Contingent Magazine

If you think what we do is worthwhile and want to help us do it better, consider joining our board! *very low time commitment*

Contingent Board Nominations Contingent is looking for some new board members! We’re looking for folks who are committed to the magazine’s mission and want to help us shape how we carry it out in a changing media and academic lan...

If you’d like to join our board, drop us a line!

If you work for a UP, you can submit everything contingent-authored on your list this year. If you're a journal editor, you can submit every piece in this year's issues written by a contingent historian.

If your friend wrote a book or an article, submit it for them!

Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.

If you work for a UP, you can submit everything contingent-authored on your list this year. If you're a journal editor, you can submit every piece in this year's issues written by a contingent historian.

If your friend wrote a book or an article, submit it for them!

Calling all contingent historians and their editors--if you haven't submitted for this year's lists, why not? Seriously, these are our most highly read pieces of the year. They are a great way to get your scholarship in front of people and SELL YOUR BOOKS.

We'll be looking to elect some new board members before the end of the year! Keep an eye out for a post later this week with information about how to nominate yourself.

Every year I get submissions for the @contingent-mag.bsky.social book and journal article lists that don’t really fit. But now, you can send your amazing 2025 public scholarship here!

Unlike being a contributor to the magazine itself, you don’t have to be a contingent historian to be on the board!

We'll be looking to elect some new board members before the end of the year! Keep an eye out for a post later this week with information about how to nominate yourself.

What's the Point? Reflections on a year spent teaching history at the United States Military Academy

“For cadets, earnest participation in these discussions does more than just prove that they did the reading.”

Nick Hurley on his year teaching at USMA.

What's the Point? Reflections on a year spent teaching history at the United States Military Academy

“For cadets, earnest participation in these discussions does more than just prove that they did the reading.”

Nick Hurley on his year teaching at USMA.

It’s that time of year friends! Thanks to @erinbartram.bsky.social and our friends at @contingent-mag.bsky.social, Laura and I are putting together a list of 2025 articles & books by contingent & indie lit critters. DM, reply, email me @ suny press. And spread the word!!

(Sorry, there were way more than six pieces!)

Personal Pan Histories: Turnips "For my family, boiled turnips became a reminder of my grandmother’s suffering."

And one final piece, about the corruption of a simple food: "The idea of boiling turnips in my own home still creeps me out."

Personal Pan Histories: Dorayaki "I don’t need to fit perfectly into one culture to feel like I truly belong."

"I don’t have to pick a side or feel like an outcast—because if all cultures are so deeply entwined in each other, I don’t need to fit perfectly into one of them to feel like I truly belong."

Personal Pan Histories: Jell-O Jell-O remains an easy, popular way to enter the domestic realm.

"I grew up with a large extended family in Utah . . . I thought I knew Jell-O."

Personal Pan Histories: Wilbur Buds It was the only dark chocolate my grandmother liked.

"The superiority of the Wilbur Bud over its commonplace competitor was probably my first exposure to the idea that exclusivity could be evidence of quality—a childhood introduction to the logic of hipsterism."

Personal Pan Histories: Wacky Cake A cake made without milk or butter? Don't tell the Minnesota Dairy Industry Committee!

"The adaptability of wacky cake has allowed it to last from generation to generation in my family, across various moments of uncertainty. I return to it again, with all its baggage, as we enter a new crossroads of crises today."

Personal Pan Histories: Stuffed Cabbage My great-grandmother Sylvia’s stuffed cabbage held an out-sized role in my culinary imagination.

"Why does my great-grandmother’s Old-World recipe include ingredients straight from industrial America?"

Personal Pan Histories: Instant Coffee I suppose it really is addiction. But I’ve quit most of the other fun ones.

"She placed a cup of milk in the microwave—a gadget I had never operated, much less was allowed to touch. After the beep, she stirred in Folgers Instant and a healthy dose of sugar."

Personal Pan Histories: Instant Noodles As a picky eater, I ate oodles of instant noodles growing up.

"I often wonder if my mom would have had enough time to cook for me on top of a busy work schedule if not for this convenient, cheap, filling, and safe food."

Personal Pan Histories: պանիրով հած It might be a simple dish, yet it’s one I hold close to my heart—and a symbol, for me, of the Armenian immigrant experience.

"I fondly remember the many times we were snowed in, and would eat banirov hats (պանիրով հած), a traditional Armenian bread."

A few years ago, we did a series called Personal Pan Histories. Each piece came with a recipe by the author. We didn't ask people to pitch simple comfort foods, but they did. Anyway, it's a good time to revisit a series of six pieces about what food means to us.

In this week's Check Book @jjdotbiz.bsky.social shared a link to the 2023 @contingent-mag.bsky.social essay he wrote about the research he does for @blankcheck.bsky.social and how he compiles the dossiers. This is required reading for all #blankies.

contingentmagazine.org/2023/08/31/h...

#ScholarSunday Thread 247 (10/26/25) – Black and White and Read All Over Here it is, my 247th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy,...

Here it is, my 247th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️

blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

If you're a long-time reader, we have a question for you with regards to the December issue: if it's a theme that's interesting to you, do you read pieces as we post them or save them up to read over the holidays?

If you're a long-time reader, we have a question for you with regards to the December issue: if it's a theme that's interesting to you, do you read pieces as we post them or save them up to read over the holidays?

Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...

A reminder that we're collecting books, chapters, and journal articles by non-TT historians for publication in our year-end lists. Anything with a 2025 pub date is eligible and you can submit for your friends/colleagues! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...

Publications by Non-Tenure-Track Historians Since we began publishing in 2019, Contingent has published end-of-year lists of books and articles by non-tenure-track historians released in the past calendar year. To submit something for inclusion...

A reminder that we're collecting books, chapters, and journal articles by non-TT historians for publication in our year-end lists. Anything with a 2025 pub date is eligible and you can submit for your friends/colleagues! contingentmagazine.org/yearly-pub-l...