Dr. Jim Downs

When I began researching history of epidemiology 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine I would finish during a pandemic.I uncovered how epidemiology began w/ doctors studying enslaved & colonized populations, soldiers & Muslim migrants.Thrilled to announce it’s available for pre-order

We are living through an attack on science and public health, and the consequences are deadly. propublica.org/article/vitami…

Join us tomorrow May 13 at Barnes & Noble Upper West Side 82nd at 7pm I’m honored to be joined by an extraordinary group of historians and public intellectuals: Nikole Hannah-Jones, Julian E. Zelizer, Catherine Clinton, and Joanne B. Freeman. stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/97800622…

@RichardTYoder1 congrats

It’s official—I am now Dr. Richard T. Yoder. Grateful to everyone who made this happen along the way, not least of all my supervisor, Professor Ronnie Po-chia Hsia (pictured here). #PhDone

Shots fired at the White House correspondents dinner

Joining @HofstraU’s “How to ‘Public Humanities’” panel yesterday featuring @ruthbenghiat and @jimdowns1, hosted by @rkgar, the urgent need to bridge academia & civil society once again stood out to me, as it is already a commitment of mine. Such a connection is no longer a luxury or an optional approach, especially in the face of the rise & spread of #authoritarianism, and, more importantly, how authoritarians diversify their discourses & policies in ways that dangerously normalize extremism globally. Can’t wait to read Professor Ben-Ghiat’s upcoming book “Resisting Autocracy”, which feels especially needed right now after she laid out the unwritten handbook of authoritarians in her earlier book, “Strongmen: How They Rise, Why They Succeed, How They Fall.”

THIS IS AN AMAZING PROJECT. I am thrilled to be quoted in support of it. How One Man Is Preserving Queer History Marker By Marker. forbes.com/sites/rdaniel-…

@heavyredaction I am so sorry.

So far this year my university department (SFSU Anthropology) has been discontinued, the museum my mom +/- founded at DePaul University is to be closed, and my alma mater (Hampshire College) will close after Fall semester

Historians Attending OAH — Join Us! We invite you to gather at the Library Company of Philadelphia to honor the extraordinary work of Deirdre Cooper Owens in conversation with the irrepressibly dazzling Kellie Carter-Jackson. support.librarycompany.org/event/the-past…

@heavyredaction Congratulations

I am very gratified and grateful to share that barring incident, I’ll be joining the faculty of SFSU’s incredible Public Health department in Spring 2027. I am looking forward to working with brilliant colleagues and students in PH.

The rage about DOGE canceling NEH grants b/c they mention “LGBTQ” is justified. But academia should also look in the mirror. How many departments actually teach LGBTQ history? How many efforts have there been to recruit LGBTQ faculty? Too often LGBTQ scholarship is treated as marginal or expendable.

For Black History Month ... Review of: Maladies of Empire: How Colonialism, Slavery, and War Transformed Medicine, by Jim Downs regarp.com/2022/05/31/rev…

My article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Always better in print! “Slavery was central to the presidency. The President’s House should say so”inquirer.com/opinion/commen…

please let this exact scene be playing out in real life

Proud to be directing this conference. Even more excited about the speakers. Please share widely and register! librarycompany.org/academic-progr…

Outrageous: RFK questions germ theory—and seems to want to revive the Ancient Greek idea of the four humors, a framework dismantled by the 17th century and considered atavistic by the time of the Civil War. After decades of scientific progress, this is the direction he’s pointing us. instagram.com/reel/DTjBszGEz…

✨That song is a trap for most singers; it will punish you the moment you lose your breath control or pitch. She not only sang the notes perfectly, but she also maintained her composure—she's amazing.🌺

@queenie4rmnola Thank you! It means so much to me. I’m glad the book spoke to you.

@jimdowns1 Thanks for writing this book. It’s an amazing resource, and it taught me so much.

At least one quarter of the 4 million Black people freed at the end of the Civil War died from starvation and illness after being deprived reparations. White people lynched at least 4,000 Black people during Jim Crow. If this happened to anyone else it would be called genocide.

@queenie4rmnola Thank you!

Want to learn more? I recommend, Sick from Freedom by Jim Downs. Add this to your reading list.

@DaveCullen Thanks

@jimdowns1 👏👏👏

I woke up this morning to an email from Jonathan Ned Katz, the father of gay American history, telling me that my article is in print in The New York Times. I am standing on his shoulders. He paved the way for so many of us to do this work. Thank you, Jonathan! When the piece was accepted, there was no guarantee it would make it into print—there are so few spots available—but thanks to everyone who read it and the overwhelmingly positive response, it ran in today’s paper!

@__s94s__ thanks!

@jimdowns1 congrats!