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Cliopatria

  • Jan 2, 2006

    Rome vs. Oyo

    by Cliopatria

    [crossposted at Easily Distracted]

    I'm really enjoying HBO's series Rome. I gather BBC viewers have had a less detailed, more sex-focused version of the series to watch, which is a pity for them. What I'm enjoying in particular about the show is the meticulousness of its attention to Roman material culture combined, far more unusually, with some thoughtful attempts to capture the mentalite of Roman society, particularly through the v
  • Jan 1, 2006

    Don't Make me Get the Flying Monkeys!

    by Cliopatria

    A former student of mine in now seeking a Masters in Library Science, and has also started a blog. In one of her first posts, she compares Graduate School to the Wicked Witch of the West..."Always ready to send in the evil monkeys after me."

    Unfortunately, I must point out to Dawn that if one must utilize a Grad School/Wizard of Oz metaphor, then it's probably the Graduate Students who are the Flying Monkeys.

  • Jan 1, 2006

    Eric Arnesen: Review of John Hope Franklin's Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin

    by Cliopatria

    [A professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Eric Arnesen is currently Fulbright chair in American studies at Uppsala University in Sw.]

    For more than six decades, John Hope Franklin has placed his firm and decisive imprint on the history of the American South, African-Americans and race in the U.S. The mentor of several generations of undergraduates and graduate students, he delivered countless lectures in prominent forums around th
  • Dec 31, 2005

    Just how auld is Auld Lang Syne?

    by Cliopatria

    Auld Lang Syne boasts the questionable distinction of being the song that everybody tries to sing, but nobody knows properly. Almost anyone can manage "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, / And never brought to mind?'', but New Year revellers habitually throw in something about "the days of auld lang syne'', which doesn't exist in the "official'' version attributed to Robert Burns.

    As for the more arcane passages, such as "We twa hae paidl'd in the burn, / Frae m
  • Dec 31, 2005

    How do African-Americans traditionally ring in the New Year?

    by Cliopatria

    ... [A]t many African-American churches here and across the country, the celebrations [ringing in the New Year] are ... known as Watch Night services, when members gather to ring in the new year and, historically, to celebrate their freedom from slavery.

    While Watch Night is primarily an African-American observance, emancipation is a universal theme that permeates New Year's Eve celebrations, whether at places of worship or private parties, said Love Henry Whelchel Jr., professor of
  • Dec 31, 2005

    "i don't like the sound of those drums"

    by Cliopatria

    ``Welcome to Injun Country'' was the refrain I heard from troops from Colombia to the Philippines, including Afghanistan and Iraq.... The War on Terrorism was really about taming the frontier.
    So Robert Kaplan says in his Imperial Grunts. But one whopping historical analogy is not enough: not only is the War on Terror like the Indian Wars, both of them, Kaplan has it, resemble the work of the British Raj in the nineteenth century.

    In the current

  • Dec 29, 2005

    IHE on MLA

    by Cliopatria

    Today's IHE has a depressing story on the current MLA convention, as presenters blame everyone but themselves for the diminishing public financial support for the academy. The chief villain? The" corporate" university--a concept that critics denounce with vehemence but never quite seem to define.

    Anyhow, Ohio State professor Francis Donoghue contends that the" corporate" nature of colleges explains why people “no longer trust coll

  • Dec 29, 2005

    Ten Worst ...

    by Cliopatria

    Yesterday, the BBC's History Magazine and the Independent published a list of the"10 Worst Britons" of the last 1000 years. It was drawn up by a group of historians and governed by the need to include one per century. For the most part, the choices seemed reasonable, though I'd certainly argue with the inclusion of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the 12th century.

    The meme got picked u

  • Dec 26, 2005

    What are the origins of Boxing Day?

    by Cliopatria


    Boxing Day is here.

    But don't put up your dukes.

    Today has nothing to do with pugilism -- although people have fought for years about its origin.

    The holiday emerged in England during the Middle Ages, many argue, from the tradition of gift boxes for the poor.

    "It's just a way to relax after Christmas," said Peter Cutts, a British citizen who will celebrate Boxing Day in London with his wife and two children.

    Cutt