Class Divisions In Information Gathering Among Historians Acting As Public Intellectuals

I've noticed that some professional historians who write regularly as public intellectuals cite subscription print sources (i.e. CHE, New Yorker, The Atlantic) more often than non-subscription online sources. I can't back this up with specific historians, writings, or weblog posts right now, but it's a sense that's been building in me over the past two years. I suppose it might also just be the

USIH Crosspost: The Transnational Turn

I just posted a piece on "The Transnational Turn" and its consequences for U.S. intellectual history at the USIH weblog. I think this post, however, has implications for other subfields. - TL

Quotes From History

I know the campaign season is over, but the following resonated with me sometime around mid-October:"I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization." - Justice Oliver Wendell HolmesApparently this derives from a conversation between Holmes and a younger secretary. The quote is from Felix Frankfurter, Mr. Justice Holmes and the Supreme Court, 2nd Ed. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961)

Is College Worth It?---Part II

Over a week ago I posted Part I of this series. This might be the final part---but I'm going to leave the series open-ended.This week's installment comes courtesy of the now infamous Charles Murray. I've posted on another Murray article here before. Let's put it this way: I'm not a fan. He co-authored The Bell Curve with Richard Herrnstein, published in 1996. That book argued, in essence, that

Those Kids In Idaho: Red Counties, Bus Drivers, Bloggers, And Local Paideias

Have you seen or heard about this? Absolutely horrifying.Is this an Idaho public school problem or, in Lawrence Cremin's terms, an eastern Idaho "paideia" problem? What are they teaching those kids in Rexburg, Idaho? Or, who are they allowing to be bus drivers in that community? The article notes that Rexburg is in Madison County, and that county voted at an 85 percent clip for McCain. It has

The Top 10 Things I Hate To See In (History) Papers---As Of Today

[Note: I just finished a stack of tough grading. It was a medium-length, critical paper assignment combining the analysis of readings and film viewings. There were some very good papers in the pile, but a few random and systematic errors nevertheless stood out.]1. The word "nowadays." Yuck.2. Yet another reference to 9/11/2001. I thought this would stop after a few years, say in 2004-05, but

Blogroll Additions

1. Knitting Clio---This is Central Connecticut State University Professor Heather M. Prescott's outlet for reflections related to history and beyond. She recently commented on my Zotero post, but doesn't realize (yet) that we share an interest in the history of medicine. I'm going to track her weblog, and other works, to help me understand that historical specialty for my day job at UIC.2. Out on

Election Coverage And Chicago History

This Time magazine piece by Amy Sullivan does a nice job of mixing the past with the present in terms of Chicago's political history. Sullivan makes some intriguing and telling observations:1. [Rahm] Emanuel, a Chicago native, is a typically colorful figure, known for once mailing a rotting fish to a political opponent and for a post-election dinner in 1992 at which he repeatedly stabbed a

Zotero: Should I Take The Plunge?

I'm thinking hard about diving into Zotero. This could mean big changes for me. First, I'm a fan of Internet Explorer. Second, when I do things like this, I go full in: I'm committed. Third, I have no prior experience with EndNote or related citation software. So here are some questions for my predecessors in this endeavor:1. What are my alternatives?2. What problems have you encountered

Is College Worth It?---Part I

I'm a sucker for stories like this. Authored by Megan Twohey for the Chicago Tribune, with contributions by Jo Napolitano and published in mid-October, the title says it all: "Is college worth it?" Allow me to review and comment.------------------------------Kelly Stevens is suffering from buyer's remorse. The 29-year-old from Fargo, N.D., took out more than $60,000 in loans to pay for a

Posts Are Coming

My day job has settled enough that I can foresee more consistent posting. I've had to adjust to a different schedule for reading, writing, and thinking, and that adjustment has affected my ability to be regular here more than I imagined. But things are looking up. Oh, and that election was no small distraction either. For better or for worse, it's nice to have that out of the way. - TL

The Confusion Of "Federalism"

Kevin Levin, at his fantastic weblog Civil War Memory, posted a reflection on Thomas DiLorenzo's new book on Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution--and What It Means for Americans Today. I agree with Levin's analysis of the book but added the following in comments to Kevin's post (slight revised for H&E):------------------------------My