W. Caleb McDaniel

Looking forward to the opening of this new exhibit curated by colleagues at Rice: Beyond The Hedges: Historias de Latinidad at Rice University will be on view at the Houston Public Library’s Julia Ideson Building later this month!

Updated some notes in my open research notebook: Refugeed Slaves.

Here’s a nice review of Slavery, Segregation, and the Second Founding of Rice University by Scot McFarlane.

New office door decor, courtesy of Robin Sloan quoting John Salvatier and featuring a photograph of airmail pilot William “Wild Bill” Hopson.

I’ve spent the AM organizing some materials to deposit in special collections.

A nice story and brief video about the matriculation ceremony for doctoral students at Rice, which I spoke at last week.

TFW you meant to upload a receipt to your expense report and instead uploaded a photo of your house cat from 2002.

This year I will be serving as interim department chair for history at Rice.

One of the coolest things about Rice is the residential college system.

This morning I spoke to all the matriculating doctoral students at Rice University.

I hacked together an iPhone shortcut that helps when I hit certain paywalls.

More of the exhibit at the Levi Jordan site.

I spent the morning attending a meeting of the Texas Consortium of Universities and Colleges Studying Slavery and Race, and visiting the Levi Jordan Plantation Historic Site.

My new progressive lenses are in a frame called Hayden.

The Organization of American Historians has alerted members that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) plans to close two regional branches in Chicago and San Bruno, California.

Still gathering my thoughts for this Saturday’s session honoring Jim Stewart at #SHEAR2026.

I’ll be at #SHEAR2026 in Philadelphia this Saturday to chair a hybrid roundtable session honoring the late James Brewer Stewart.

I submitted a public comment on the OMB’s proposed changes to federal grant-making procedures, indicating my agreement with the warnings of the American Historical Association about the revisions.

The full June 2026 issue of the open-access Journal of Texas History is out now from the Alliance for Texas History.

Summer is sometimes for throwing together what Robin Sloan calls home-cooked apps, like a simple page that just lets me search the stacks of my university library the way God intended.

For many years, I have shared with my U.S. history students the letters of Hawkins Wilson.

My family made me a Father’s Day playlist of random earworms I woke up singing over the last year.

As part of this morning’s ceremony, four historical markers of lynchings in Harris County were unveiled in downtown Houston.

Powerful ceremony this morning in Harris County for the unveiling of design plans for Remembrance Park in Houston.

I spoke with “Houston Matters” this morning about the Houston origins of Juneteenth.