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Karin Wulf

@kawulf.bsky.social

13K followers 2.6K following 11K posts

Historian of #VastEarlyAmerica, gender, family & politics | Director & Librarian @ JCBLibrary | History Prof @ Brown U #LineageTheBook OUP July, 2025 | On some other platforms and also @ karinwulf.com | Opinions here just mine. .. more

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Karin A. Wulf is an American historian and the Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island. She was the executive director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia from 2013 through 2021. She is also one of the founders of Women Also Know History, a searchable website database of women historians. Additionally, Wulf worked to spearhead a neurodiversity working group at William & Mary in 2011. She is currently writing a book about genealogy and political culture in Early America titled, Lineage: Genealogy and the Politics of Connection in British America, 1680-1820. Her work examines the history of women, gender, and the family in Early America. .. more

Political science 42%

Sociology 16%

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · Dec 28

It’s been a long time coming… so thrilled to share the cover (and Oxford UP website last in 🧵) for my book, _Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America_, pub date 7.2.25 (but will ship, so they say very enticingly, mid-June. 1/ #VastEarlyAmerica 🗃️

Book cover with various kinds of evidence of family history arrayed around the author and title, the latter is _Lineage: Genealogy and the Power of Connection in Early America_. The kinds of materials include printed texts, manuscripts, a red book (shhhhh that figures largely in the Introduction!), a watercolor family record, Fraktur, gravestone, and a sampler. One repeated text says "born free, born free (etc)"

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 3h

Special 🎉🎉🍾 to @sethrockman.bsky.social !!

American Historical Association @historians.org · 6h

The AHA is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 prizes, which honor exceptional books, distinguished teaching and mentoring in the classroom, public history, and other historical projects. Congratulations to the 2025 awardees! #AHAPerspectives🗃️

American Historical Association Announces 2025 Prize Winners – AHA

The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 prizes.

www.historians.org

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Reposted by Karin Wulf

New American History @newamericanhistory.bsky.social · 3h

Join us Tuesday 10/21 for a special edition of @newamericanhistory.bsky.social Office Hours with historian Ed Ayers - In partnership with our friends from APT/PBS and other historical sites/museum partners Register here:
bit.ly/NAHOfficeHoursOct2025

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Reposted by Karin Wulf

Ian Donnis @iandonnis.bsky.social · 3h

Brown University rejects invite to join federal compact

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Laura Ansley @lmansley.bsky.social · 3h

@jamellebouie.net has won the 2025 Tikkun Olam Prize for Promoting Public Historical Literacy.

And I'm thrilled to add that he is joining the panel for the AHA's annual op-ed workshop at #AHA26. (Free to attend, but preregistration is required.) 🗃️

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 3h

Many congratulations to all the excellent authors, including Charmian Mansell (Univ. of Sheffield) for Female Servants in Early Modern England (Oxford Univ. Press, 2024), winner of
the Morris D. Forkosch Prize in British, British imperial, or British Commonwealth history since 1485.

American Historical Association @historians.org · 6h

American Historical Association Announces 2025 Prize Winners – AHA

The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 prizes.

www.historians.org

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Reposted by Sven T. Beckert, Dave O’Brien, Margot C. Finn , and 2 more Sven T. Beckert, Dave O’Brien, Margot C. Finn, Jason A. Heppler, Karin Wulf

American Historical Association @historians.org · 6h

American Historical Association Announces 2025 Prize Winners – AHA

The American Historical Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 2025 prizes.

www.historians.org

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Reposted by Karin Wulf

American Historical Association @historians.org · 7h

On Capitol Hill, we’re saying hello to our neighbors and providing free history to anyone who walks by the AHA townhouse today. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by! 🗃

A table set up outside covered with an American Historical Association blanket with stacks of books and a sign that says "Free History!"

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 11h

If things had gone differently I guess.

Early sheet music with large title "Rule New -England" smaller font "a new patriotic song" by Thomas Paine. Yep, he wrote songs!

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 11h

Building a federal government -- totally fascinating. And Peter Kastor's website/ investigative tool is very cool and may wreck your morning commitment to processing email just saying.

creatingafederalgovernment.wustl.edu

Pic from website "Creating a Federal Government, 1789-1829" with gradient image of a federal building

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13h

Gooood morning!

Reposted by Karin Wulf

jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 1d

Arthur Sze, the twenty-fifth US Poet Laureate, has written a poem about the Library of Congress. Oh my heart. 📚

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“Library of Congress”

“Here’s a book / on neutrinos captured in Antarctica, / here’s another on solar flares.”

www.newyorker.com

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 1d

Totally believe that! As an industry or sector. I'm objecting both to people thinking either that you can extrapolate to the whole from the parts and/ or have expectations about the (very big more-than-just-messy in my less expert view!) whole doing x or y collectively.

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 1d

I would love for more people to know and really process that "colleges and universities" are not a thing-- it is a complex, diverse, differentiated industry in which institutions have vastly different audiences, funding, even missions.

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 1d

Me: Come ON just two more emails. It'll take 10-15 minutes.

Brain: Absolutely not. But I'll happily give you an hour of transcribing these 18th century letters.

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Siva @sivav.bsky.social · 1d

Nobody has wanted to acknowledge this but since 2018 tuition in real US$ has been falling. Plus, available aid has been increasing.

Trump is ending that streak.

Cuts in research and foreign students are gouging budgets, putting the burden on US students.

hechingerreport.org/after-years-...

The good news? College tuition has been going down. The bad news? It’s about to rise again

College students nationwide are facing increases in tuition this fall of as much as 10 percent, along with new fees and rising costs for dorms and dining plans, after a stretch when tuition had been f...

hechingerreport.org

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Reposted by Anna O. Law

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 1d

When people tell you that founders as enslavers was something we should see "in the context of their time." Great piece fr @katytelling.bsky.social abt a wealthy 18hc Virginian (and there were others) who thought Washington and co. risked their honor and more. ageofrevolutions.com/2025/10/13/a...

