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Cliopatria

  • Apr 20, 2005

    Some Watches ...

    by Cliopatria

    Adams Watch: The Raleigh News & Observer has a good profile of UNC, Wilmington's conservative gadfly, Mike Adams. I often disagree with him, but I like his attitude.
    Surprisingly, at least to those who think all conservatives have a bugaboo about liberal bias on campus, Adams doesn't care about political leanings."People say, 'We need to fight against bias,'" he says."Well, everybody's biased. I
  • Apr 19, 2005

    Karsh 1, Cole 0; Kurtz 1, Coulter 0

    by Cliopatria

    Efraim Karsh, head of the Mediterranean Studies Program at King's College, University of London, gives Juan Cole and his blog a beat-down at The New Republic. Cole may not be an anti-Semite, but he sure hates Israel, which to my mind makes for a distinction without a difference.

    Howard Kurtz does the same to Ann Coulter in

  • Apr 19, 2005

    Leftists and Serious History

    by Cliopatria

    The aftermath of the MEALAC investigating committee report—which sharply criticized the activities pro-Israel “outside” organizations while avoiding comment on the outside organizations, such as the NYCLU, the Nation, or the AAUP, that supported the MEALAC faculty—has brought renewed attention to the question of intellectual diversity at Columbia generally.

    The investigatory committee included one member of the History Department, Mark Mazower, who had issued strongly critical public

  • Apr 18, 2005

    Hotel Rwanda

    by Cliopatria

    I finally was able to see Hotel Rwanda over the weekend. While it played briefly here in my little slice of West Texas, it had some rather odd hours – mid-afternoon on weekdays and such. I bought the DVD on Tuesday and finally sat down with it. I was impressed.

    The movie received solid reviews – lots of B+ or 7 out of 10, or two thumbs up (but perhaps not way up) or 3.5 stars out of 5. In other words, almost universally critics thought it was good, maybe even great, but perhaps not in tha

  • Apr 18, 2005

    So Who's the Radical?

    by Cliopatria

    Headline over Bob Herbert's column (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/opinion/18herbert.html?) in the NYT today:

    A RADICAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE

    Naturally, I figured Herbert was bashing Bush today. But it turned out he was writing in praise of FDR, whom he describes as a radical.

    I am not sure that radical is the right word for FDR. Most often he was quite modest in his approach. He ne
  • Apr 17, 2005

    Pedagogy, Scoundrels, and Reflections on MEALAC

    by Cliopatria

    Charles Jacobs, head of the David Project, reflected a few days ago on the controversy surrounding Columbia’s Middle Eastern Studies Department. (The David Project funded the student film that brought the issue to public light.) Joining virtually the entire New York media—ranging ideologically from the
  • Apr 17, 2005

    Gaddis on Kennan

    by Cliopatria

    Among the most anticipated books for the dwindling number of us who remain in diplomatic history is John Lewis Gaddis' biography of George Kennan. Gaddis was granted more or less complete access to Kennan's papers, as well as numerous interviews with Kennan, with the proviso that the book would not appear until after Kennan's death.

    A glimpse, perhaps, of some of the arguments the volume might contain comes in this week's

  • Apr 17, 2005

    The Sound of Shuffling Feet ...

    by Cliopatria

    I read the blogs of my colleagues at Cliopatria and of others on the net pretty regularly – my wife would tell you, too regularly. It's become a part of how I continue to learn and grow. But, occasionally, I come across a post that just stops me dead in my tracks and makes me think:"I can't believe you went there." Rarely, it's because of the stupidity of it. More often, fortunately – because otherwise I wouldn't do this -- it's because of the intelligence and thoughtfulness of it.
  • Apr 16, 2005

    Abolitionists and Blogging, Nineteenth Century Style

    by Cliopatria

    The historian from whom I received my graduate training in early American history was Merton Dillon, now a professor emeritus at The Ohio State University. Merton has written a number of books on the antislavery movement, among them Slavery Attacked: Southern Slaves and their Allies, 1619-1865 (Baton Rouge, 1990), one of the standard works in the field.

    A couple of months ago, when I first really became aware of blogging, something about the medium niggled at the back of my
  • Apr 16, 2005

    History Carnival #6: Conference Program

    by Cliopatria

    The History Carnival is a floating twice-monthly roundup of the best discussions of history in the blogosphere (that we can find, either by nomination or incessant surfing). Like many blog roundups -- Tangled Bank, Skeptics Circle, Philosopher's Carnival -- it sometimes takes fanciful forms, as the rotating, volunteer hosts have a free hand in organizing and presenting the information. If you have written or know of a post you thi
  • Apr 15, 2005

    Tom Friedman's Terror Prediction

    by Cliopatria

    In the NYT the other day Tom Friedman worried out loud that the terrorists who hate us are going to want to strike us at home now that we appear to be winning in Iraq. Unable to beat us in Iraq, they will be inclined to inflict a humiliating punishment on us to cover their own defeat.

    Maybe he's right. Maybe not. It's as plausible a theory as any I've heard. But of course we don't really know what the terrorists are thinking, do we?

    Trying to guess what they are th
  • Apr 15, 2005

    A Contrarian Take on the Old Ballgame

    by Cliopatria

    I want to address two baseball issues quickly:

    I know the rest of the world is growing tired of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Hey – we’re sorry you root for uninteresting teams. Stop complaining. The Red Sox and Yankees have enhanced your life and you know it, you bitter, jealous titmouse. But the latest episode in the ongoing saga needs a bit of perspective, and as we all know, when it comes to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, I’m the guy for that.

    I really do not think I am being a Red