Category Archives: Production of History

When In Truth Did We Win Anything?

Progress is dead. In the same sense that Nietzsche spoke of the death of God, only to be habitually misunderstood by the same kinds of people that misunderstand Einstein saying that God does not play dice with the universe. The … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Production of History | 10 Comments

On Confederate Counterfactuals

For some years, I’ve taught a course on counterfactual history. Unlike many scholarly historians, I find counterfactual history useful for a variety of reasons. For one, I accept the argument that a number of its proponents have made that all … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 25 Comments

Enrollment Management: The Stoic’s Version

I have had a few interesting conversations with colleagues online about recent news of falling enrollments in college history courses nationwide, conversations which broadly echo similar discussions among faculty in other disciplines about the same phenomenon in their classes. Speaking … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Defining "Liberal Arts", Production of History | 6 Comments

“Dates Back Millennia”

You know, I have less of an unqualified hatred for the “dates back millennia” line than I used to. I’m thinking this as I see my feed fill up with friends and colleagues complaining about Obama’s use of it in … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Politics, Production of History | Comments Off on “Dates Back Millennia”

All Saints Day

Commenting on the debate over Halloween costumes seems freshly risky this week, but the subject has been on my mind since I read this New York Times article on the subject on October 30. My first thought would be that … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Popular Culture, Production of History, Swarthmore | 17 Comments

Yes, We Have “No Irish Need Apply”

Just came across news of the publication of Rebecca Fried’s excellent article “No Irish Need Deny: Evidence for the Historicity of NINA Restrictions in Advertisements and Signs”, Journal of Social History, 10:1093, 2015, from @seth_denbo on Twitter. First, the background … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Oath for Experts, Production of History | 14 Comments

The Listicle as Course Design

I’ve been convinced for a while that one of the best defenses of small classes and face-to-face pedagogy within a liberal arts education would be to make the process of that kind of teaching and coursework more visible to anyone … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Defining "Liberal Arts", Digital Humanities, Production of History, Swarthmore | 3 Comments

On The Invisible Bridge

I’ve been following some of the discussion about Rick Perlstein’s new book on the 1970s. I agree with many scholars that the basic problem with online endnotes is the persistent danger of the main text and the sourcing becoming disconnected … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Production of History | Comments Off on On The Invisible Bridge

Historians Don’t Have to Live in the Past

In what way is the American Historical Association’s notion of a six-year embargo on digital open-access distribution of dissertations even remotely sustainable in the current publishing and media environment surrounding academia? On one side, you have disciplinary associations like the … Continue reading

Posted in Digital Humanities, Information Technology and Information Literacy, Intellectual Property, Production of History | 19 Comments

There Are More Things on Heaven and Earth Than Dreamt of in Your Critique

Just back from some research work that took up my energy for writing and thinking, I spent some time catching up on blogs and social media. I followed one link out from a Facebook friend to Paul Mullins’ excellent Archaeology … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Blogging, Popular Culture, Production of History | 8 Comments