Historians Explain Murder? November 3, 2009
Posted by jdresner in current events, doing history, historiography, not homework.add a comment
How have historians dealt with questions of crime and punishment? Jill Lepore looks at new books on murder, with a special emphasis on explaining why the US looks different than economically and politically similar societies.
Food History: requires testing! October 18, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, historiography, not homework.add a comment
Chris Bray passes on word of two experiences with early American food: Gingerbread cookies from Colonial Williamsburg and a pound cake taste test, pitting a modern recipe against a two-century old version which required an hour of hand-beating. See if you can figure out how “Pound Cake” got its name…
In other news, historical sea logs help climatologists.
Extra Credit Opportunity: Meeting David Wilson September 15, 2009
Posted by jdresner in extra credit (F09), historiography, not homework.add a comment
Don’t miss Meeting David Wilson on Monday, September 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm in the Crimson & Gold Ballroom, Overman Student Center. This presentation is FREE, and no ticket will be required.
David A. Wilson, as a 28 year-old African-American journalist, traveled deep into his family’s past to find the answers to America’s racial divide. His journey resulted in the feature length documentary “Meeting David Wilson”, which he wrote and co-directed. In researching his family’s ancestry, David learned of a plantation in North Carolina where his family was once enslaved, and subsequently discovered that the plantation is owned today by a 62-year-old white man—also named David Wilson—who is a direct descendant of his family’s slave Master. This discovery leads to a momentous encounter between these two men who share the same name, but whose ancestors were on the opposite sides of freedom. Later, through DNA testing, David is able to trace his African roots back to Ghana, West Africa, where he travels to visit the place where it all began.
On April 11, 2008, MSNBC premiered the documentary “Meeting David Wilson” which was hosted by Tiki Barber. The film aired nationally as part of a groundbreaking television event, which also included a live town-hall conversation on race moderated by Brian Williams of NBC’s Nightly News from the campus of Howard University.
In his interactive, multimedia lecture, David shows pivotal moments from the film, including his conversations with the white David Wilson, and initiates a discussion with audiences about the state of race relations today, how we got here— both literally and figuratively—and where we’re headed. While much of his presentation focuses on the racial dilemmas of today, David shows how the country’s history played a role in creating the problem, and more importantly, how it is in the interest of America’s future that we all play a part in the solution.
For more information, contact the Campus Activities Center at 4795 or visit David’s site at http://www.meetingdavidwilson.com/
Meeting David Wilson is being presented by the Performing Arts & Lecture Series (PALS) and the PSU Leadership Institute.
History of Print and Blogging in the Arab World May 7, 2009
Posted by jdresner in current events, doing history, hist 102 (Spring 2009), historiography.add a comment
I will be taking a moment in class Friday to reflect on this article by Brian Ulrich, describing the history of print and other media up to the present in the Ottoman Empire and its offshoots.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights assignment: A thought May 4, 2009
Posted by jdresner in hist 102 (Spring 2009), historiography, homework.add a comment
How can you argue that a document which is explicitly trying to change the world has “no bias”?
Industrial Revolution History April 16, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, historiography, not homework.add a comment
I know we’re done with it, technically, but if you want a quick review of the technology, there’s a nice book review in the Wall Street Journal of a history of industrial revolution innovation. It’s a good model, actually, of how a book review is done: informative, critical, and ends up giving you a great sense of whether the book would be worth your time.
New Book on Revolutionary and post-Revolutionary France March 7, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, hist 102 (Spring 2009), historiography, not homework.add a comment
Just in time for something to think about while you’re writing about the Revolution and studying for your test: a review of a new book on a woman who saw the Revolution and Napoleonic age from awfully close-up. The biography includes her connections to the English Enlightenment, American Founding Fathers, the political turmoil of the Revolution, Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic years. Fascinating stuff.
Extra Credit Op.: PSU Jazz March 3, 2009
Posted by jdresner in Uncategorized, doing history, historiography, religion, study terms.add a comment
The 35th Annual PSU Jazz Festival happens Friday March 6th at 7:30 PM in Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine. Besides hearing the PSU Jazz 1 and our own Todd Hastings (trumpet) you also can hear a great saxophonist, Eric Marienthal.Eric is a former member of the Grammy Award winning Chick Corea’s Elektric band and the Rippingtons. Currently he is first call L.A. and can be heard on numerous sound tracks as well as with the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band.Eric records with Peak records and has produced some 11 albums. His sounds have topped the Contemporary Jazz Charts on several occasions.Tickets for the event are available at the PSU Ticket Office or at the door. The cost is $12.00 adults and $10.00 for those 65 and over or 12 and under.During the day groups will be performing in McCray, the Student Center, and Memorial Auditorium. These highs school, middle school and community college groups are being judged on their performances. The daytime events are free so step out of your office and catch some great jazz.
Long Essay Assignment: History of a Place November 6, 2008
Posted by jdresner in doing history, hist 102 (Fall 2008), historiography, homework.add a comment
The detailed assignment for the Long Essay is now available. It is a deceptively simple-looking assignment, but what I’m really asking you to do is think carefully about how the region you pick has been affected by, and played a role in, world history over the last five hundred years. But many people, over the years, have underestimated what I was looking for, and just given me an encyclopedia-style chronological, and boring, century-by-century, dynasty-by-dynasty description. That’s not the point. It’s an interesting project, and I often learn a great deal from reading student essays about places I’ve not studied in depth.
Machiavelli’s The Prince reviewed September 10, 2008
Posted by jdresner in Renaissance, historiography, not homework.add a comment
The Wall Street Journal has a nice review of the old classic, including some good background history. Turns out I was wrong about his career. Not sure where I got the wrong information, but just goes to show that you can’t believe everything I say….
For even more detail, the New Yorker review of a biography of the man has pages and pages. Oddly, neither explicitly takes the position that I do: that Machiavelli is a classic Renaissance Man; His second career as a dramatist and historian pretty much seals that judgement.
