2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Thursday, December 4, 2025

1875 - New York politician William Magear Tweed “Boss Tweed” of Tammany Hall escapes from jail where he was being held for embezzlement.

1927 - Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem, NYC.

1954 - The first Burger King restaurant opens in Miami, Florida.

1978 - Dianne Feinstein becomes the first female mayor of San Francisco.

1980 - Led Zeppelin announces they will disband, two months after the death of their drummer John Bonham

On Places: Repurposing—and Queering—an H Street Corridor Carriage House. Washington City Paper.

D.C. may see accumulating snow as storm hits Mid-Atlantic. What to expect. The Washington Post.

The True America: Recovered Photographs by Ernest Cole Offer a Time Capsule of Harlem. BmoreArt.

Image credit: Libby Anker

This newsletter edition we spotlight GW American Studies and Political Science Professor Elisabeth Anker! Professor Anker has been working in the American Studies department at GW for over 15 years, where she teaches classes on freedom, film, democratic political culture, and political theory. 

Professor Anker is currently working on two books. The first, titled "Every Man A Sovereign," studies the rise in violent expressions of individual power since the 2010s. Her work exhibits how millions of Americans are trying to boost their personal sovereignty in extreme ways by examining phenomena from gun carrying in public, to MMA fighting, to Tech Bros and their luxury bunkers. Her research concludes that many people, disillusioned by predatory economic and political systems, want to regain control over their lives. However, they often do so by attempting to violently control other people. 

Her second book project, titled "We Go Low" argues that in an era of rising authoritarianism, it’s time for people to fight dirty for democracy. Rather than the politics of "Going High" where people fight anti-democratic power by showcasing their moral virtue and rule-following, Going Low fights for equality in ways that might otherwise seem low-brow, inferior, degraded, or taking the low road. The book examines fiction, films, plays, and political movements that show successful ways people have gone low in the past to win victories for freedom, justice, and equality.

Professor Anker previously published Ugly Freedoms (Duke, 2022) which won honorable mention for the John Hope Franklin Prize for the Best Book in American Studies. She has written for The New York Times, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books and also regularly discusses current events on Al Jazeera English, CNN, and BBC. 

Outside of teaching and her research, Professor Anker loves listening to early 90s hip-hop, exploring art museums, attending punchy dinner parties, and hanging out with her family and dogs!

GW Trails
Hiking with Marx

Join GW Trails for Hiking with Marx, a thought-provoking trek through history and nature. Participants will take the 2.2-mile Rapids Bridge Trail in Rock Creek Park, where they'll discuss key ideas in Marxism and how they connect to themes of labor, value, and decay—all of which are reflected in the abandoned Capitol Stone ruins along the way. This hike is a great opportunity to stretch your legs, exchange ideas, and see the world (and history) through a new lens.

The hike will be co-led by Prof. Dara Orenstein, Associate Professor of American Studies!

When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025; 10 AM
Where: Meet at USC Great Hall (800 21st St NW)

Register here!

Current MA student Jack Seufert had a collection of essays published in conjunction with the GW/Textile Museum's current exhibition From A to DC: Transportation in Washington. The exhibition is on view through February 28, 2026. 

Emeritus Prof. Richard Longstreth was quoted in The New York Times article “Inside Trump’s Push to Make the White House Ballroom as Big as Possible.”

Call for Applications: The Department of Ethnic Studies at Western Washington University is inviting applications for an Assistant Professor in Black Studies, beginning Fall 2026. Click here to learn more.

Call for Applications: The 2026 SHAFR Summer Institute, held at The Ohio State University, is accepting applications. The 2026 SHAFR Summer Institute will focus on the variety of US strategic cultures that emerged in response to previous moments of international crisis. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Dec. 15, 2025.

Call for Applications: The Onion, a satirical news outlet, is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2026 fellowships. Click here to learn more // Deadline: varies.

Call for Papers: Remembering Historical Violence Symposium at UMD is currently accepting proposals for individual papers, organized panels, roundtables, and non-traditional presentations. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Jan. 16, 2026.

Call for Papers: The Twenty-first Annual Yale University American Art Graduate Symposium is currently accepting abstracts for their upcoming event. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Jan. 31, 2026.

Call for Applications: The Massachusetts Historical Society is accepting applications for a variety of research fellowships for the 2026-2027 academic year. Click here to learn more // Deadline: varies.

Call for Papers: Critical Ethnic Studies is currently accepting submissions for a special issue devoted to the transnational exploration of caste domination and anti-caste social movements and theories, with emphasis on the interrelation of caste and race in the history and geography of empire. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Feb. 2, 2026.

Call for Applications: The Gay & Lesbian Review (The G&LR) announces the 4th annual Charles S. Longcope Jr. Writers and Artists Grant for emerging scholars, writers, and artists across disciplines and fields that make a contribution to LGBTQ+ scholarship or the arts. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Feb. 15, 2026.

Call for Applications: The Eudora Welty Foundation and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) announce the 2026 Eudora Welty Research Fellowship to encourage and support research using the Eudora Welty Collection and related materials at the MDAH. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Mar. 6, 2026.

Need Support?

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