More Noted Things

At AHA Today, Robert Townsend looks at current AHA membership. He finds that the largest numbers of members are employed at universities and colleges, that its members' largest areas of interest are 1) Europe and 2) North America, and that, since 1992, percentages of members' specialties have declined in social and intellectual history, while religious history has reached parity with cultural history.

Michael Dirda reviews James McConnachie's The Book of Love: The Story of the Kamasutra for the Washington Post, 1 June.

Yale's distinguished historian of China, Jonathan Spence, will give the BBC's Reith Lectures, 2008. His subject: Chinese Vistas. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.

Charlotte Allen's"A Dark Age for Medievalists," Weekly Standard, 2 June, takes her shots at the International Congress on Medieval Studies (K'zoo, as it's affectionately known among medievalists). Richard Nokes at Unlocked Wordhoard and Another Damned Medievalist at Blogenspiel give Allen pieces of their minds.

Prompted by Rob MacDougall's"concept courses" that he'd like to teach, at Positive Liberty, Jason Kuznicki offers a reading list for one of his own: Collectivism and Science Fiction.

Tim Naftali and Sean Wilentz exchange notes about Wilentz's The Age of Reagan at Slate, 2 June.

Todd S. Purdum,"The Comeback Id," Vanity Fair, July, is an unflattering portrait of former President Bill Clinton.