June 1, 2017
There are two remarkable volumes in the manuscripts collection at the British Library. The topic covered is the trade and commerce Great Britain exacted in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. A British Consul named Alexander Drummond worked for the Levant Company in the ancient city of Aleppo. From 1747 up until February of 1756, Drummond transcribed and saved those copies of outgoing mail, both official and (more…)
May 21, 2017
I’ve just over a week until I leave California and return to the archives in London. The four chapters I wrote for my dissertation are simply not enough to produce a serious book: a few chapters too short! There remain four unanswered questions which are: (more…)
May 2, 2017
Assigning reading is easy, getting students to actually read the assigned work – well, that’s a bit of a bugger. Some of my colleagues create multiple-choice quizzes to ensure students glanced at the readings. But if I had assigned eight primary documents, I now have the unenviable task of crafting exam style queries for all of them: besides, a multiple-choice quiz on readings seems somehow punitive. I want students to think, not practice rote memorization.
A cure may be found in (more…)
April 24, 2017
Admiral John Byng lives an immortal life. Executed by his government for the crime of “not doing one’s utmost”, time and history have worked to mythologize events.
The latest in memory-making belongs to The Telegraph of London. The newspaper printed one of those ‘On this day’ articles: in this case, a commemoration outlining Byng’s execution by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch (14 March 1757).
Yet The Telegraph’s brief article contained many egregious errors, (more…)
April 23, 2017
Today, in Episode three a story entitled, “Homeland to Promise Land.” In this case, the homeland is Laos, a nation state in Indochina that borders Vietnam. Chenu Lo is a millennial – a student at Butte College in Northern California – home to a significant number of Hmong people… including Chenu Lo’s relatives. Chenu’s story begins in (more…)
March 25, 2017
Episode two was written and produced by Jacob Maphet. Jacob raises an interesting dilemma – an observation that I have witnessed and experienced, and perhaps some of you may have thought of this as well . . . Jacob sincerely asked how is that I have a heritage? (more…)
March 20, 2017
I came across a blog post written by Ted Lienhart entitled, “Characteristics of Historical Thinking.” Here, Lienhart listed fifteen of his favorite history-learned abilities (list provided below). As I read the list, I could not help but think that most, if not all, can be taught and assessed.
Take Lienhart’s first must of historical thinking: the ability to (more…)
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