A Great Reputation Among Men: Race and Contested Masculinities in the Early American Republic

By Kathleen Telling In 1785, Robert Pleasants, a wealthy tobacco planter, abolitionist, and prominent member of Henrico County’s Quaker community, penned a letter to Virginia’s most famous son, Geo…

ageofrevolutions.com

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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 3d

Forcing enslaved women to wet nurse was quite common in the ancient world and “lending” one’s enslaved woman to another (for pay back to the dominus) is one of the things we know they were often made to do. See Prof, @taramulder.bsky.social for much more.
peoplingthepast.com/2022/06/07/p...

Podcast Season 3, Episode 2 – Call the (Roman) Midwife: Ancient Delivery and Childbirth with Tara Mulder

For our next episode of the Peopling the Past podcast, we are joined by Tara Mulder, an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, who talks to us about what a Roman birth may have …

peoplingthepast.com

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Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 6d

"The Declaration of Independence opened the world to democratic possibility, sparking a wave of revolutions, yet it also marked the narrowing of political possibilities within the nascent United States."

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Reposted by Anna O. Law, Efrén O. Pérez, Margot C. Finn , and 3 more Anna O. Law, Efrén O. Pérez, Margot C. Finn, James Goodwin, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Karin Wulf

Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 6d

New essay in the Atlantic today: How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution by Ned Blackhawk (with many lessons on how we ended up where we are as a nation, and a gift link) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution

The Founders were inspired—and threatened—by the independence and self-governance of nations like the Iroquois Confederacy.

www.theatlantic.com

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Molly Hardy @mollyhardy.bsky.social · 6d

Come for this pitcher commemorating the first Federal Census and stay for my plea for rethinking data. Thanks to @jmheberling.bsky.social for the inspiration and to @kawulf.bsky.social for the encouragement.

Guest Post - Rethinking Disciplinary Data Regimes - The Scholarly Kitchen

Between a political policy environment focused on defunding and deleting data collections – an environment in which little can be trusted – and an onslaught of new AI tools that feed indiscriminately ...

scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org

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Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Kris Inwood

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 7d

Love this new post fr @mollyhardy.bsky.social for @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social about the need for x-discipline data curation and preservation! Plus, love the 1790 census jug as the exemplar of thinking across domains. 🤓 scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/10/08/g...

Guest Post - Rethinking Disciplinary Data Regimes - The Scholarly Kitchen

scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 7d

I learned so much on the old twitter.

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 8d

I've long been obsessed with government documents. What do they communicate and to whom, how and when and by whom were they printed and circulated? The @jcblibrary.bsky.social has a terrific collection of the many printed journals of Congress, fr 1774. Started a weekly series on IG to discuss. 🤓

Title page of Journal of the Proceedings of the Congress held at Philadelphia May 10, 1775. Philadelphia May 10, 1775. Tattered, with an image of three fellas wearing swords in a circle.

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 8d

Love to hear @sethrockman.bsky.social talking about this critical history w @lizcovart.bsky.social

Ben Franklin's World @bfworld.bsky.social · 8d

How do the everyday things we use connect us to unseen systems of labor and inequality?

Seth Rockman helps us explore that question through the material history of slavery.

🎧 Listen now: benfranklinsworld.com/422

#History #MaterialCulture #USHistory #Skystorians

Episode 422: Seth Rockman, Plantation Goods: How Northern Factories Fueled the Plantation Economy

Discover how hoes, shoes, and cloth linked New England factories to Southern slavery in early America with historian Seth Rockman.

benfranklinsworld.com

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Ben Franklin's World @bfworld.bsky.social · 8d

Episode 422: Seth Rockman, Plantation Goods: How Northern Factories Fueled the Plantation Economy

Discover how hoes, shoes, and cloth linked New England factories to Southern slavery in early America with historian Seth Rockman.

benfranklinsworld.com

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Reposted by Karin Wulf

Drafting the Past @draftingthepast.bsky.social · 8d

Episodes two weeks in a row?! That should tell you how much great stuff there is. I was so happy to get to talk to @andrewhartman.bsky.social about KARL MARX IN AMERICA (@uchicagopress.bsky.social) and how he keeps going in the writing "grind." Listen here: draftingthepast.com/podcast-epis...

Podcast episode graphic featuring a smiling man in a blazer and glasses in front of a bookshelf. The text on the right reads "Drafting the Past episode 69: Andrew Hartman."

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Reposted by Philip N. Cohen, Lesley Bartlett, Aviel Roshwald

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 9d

"No institution that is committed to the free pursuit of knowledge should submit to the degradation of autonomy and academic freedom contained in it." @acls1919.bsky.social statement on the White House "compact" proposed to universities. www.acls.org/news/acls-st...

ACLS Statement Regarding White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

ACLS stands firmly against this latest White House effort to divide faculties by giving special privileges to students in “hard science programs” and its demand that institutions abolish “units that p...

www.acls.org

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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 9d

Beyond Ruin is both my budget and my aged scholars band name.

Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 9d

CAITLIN! There is a reason my auction alert has very tight parameters. 😄

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National Council on Public History @ncph.bsky.social · 9d

If you’re considering presenting at the joint AASLH-NCPH conference next September, but you could use feedback, an idea, or more presenters, submit an optional early topic proposal by October 15! https://ncph.org/conference/2026-annual-meeting/topic-proposal-form/

2026 Joint Conference. September 16-19, Providence, RI. The Work of Revolution. American Association for State and Local History. National Council on Public History.

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