We're very happy that, following a few final exams and papers, summer vacation is nearly upon us. Like last summer, we'll be blogging at a more leisurely pace. But you will see the return of a popular feature that we began back in summer 2012: Stories from Summer Vacation. Stay tuned for reports from the UT American Studies community about how folks are spending their well-deserved months of respite (or, in reality, a few months to catch up on work, prepare for fall classes, polish up drafts of books and articles, read for qualifying exams, write dissertations - and occasionally relax!).

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.- Henry James