaners as victims, the U.S. continues to protect power disguised as persecution; it heeds the calls of the privileged, while ignoring those still living with apartheid’s scars.”

time.com/7287684/hist...
The Long History of the U.S. Backing White South Africans
The recent welcoming of Afrikaner refugees is the latest chapter in a history of U.S. support for white South Africans.
time.com
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
It’s like none of these people understood Legally Blonde at all
I would suggest that if you are going to pick a fairly obvious legal battle, doing it with the top university for law in the country might be a bad idea
Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking enrollment of foreign students

May 23, 1:33 PM Updated 7 mins ago

By Reuters

May 23 (Reuters) - Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday over President Donald Trump's decision to revoke the Ivy League school's ability to enroll international students.
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
Could not agree more! My book, Saving Apartheid: White Internationalism at the End of the Cold War, traces exactly this transatlantic connection between apartheid and the American right from 1980 to 1994. Out with Columbia University Press late 2025/early 2026!
based on some reading i'm doing at the moment, there is a book to be written — if it already hasn't been — on defense of apartheid south africa as the great international cause of the american right
Agreed! So glad I opted to hold one
Off to Santa Barbara for the International Graduate Student Conference on the Cold War, hosted by UCSB’s Center for Cold War Studies and International History. Looking forward to being back in California! I’m very biased, but this is one of the best conferences out there, esp for grad students
It was so helpful—I have a lot to think through/revise over the summer!
So glad you could be a part of it! I can’t thank you enough for the thoughtful feedback!
Thanks to @yale.edu, and especially @kaeteoc.bsky.social, for supporting my manuscript workshop. “Shopfloor Statecraft” (@columbiaup.bsky.social) is still in the early stages, but I think this was a great time to get substantial feedback on the full draft. So much to process moving forward!
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
Excited to dig into this one and host Gretchen Heefner on Wednesday for our last event of the semester! @shafrhistorians.bsky.social #milhist #envhist #GSYale
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
historians who've taught grad readings courses: are there any writing assignments that worked particularly well, either throughout or at the end of the semester?
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
I just got confirmation that National History Day, a program that does more to ignite K-12 students' love of history, learning, and yes, even the United States than anything else I've ever seen, had all its funding cut yesterday by the DOGE-axe at the NEH - including for this year's ongoing contest.
A National History Day display: "Alice Paul: How She Rocked the Vote," from the 2020 contest. A National History Day display: "D-Day: How the Allies Broke Hitler's Atlantic Barrier, from March 2020, SW Michigan regional competition.
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
Reposted by Mattie Christine Webb
Traveling this weekend, so I’ve just shared a Special Saturday #ScholarSunday thread—my 212th of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Share widely & enjoy, all! 🗃️

americanstudier.substack.com/p/scholarsun...
#ScholarSunday Thread 212
Shared on (Saturday) February 15, 2025
americanstudier.substack.com