The hedgehog and the fox; lumpers and splitters; generalists and specialists: these are not all quite the same distinction, but they share a strong family resemblance. For some people, the world -- or, to put it in temporal terms, the past -- is simple. Either it carries a handful of clear lessons, or it reveals … Continue reading A Can of Worms
Since I was young, I have been curious
"Why does every PhD applicant start their essay with 'since I was young, I have been curious'?" This question, asked on Twitter today, is an interesting one. As a fairly frequent reader of applications, I will confess to believing that some application essays are too personal. This is not to say that childhood interests or family … Continue reading Since I was young, I have been curious
Galileo Hates Your “Campus Free Speech” Arguments
"Four centuries after Galileo was silenced", a headline blares, "UK students are still curbing free speech." (At issue was a student union's no-platforming of Julie Bindel and Milo Yiannopoulos.) "Whether it’s Galileo’s heretical rejection of geocentrism, Darwin’s godless theory of creation or the bravery of dissidents resisting oppression all over the world," a Telegraph op-ed against … Continue reading Galileo Hates Your “Campus Free Speech” Arguments
Reverence and Engagement
My office is filled with books. It's not an especially capacious room, but there are five large bookcases in it, university issue, as well as two smaller ones I bought myself. Each shelf is fully stocked from end to end, and rows of books line the top of each shelf near the ceiling, as well … Continue reading Reverence and Engagement
On Mendacious and Shitty Academic Punditry
[I have meant to write a blog post about this almost since my last one went up, but Twitter threads keep coming out instead. What's below is an amplified version of one of them, so apologies in advance to Twitter followers of mine who tire of harangues. The title repurposes, not unfairly I hope, a … Continue reading On Mendacious and Shitty Academic Punditry
Student-Teachers and the Limits of Academic Freedom
The news that this has been a slightly more abysmal year than usual for academic jobs in history has provoked a lot of justified (if impotent) outrage online. An important part of this has centred on the "adjunctification" of the university -- the replacement of tenure-track positions with part-time, temporary gigs -- and with the … Continue reading Student-Teachers and the Limits of Academic Freedom
The Winter of Our Discomfort: Speech, Debate, and Learning on Campus
November approaches, and with it thoughts of #snowflakes. I was called one not too long ago, for arguing that a history magazine should not have published a letter promoting a debunked myth and defaming one of its debunkers. The use of editorial discretion in such a venue, I was told, would be "censorship". As I've … Continue reading The Winter of Our Discomfort: Speech, Debate, and Learning on Campus
Empathy for the Devil
The idea that "Tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner" has never convinced me. Explanation is not vindication; it's often the opposite. Historical analysis does not always or even usually result in more sympathetic characters. And scholars who draw on ever more extensive archives to revisit the deeds and thoughts of the great and dead are more … Continue reading Empathy for the Devil
History in the Toilet
My last two posts dealt with a troubling letter and article the appeared a peculiar sort of publication: a history magazine. Perched between the worlds of "pop history", an unwieldy category to which both much good work and a good deal of dreck belong, and the often duller and less accessible world of professional scholarship, such … Continue reading History in the Toilet
How to Change History: William Petty, Irish slavery, and a fake debate
Treating debunked pseudo-history and personal attacks as legitimate criticism of historical research is bad enough on the letters page of a widely-read history magazine. Publishing articles based on spurious sources is worse. In my last post, I discussed History Ireland's publication of Mike McCormack's letter attacking Liam Hogan for exposing the myth of Irish slavery. … Continue reading How to Change History: William Petty, Irish slavery, and a fake debate
