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Cliopatria

  • Jan 11, 2005

    Two Sentences from Rashid Khalidi

    by Cliopatria

    Most advocates of intellectual diversity (myself included) support the concept because we believe that a pattern of ideological bias in hiring has adversely affected the quality of college curricula. Making the link between hard evidence suggesting bias, however, and precisely what or how students are taught isn’t easy.

    The easiest to obtain, and most concrete, evidence is professors’ voter registration patterns. But no direct link exists between such figures and what goes on in the classroo

  • Jan 11, 2005

    More from Columbia

    by Cliopatria

    The latest on Columbia’s MEALAC controversy:

    First, a long article in New York that offers a persuasive interpretation of events. The most important points put forth by New York reporter Jennifer Senior:

    --1.) As occurred in the Jerusalem Post story, the public comments of Columbia president Lee Bollinger suggest that he understands the basics of the problem—a sharp contrast w

  • Jan 11, 2005

    Pointless Little Countries

    by Cliopatria

    I actually enjoyed this year’s American Historical Association meeting. Normally the sight of pained and anxious job candidates produces a flash of remembered trauma, but this time I just managed to have fun seeing friends and colleagues, including some of my fellow Cliopatria bloggers. On the plane ride home, in an aircraft stuffed to the gills with historians, I did happen to overhear the conversation of three historians in the aisle next to me. At least two of them were Americanists; I’m n
  • Jan 11, 2005

    Two Distractions and More Awards ...

    by Cliopatria

    If you had something more important to do, like finishing your syllabi, doing that book review, or working on the book, you'd be doing that instead of reading blogs. Right? Well, maybe not. But since you are reading blogs, here are two distractions that Elfin Ethicist and Rebunk recommend:
    1) The Historic Tale Co
  • Jan 10, 2005

    God, the Tsunami, and the Open Boat

    by Cliopatria

    The Tsunami has caused some people to ask God “why?” Of course, Green Bay Packer fans are asking the same question today. A tacky juxtaposition? Darn right it is, but it is one that is a constant in Christianity and probably in all religion.

    Prayers rise up to heaven like incense. They rise up from the just and the unjust alike. They rise up from quarterbacks when they throw the big pass, from children during exams, from the
  • Jan 10, 2005

    Settling Back In (With Drunk Germans)

    by Cliopatria

    The Rebunkers, dispersed far and wide these last few weeks, are back at our respective posts. Look forward to new and exciting happenings this new year including the Rebunk recruitment drive. that's right -- we are going to be looking for one or more new additions. details to come.

    In the meantime, this game will probably keep you occupied for hours. I am warning you now -- many of you will hate me for this. Your job is to get the teete

  • Jan 10, 2005

    Civil War Maps

    by Cliopatria

    For geography buffs or military historians, the Library of Congress has just made available over 2000 Civil War maps, from its American Memory site.
  • Jan 10, 2005

    Banned in Mississippi

    by Cliopatria

    Libraries in Jackson and George counties in Mississippi have banned Jon Stewart's America--The Book, on the grounds of indecency. I'm sure this decision won't do anything to hurt Stewart's sales.
  • Jan 10, 2005

    AHA Diversions ...

    by Cliopatria

    I just got into Atlanta on the red-eye from Seattle. If I had any sense, I'd be in bed trying to recover, but I just realized that someone may have scheduled the AHA convention to divert historians' attention from the competition for the Koufax Awards. Let the votes of historians for historians be counted! And let no chads be left behind! May I offer some recommendations?
    Best Group Blog*
  • Jan 10, 2005

    AHA Day Four: Start Early, End Strong

    by Cliopatria

    I don't teach classes before 9am: I just don't function at that level that early. I haven't taken a class that started before 9am since I was a first year college student. Conferences are high-energy affairs, requiring concentration in the sessions (yes, lecture has its flaws as a teaching method), constant movement in the book exhibits (and, in Seattle, shuttling back and forth between the main sites), and high-intensity social relations (old friends, new connections, mentors and mentees, in

  • Jan 9, 2005

    The History Carnival is opening for business

    by Cliopatria

    OK, everyone, here goes.

    The first issue of the History Carnival will be posted at Early Modern Notes sometime on or around Friday 14 January. Submissions will be taken right up till Friday, which gives you time to decide on your favourite history posts to submit (and to write the ones you've been meaning to get around to, for that matter...).

    Firstly,
  • Jan 9, 2005

    Cliopatriarchs at the AHA

    by Cliopatria

    From left to right: Greg Robinson, Ralph Luker, Tim Burke, Jonathan Dresner. Picture by Rick Shenkman.

  • Jan 9, 2005

    AHA Day Three: Oligarchs and Patriarchs

    by Cliopatria

    "There are not enough jails, not enough policemen, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people." -- Hubert H. Humphrey
    At lunch today I attributed that to Herbert Hoover.... I had the great pleasure of lunching with some of my favorite people whom I've never met. Well, technically, I met Ralph yesterday, but it's still a new experience, and great fun. Tim Burke is as smart in person as he is in cyberspace: it's hard to keep up, but fun to try.
  • Jan 9, 2005

    Here and There, In Absentia

    by Cliopatria

    Yesterday was the funeral for Congressman Robert Matsui (D-California), who died suddenly of a blood illness last week. The LA Times, quite correctly, remembered him as having"epitomized an ideal of public service that has largely vanished in a partisan Congress." In a Congress becoming less and less known for
  • Jan 8, 2005

    Remembering Wilson

    by Cliopatria

    Eighty-six years ago today was arguably the single most important speech in the history of American foreign policy: Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points Address. The basic principles it enunciated--self-determination, open diplomacy, freedom of the seas, free trade, disarmament--have remained the central tenets of American liberals and foreign policy ever since. And, as
  • Jan 8, 2005

    AHA Day Two: Medieval, Early Modern, Very Modern

    by Cliopatria

    What can I say, everything I did today had a premodern feel about it. Except for the futuristic stuff....

    The Conference on Asian History luncheon speaker was Mary Elizabeth Berry, who gave us a preview of her soon-to-be published book on 17th century Japanese knowledge: production, organization and consumption of public information and public sphere, and the implications of this Early Modernity for thinking about Modernity. She started out with maps, and went on, appprently, to en