Funny Student Mistake

Ugh... I've been so busy this semester I haven't had time to blog at all. However, while grading papers I ran across this student mistake that made me chuckle so I had to share.

Here is the line: "Even after the truth is known, she is still used as the escape goat."

Historical Sports Movies

One of my colleagues teaches a class on movies and history. He has an entire list of genres - good war movie, bad war movie, biography, etc. The one category he leaves out, however, are movies based on real-life sporting events. I personally get a big kick out of historical sporting movies, but perhaps that is because I like sports.

I also do have a favorite historical sporting film - Hoosiers. I mean how much better can a film be? A small rural team overcomes tremendous odds to become state champions. It also helps that the film focuses on the best sport EVER invented - basketball. But in the interest of fairness, I provide the list below of other historically based sporting films.

Remember the Titans
Cool Runnings
Seabiscuit
Rudy
Miracle
Cinderella Man
Friday Night Lights
The Rookie
A League of their Own
Chariots of Fire
Eight Men Out
Hoosiers
Offside

Did I miss any? Anyone want to argue about the vast superiority of Hoosiers over these other films?

Rain in DC

So it is raining in DC today, no big deal except that this guy in the subway was selling umbrellas for $5. I was like $5?! That is cheap! You can't even get an umbrella at a Wal-mart for less than $7. Who is this guy's wholesaler?

The Buzz in DC

I'm in Washington, DC this week to do some research at the Library of Congress and to go to a conference. What is everyone talking about? On the subway? In the Library? Coming out of the House office building?

Harry Potter

The congressional interns were bitching cuz the staffer in their office took an hour and a half lunch break to read Potter. At the LOC, the staff was abuzz with how long they had waited in line for the book and how late they stayed up reading it. On the subway, it was about what had happened in the book, whether or not they were surprised, and how it did or didn't live up to expectations.

I've always thought of DC as a city apart. It's kind of the graduate school of the nation - they worry about different things than everyone else, get caught up in things the rest of the citizens don't think is all that important, but today proved me wrong. DC really is like the rest of country - at least for a weekend.

The Berks

Well, I got my rejection email from the Berkshire Conference of Women's Historians yesterday. This was the third time I had submitted a panel and the third time it has been rejected. It is a good thing that I don't evaluate my entire career on whether or not I am accepted by women's historians - because I am quite certain I would have given up and become computer programmer if I did.

I am sure there are some historians out there who are thinking 'buck up- maybe your proposals are just not that good.' Okay, MAYBE, but similar proposals were good enough for me to present at other national conferences. I've been to the AHA three times, they love me at SHAFR, at PHS conferences there is standing-room only available at my sessions (this last one is a lie - about the standing room only - but my proposals have been accepted at PHS conferences regularly since 2000).

So what is the problem with me and the Berks? As far as I can tell, it is that I'm not 'edgy' enough. I write traditional history about women, women who are involved in politics and foreign policy. I can just imagine how my proposals have been viewed by the program committee.

Committee member 1: Oh, another proposal for a session on the historical importance of the clitoris.

Committee member 2: Haven't we already accepted proposals about 'The History of the Vagina' and 'The Origins of Foreplay?'

Committee member 3: Yes, but a scholarly discussion of the clitoris is so much different than those other panels.

Committee member 1: Very true. Are we all agreed it is in? (general nodding ensues) Good. Next?

Committee member 2: I have a proposal about women's involvement in U.S. diplomacy prior to the 1960s.

Committee member 3: Political history? How very 1970s! (everyone laughs and then my proposal gets thrown in the trash can without further discussion.)

This must be how military historians feel.

Of course to add insult to injury, the form rejection letter the Berkshire Program Committee sent was from 2005 - first line reads: Thank you for your submission to the 2005 Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.

I think I'll write back and let them know that luckily I didn't apply for the 2005 Conference, but to let me know when they get around to rejecting my 2008 proposal.

Liberal Arts and ROTC

Like many liberal arts colleges, my school has many more women enrolled on campus than men. Every now and then, some of my colleagues and I sit around at lunch and attempt to 'solve' the college's problems. One day in the Spring the problem we were focused on was how to recruit more men - some tried and true methods were thrown around, add football, add wrestling, add engineering, etc. I suggested adding ROTC. My colleagues looked at me like I had grown an extra head. Like I was proposing shipping students off to Iraq immediately or had proclaimed my support for the current military activities in the Middle East. Comments like, 'It would cause too much conflict on campus' to 'We aren't in the business of educating soldiers' were thrown around.

One of my colleagues, however, a former enlisted man in navy argued that those unhappy with the current state of affairs in the military should be the ones who push the hardest to get ROTC offered at liberal arts colleges. Why wouldn't you want officers to have the best kind of critical thinking skills and have been exposed to different viewpoints, international theories, and read widely on many different topics? This type of military official is able to problem solve, think for him/herself, and maybe someday direct the future of the military in a way that takes into account the history and cultures of other nations.

