Category Archives: Production of History

Tales of the Burning World

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Timothy Burke

One of the hardest things for academic historians to accept is that their characteristic engagement with the past is deeply, arguably inextricably, interwoven with the very particular ways that nations and modernity use history as a tool. E.g., both nations … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Digital Humanities, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Production of History | 1 Comment

From the Archives

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Timothy Burke

Working on a new project, first time I’ve been in a Presidential library archive (LBJ’s in this case). Always fun. Really fell in love with the summaries from weekly intelligence briefings on the Congo during the 1960s. Around 1964, they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 2 Comments

Catching Up I: Charity Towards the Uncharitable

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I’ve had a pretty demanding series of weeks where I couldn’t afford my usual distractedness, so the backlog of things I’ve been meaning to comment on is considerable. To start, I had bookmarked a thread at Crooked Timber on Steven … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Production of History | 8 Comments

Imaginary Tales

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Timothy Burke

I’m almost certain someone’s done this before, but I was looking in the long boxes and the impulse struck me.

Posted in Miscellany, Production of History | Comments Off on Imaginary Tales

Some Small Ideas About Big Ideas

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Timothy Burke

At first, I thought that Neal Gabler was singing my song in his ode (and eulogy) to the “Big Idea”. Part of his argument turns on a familiar theme at this blog, that overspecialization has its costs, and that one … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Digital Humanities, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Popular Culture, Production of History | 1 Comment

The Return of the Phantom Time Menace

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Timothy Burke

Read enough forum threads across a wide enough range of websites and you ought to become fairly expert in predicting the range and distribution of responses and even of anticipating where you’re likely to fall in that picture yourself, should … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Humanities, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Production of History | Comments Off on The Return of the Phantom Time Menace

Lose the Future

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Timothy Burke

It sometimes seems like historians should be the first to provide some perspective when something in our lives seems to be going downhill. Like many readers, I felt that sense when reading a recent New York Times article about changes … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Production of History | 8 Comments

What Ifs and Might-Have-Beens: Draft Syllabus

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I’m teaching a new course next semester on counterfactual and alternate history. The basic structure of the course is divided into four-parts: historiographical and theoretical debates about counterfactuals and alternate history; formal ‘scholarly’ counterfactuals; alternate histories; and workshopping student-created counterfactuals … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History, Swarthmore | 14 Comments

Why the Owl of Minerva Doesn’t Get Party Invitations After Dusk

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Timothy Burke

I don’t do this very often, but I’m going to get a bit aggressive about disciplinary expertise for a second. William Easterly has an interesting post about the “mystery of the benevolent autocrat”, observing that while the highest growth rates … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Africa, Production of History | 5 Comments

Who’s Martin Luther?

Posted on September 28, 2010 by Timothy Burke

Let’s say there’s this person. He or she and family regularly go to church on Sunday, and their church is Lutheran. For them, church is a supportive community first, a theological and philosophical experience second (or third or fourth). He … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 5 Comments