Jordan E. Taylor

thrilled to announced that a LinkedIn scambot has selected me to be featured in "Influential Women Magazine."

tempted to let them scam me just to see what happens...

Same and same.

The OAH strongly endorses the National Humanities Alliance’s statement opposing the proposed cuts to the NEH. These cuts threaten critical funding for historical research, education, and public programs that connect communities to their past.
ow.ly/Wz0b50VtxIv

SHEAR offers fellowships to scholars examining African diasporic, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American, and/or Pacific Island history from 1776 to 1861. Scholars from underrepresented backgrounds, early career, contingent faculty encouraged to apply.

shear.org/about-us/she...

Virtual Workshops for the 250th — Declaration Stories Join Dr. Emily Sneff to learn the history of the Declaration of Independence before the 250th anniversary in 2026

So pleased to see people registering for my upcoming series of virtual workshops on the history of the #DeclarationofIndependence for #America250 planning. Please spread the word!

Register 👉 www.declarationstories.org/workshops

Another fun thing about working at CW:

My calendar has lots of normal meetings, but occasionally in the middle of the day I just get to have an amiable chat with a farmer.

I’ve been thinking about media literacy a lot. I think about how it has always been a problem in early America and the new United States and about how it is a problem today.

I also think about how a lack of media literacy and expertise pervades our digital tools and publishing systems.

YouTube video by Colonial Williamsburg 5 Things You Should Know About James Armistead Lafayette

Despite getting a Ph.D. in early American history, James (La) Fayette's story passed me by. I only learned it after coming to work for Colonial Williamsburg. Here's a video I got to work on. I think every American ought to know his story.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSoO...

a sunset sky with a lot of clouds Alt: Dawn of a new day

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, Vast Early America. Excited to be here.

The Case for Facts - Nieman Reports Verifiable evidence remains journalism’s foundation, despite mounting attacks on the press. Story by Angie Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network.

"If history has its eyes on journalism, it feels like a death stare....fact-checking...holds the line on reality for history’s sake." In other words, we need the full complement of expertise inc copyediting and fact checking in journalism *and scholarly publishing.* niemanreports.org/fact-checkin...

The Executive Order: A History of Its Rise and Slow Decline President George Washington was the first to issue proclamations or executive orders. Their use peaked under Franklin Roosevelt, but they have been used fewer times in recent presidencies. Will Biden ...

I’m putting together the latest History Behind the Headlines newsletter. This week the focus is the origin of the Executive Order.

I’m being very careful to vet and verify internet sources. Fortunately, this article was written by @lmchervinsky.bsky.social so I know it is accurate.

Took a social media break, which lingered for 2-3 business years. I'm delighted to rejoin the land of the digital and hear about all the history things y'all are up to! If you need editing, fact-checking, or transcription services to help make your media clear, accurate, & accessible, let’s talk.

Screen shot of the opening scroll from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace that reads: "Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute."

Just put on Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Time to take a big sip of coffee and check the news.

1 JANUARY 1775, BOSTON: This account echoes merchant John Andrews “With wishing you a happy new year. … I must add my wishes that we may have a less troublesome year than the last, and that Great Britain may see her error in distressing the Colonies,

The Tedious Heroism of David Ruggles - Commonplace History also changes because of strange, flawed, deeply human people doing unremarkable, tedious, and often boring work.

We have one last piece up this year at Commonplace. Isaac Kolding tells the tough, relentless and often disappointing work of activism in a story about David Ruggles and his resistance to a Portuguese slave ship docked in NYC:🗃️ commonplace.online/article/the-...

The best summary of George Washington’s Rules of Civility is a Michael Scott quote: “Don't ever, for any reason, do anything to anyone for any reason ever, no matter what, no matter where, or who, or who you are with, or where you are going, or where you've been... ever, for any reason whatsoever.”

AHA Surveys: Historians Teaching Off the Tenure Track - AHA Goals of the Surveys The Professional Division of the American Historical Association seeks to collect and collate information about the working conditions of historians employed as contingent faculty...

The AHA seeks to collect information about the working conditions of historians employed as contingent faculty. We hope the survey results will empower faculty to engage in evidence-based negotiations about their working conditions. 🗃️

I have not seen that, but now I have a quest!

It’s not my favorite part of working at Colonial Williamsburg, but seeing this sign every time I go to the bathroom is up there.

spent this afternoon reading some early US history (as one does) and was reminded of the important fact that these people were almost constantly drunk as hell

Democracy in Darkness: Secrecy and Transparency in the Age of Revolutions One of the paradoxes of representative government is that it needs transparency for legitimacy, but secrecy to govern. In her important book Democracy in D

My review of Katlyn Carter's wonderful Democracy in Darkness is out! academic.oup.com/jah/article-...

It has been such a pleasure working with the wonderful @joshrgreenberg.bsky.social and editing so many incredible essays over the last few years.

@katytelling.bsky.social is taking over and will do a great job! Go pitch them! Maybe I will too someday soon...

Sharing some professional news:

I've sadly stepped away from my role as Production Editor of @commonplacejrnl.bsky.social. With my new job at CW, and my rambunctious two-year-old, I just couldn't balance everything anymore.

That’ll do it.

I’ve got a very preliminary Media History going:

go.bsky.app/EzAZ2Hh

As a teenager, I read Ron Chernow’s bio of Hamilton on vacation in Florida. Lin-Manuel Miranda and I did very different things with that experience.

Time for an #Introduction: I'm a historian by training, librarian by profession, #DH in practice, specializing in #GIS and #podcasting. I'm a cycling and transit enthusiast. I love cities and I love hinterland. Only recently learned about #solarpunk but it describes my politics pretty perfectly. ✊

I’m glad you made the right choice for yourself — but that sounds like fascinating work!

We’ll have to plan a conference in Liverpool someday.