New WWI Photographs Discovered, Restored November 4, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, military, not homework.add a comment
Hundreds of glass-plate pictures of British WWI soldiers have been discovered in France and published. The full collection can be seen here, perhaps the first time I’ve ever seen a LiveJournal account used for historical sources!
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.
Technology and Culture October 30, 2009
Posted by jdresner in art, not homework.add a comment
Music historian Elijah Wald describes the relationship between technology, music and social interaction over the 20th century. It’s all the Beatles’ fault, apparently.
A few announcements October 21, 2009
Posted by jdresner in administrative, doing history, hist 102 (Fall 2009), homework, not homework.add a comment
Reminder: No class for either section on Friday the 23rd, due to the Presidential inauguration. Students are encouraged to attend — and see your instructors in academic regalia! — at the front of Russ Hall (or in Weede, if the weather is poor) at 2.
While I didn’t require resubmission of thesis statements that missed the mark this time, I’m adding an element to the next book review assignment, the discussion of the argument and evidence of the book: you must include a clearly marked, one sentence statement indicating what you think the thesis of the work is. This is quite important for the argument and evidence discussion: if you don’t know what the author is trying to prove, you can’t evaluate the effectiveness of the argument they make or the quality of the evidence they present.
As you try to summarize and discuss your chosen books, be careful of how you use the book and any related sources you may find. Obviously, using the actual words of a source — textbook, internet or otherwise — without quotation marks or other acknowledgement is clearly and blatantly plagiarism. Weak paraphrasing can constitute plagiarism: if you don’t thoroughly alter the language of your source, it is a form of intellectual theft. Even something fully paraphrased in your own words can be considered plagiarism if you don’t acknowledge your source(s) — this is what footnotes, endnotes and parenthetical citations with works cited pages are for. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty, theft of intellectual property, and a violation of University policy, and will not be tolerated in this course.
Finally, a little 19th century union history — the struggle between wage-earning workers and capitalist owners — in early baseball.
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.
Quick survey of the evolving uses of the term “socialism” October 15, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, hist 102 (Fall 2009), not homework, resources.add a comment
At HNN, Walter Moss has a nice survey of some of the fuzzy language used by and about socialists, socialism, progressivism, etc.
History Club Meeting October 7, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, not homework.add a comment
Not for extra credit — though the History Club events usually qualify — but a good group:
Greetings from the History Club here at PSU!
If you are a history major, minor, or are simply a student who is interested in learning more about history and participating in fun activities to that end, please come to our club meeting on Oct. 21st at 3pm in the History computer lab (306J Russ Hall).
We would love to see you all there! Please feel free to come and enjoy free food and drinks, as well as getting to know some of us in the club. We will be talking about upcoming events, as well as those that we would like to plan for the future.
See you on the 21st!
Also, I just got a flyer for the Pitt State Women’s Studies Club — all students welcome! — meeting Monday, October 12, 4:30pm in Grubbs 422. Again, not an extra credit opportunity in itself, but for interested folks.
Miscellaneous announcements: Guest Lectures, Test, Fun September 22, 2009
Posted by jdresner in Napoleon, Schedule Change, administrative, extra credit (F09), grading, hist 102 (Spring 2009), homework, military, not homework, resources.1 comment so far
We’ll have two guest lectures from PSU Grad student, military historian and WWII reenactor Dustin Strong: “Napoleon and his Wars” on October 9 and “WWII” on November 16. Mr. Strong’s lectures, like my own, are required, and I will expect to see his presentation reflected in your test answers and essays where appropriate. Mr. Strong has also announced two WWII reenactments open to the public as extra credit opportunities: Sept. 26-27 at Bristow Jones Memorial Airport (Bristow, OK) and Nov. 7 at Forest Park (Ottawa, KS). For the extra credit, include in your summary/reaction paper a description of the battle, and those of you doing WWII topics for your book review are strongly encouraged to talk to members of one of the units, as they are usually very well-informed on the equipment and history of the units they portray.
My apologies to the 2pm section for missing Monday: I have put the lecture outline online, so that anyone who missed class due to the weather or illness can review it. Those of you were there for the 11am class are welcome to look at it as well, obviously.
Regarding the Test on Monday, covering chapters 15 through 20, inclusive, and the lectures, the format will be very much like the pop quizzes: I will choose four or five (or six) terms from each chapter — the terms in the “Key Terms” lists, of course — to put on the test. From those, you will pick twelve (12) to answer: at least one from each of the six chapters, and the rest from any of the remaining terms. I will supply the test and paper; you bring something to write with and everything you can remember about the last month’s readings and lectures.
Finally, for fun, here’s pre-Revolutionary satires on French aristocratic hairstyles, including a recreation of the Battle of Bunker Hill [mildly adult content]. The one that made me laugh was the one with the hairdresser using a nautical navigational tool — the sextant — to arrange the hairstyle.
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.
Food History September 12, 2009
Posted by jdresner in hist 102 (Fall 2009), not homework, resources.add a comment
From China Beat comes word of a neat series at Yale Global Online
A series of pieces on the global history of trade goods like chilis, tea, tomatoes, coffee, potatoes, and tobacco
