Monthly Archives: May 2006

Twenty Years

Off to celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary. You can overlook in the day-in, day-out hustle of life what a mighty and lasting thing you’re building with someone and then wake up one day breathlessly startled at the cumulation of your … Continue reading

Posted in Domestic Life | 9 Comments

“Many” Is a Numbered Word and Other Miscellaneous Replies

Part II of further thoughts on teaching, politicization and the like, this time in reply to the defenders of ACTA’s report. 1) Erin O’Connor, writing at ACTA’s blog, offers a useful reconceptualization of the ACTA report’s claims. O’Connor writes that … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 10 Comments

Some Teaching I Have Known

Part I of some further thoughts on academia, teaching and politicization. Undefined complaints about inappropriately “political” teaching worry me for the same reason that speech codes worry me. They worry me the same way that a draft policy on sexual … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 16 Comments

History 63: The Whole Enchilada

I offer this syllabus from Fall 2003 in contrast to Duke’s History 75. Would I get caught in ACTA’s net if they scanned through the catalog and noticed this course? There are Marxists abounding in this syllabus. A Muslim, too! … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 22 Comments

ACTA Report, “How Many Ward Churchills?”

Are you interested in defending academic standards? Let me tell you what I consider to be a few important academic standards. These apply across the disciplines. 1. Careful collection of evidence. 2. Constraining claims or arguments to the evidence available. … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 71 Comments

Online Syllabi

If you’ve been following news of ACTA’s imminent release of a report opportunistically entitled How Many Ward Churchills?, and you’ve looked at the comments thread, you can tell I’m finding the early excerpts irritating. I’m waiting for the full report … Continue reading

Posted in Academia | 3 Comments

History 8B. Mfecane, Mines and Mandela: Southern Africa from 1600 to 2006

History 8B Mfecane, Mines and Mandela Professor Burke Fall 2006 This course is a survey of the history of Southern Africa, the region of the continent which today includes the nations of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Africa | 1 Comment

Evil Phish

Has anybody else noticed an upturn in phishing emails that say “You’ve received a postcard from a family member!” but have a link to an executable of some kind? Very nasty bit of social engineering on the part of whomever … Continue reading

Posted in Information Technology and Information Literacy | 5 Comments

Of Hard-Fought Engagements or Sieges Tremendous What Remains?

I just heard that a former student, Sean Barney, was seriously wounded in Fallujah on May 12th. He’s been sending reports to the organization Third Way since January. All our hopes and best wishes to Sean for his recovery.

Posted in Miscellany | Comments Off on Of Hard-Fought Engagements or Sieges Tremendous What Remains?

Pander Bear

I was and am still no fan of Bill Clinton. Or any of the major Democratic Party leaders of the last fifteen to twenty years, really. But I’m hard-pressed to think of any moment where Clinton pandered to his political … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 9 Comments