The last reparations payment from Germany to the victor nations of WWI — yes, that’s World War One — has finally been made. It would be nice to say, as the article does, that WWI is “finally over” but really, the implications of that war are still with us, in many ways.
Category Archives: current events
New History: New England’s Slavery
A classic example of historical revision in process: the discovery of a slave graveyard in NY leads to an onslaught of scholarship and archaelogy about the slave trade and slavery in New England.
Eli Whitney’s Great-Grandson
I didn’t realize until this morning that Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, had not only revolutionized the cotton industry, but stayed in it. In fact, the family business, cotton middlemen, is going to close shortly, under the direction of Eli Whitney’s great-grandson. There’s a corporate history here that needs to be written.
Extra Credit Opportunity: Constitution Day Lecture
The Department of Social Sciences presents a Constitution Day Lecture on Friday, September 17, at 10:00 A.M. in Russ Hall 301. The lecture is titled “Contemporary Debates in a Constitutional Context” and will be delivered by Dr. Paul Zagorski and Dr. Darren Botello-Samson. The lecture will focus one the constitutional arguments central to current political issues, including gun control, same-sex marriage, and religious freedom, and will be open to the public.
History Carnival #89 (2010 July)
Welcome to my World History blog, which I primarily use as a teaching platform. And welcome to the 89th History Carnival! Before I start, I have to thank those who nominated posts — Jeremy Young, Penny Richards, Sharon Howard, Brett Holman and Ffion Harris. I’ll highlight their fascinating nominations first, plus a few bonus tracks, and then I want to take a jaunt through about two dozen categories of the Cliopatria History Blogroll and pick out of each one a blog starting with ‘j’ or ‘d’ (Yes, they’re my initials: I had to pick some filter) which has an interesting June post to share. I hope this might inspire you to broaden your reading, and, more importantly, to nominate more posts next month!
NOMINATED POSTS
North Korea in pictures
Here’s a Foreign Policy photoessay from 2009 (registration required) by a photographer whose speciality is still-Communist societies after the fall of the Soviet Union and most other Communist states. Here’s his latest, on an unabashedly Maoist town in China.
A meditation on the rise of the internet
The intellectual culture journal “n+1” has a thoughtful and long discussion of the cultural implications of the rise of the internet. [via] They argue that the internet is a transformative technology, altering the directionality and economics of information and culture. They cite the “post-60s” culture of participation, but don’t mention the cassette tape and photocopier. Can’t get everything right, I guess.
Cold War Records
East Germany’s secret service, the Stasi, tried to destroy their records when the Communist regime collapsed. German researchers are still putting them together, now with digital assistance.
Historical Perspective on “The Hurt Locker”
Historian James Livingston has an interesting discussion at HNN of the Will James character in the Oscar-winning movie “The Hurt Locker” and his historical namesake, philosopher William James. In the process he discusses pragmatism 20th century war, industrialization and changing ideas about masculinity. Very interesting stuff. I haven’t seen the movie, so I have no idea whether he’s being reasonable on that score, but the historical material is great.
Edwin Black v. Wikipedia
Why isn’t wikipedia respected by academics? This sort of thing doesn’t help.