JStor Daily: The Destructive Myth of the Universal Genius (Jul. 14, 2023)

In 1550, in the waning years of the Italian Renaissance, artist and architect Giorgio Vasari published his wildly influential Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. It quickly became a standard text in art history and criticism and remains so to this day, with its famous attribution of superhuman qualities to the quintessential…

History of Yesterday: A Sweaty Hitler Is a Sexy Hitler (Sept. 9, 2022)

[Originally published as “A Sweaty Hitler Is a Sincere Hitler, and Sincerity Is Profoundly Persuasive,” Aug. 6, 2021] In 1937, Irmgard Keun published a short novel, After Midnight, which tells the story of two young women in 1930s Frankfurt who find themselves caught up in a parade and rally starring Adolf Hitler. The rally touches off…

Hitler Fatigue (Apr. 14, 2022)

(image: Hitler speaking at a rally, from National Archives and Records Administration) Last year, I submitted a grant application seeking support for the book I’m writing about Hitler’s rhetoric. The grant was rejected (it was a competitive Federal grant, so I wasn’t too surprised). This morning, I received comments on my proposal from three anonymous…

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About Me

Dr. Ryan Skinnell is an award-winning writer and speaker. He is an expert in political rhetoric, especially as it relates to authoritarianism, demagoguery, and democracy. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Common Dreams, Newsweek, and Salon, among other places.

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