I couldn't agree more. I'd love to see more ROTC offered at more liberal arts colleges. I'd love to see more Harvard or Stanford or Berkley men and women joining the military. I'm not advocating militarizing higher education, but rather finding a way to provide future military leaders with the broadest and best learning opportunities possible.

Lost AP Gems

I was going through my notes from grading the AP U.S. history exam and found these last few gems that I wanted to share. The question I was grading had to do with the impact of the Second Great Awakening on temperance, abolition, Utopian communities, and the cult of domesticity.

• Abraham Lincoln responded to John Brown's actions by writing the Emancipation Proclamation.
• In the North two very important commodities were beer and slaves. Without these two commodities the North's economy would have a tough time getting by.
• There were many great abolitionists such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Fredrick Douglass, and Ulysses S. Grant.
• The Brook Farm experiment proved to be ineffective because people died from not having sexual pleasure.
• The Shriners did not believe in procreation.
• It was safer to face an angry Southerner than an angry lion.
• The only lasting impact of the Oneidas was their silverware. I myself have a rubber Oneida spatula purchased five years ago at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
• Actually none of this is probably true. I don't know what I'm talking about.

Wouldn't My Provost Be Proud

Apparently, the words kill, crap, and crack make this blog inappropriate for those under 13.

Eight Random Facts Meme

I got tagged for the 8 Random Facts Meme by David Parker over at Another History Blog. Here are the rules:

• Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
• Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
• Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

1. I was always good at history in school, but choose it as my major because of how few hours you were required to take.

2. I'm very proud of my writing, but it takes me forever to write something decent. It takes even longer if it has to be decent and original/insightful.

3. I've never had a crush on any of my professors or students. I'm much more of a 'crush on my peers' sort of gal.

4. When I told my dad I wanted to go to graduate school in history, I got several lectures on 'how so-and-so was a Ph.D. bagging groceries' and 'why couldn't I get a good job with 4 years of college'.

5. I'm a sucker for students with a hard-luck tale (as long as there aren't repetitive hard-luck tales).

6. I believe that most of the people I work with are smarter than me. I just work hard.

7. I've never owned a brand new car and am proud of it.

8. I don't understand why so many academic historians look down on public history, historical reenactors, genealogists, etc. Isn't there room for all different types of history lovers in the world?

I'm tagging the following five people (if they haven't already been tagged) - I'm suppose to tag 8, but it's the summer and I'm lazy. Tim Lacy, Another Damned Medievalist, Jennie W, Progressive Historians, and Nerdgasms.

When Will My Zombie Obsession End?

36%

Could you survive? Find out here.

Productive Summer Anyone?

I read an article by Mary McKinney, an Academic Career Coach, about how to have a productive summer.

She recommended:

1. Come up with your number one priority

Instead of working on several projects over the summer, none of which get enough time devoted to them, focus on completing one of them. Once that one is finished, perhaps you'll have time to move on to the next project.

2. Carve out time

Set aside time that is typically not available when school is in session to work on your project. Don't let other responsibilities that aren't your number one priority infringe on that time.

3. Increase your motivation

Let your partner, colleagues, friends, etc. know what you plan to accomplish during the summer. This will help motivate you since you'll want to avoid the embarrassment of not finishing.

Since my own summer has been horribly, unproductive so far I am going to try and do this. I have like three things I really need to finish, but instead of stressing over them all at once and not getting any of them done. I'll set my priorities and work on them one at a time, during a certain part of my day, and I won't let anything interfere with it.

IWW Recruitment Flyer

The rumor was true. The wobblies were trying to organize AP readers in Lexington. However, the only evidence I have of that is flyer that was passed around my table on the last day of grading.

All-in-all, it is a pretty weak effort at organization. I like their demands, but surely you need more than a flyer to get workers united - especially workers from all around the country who have little in common except that they grade AP exams.

Of course this is all just speculation on my part, I've never attempted to unionize anyone. I was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electronics Workers for about 6 months and from that experience (as limited as it was), I think the IWW has a long way to go with organizing AP readers.

The Wobblies Are Back and They Are in Lexington

So rumor has it that the IWW is trying to unionize AP graders. They want us to ask for things like more money (apparently there has not been a pay raise in the last 8 years - has ETS not heard about INFLATION?!?), private hotel rooms, better food, etc.

I thought they would be asking for us to overthrow the system and try to implement socialism, but apparently they've adapted their ideology since the Great War. I also haven't heard any talks about bombs or the use of violence to attain graders demands. I guess tactics have had to change too.

The Difference Between the AHA Conference and AP Grading

For those of you who have ever wondered about the differences between attending the AHA Conference and AP Grading here is a handy little sheet. There are probably other differences too, but these are the only ones I could come up with before dinner.

Some of the best lines from the AP papers I graded in the last two days about the Great Awakening:

• Also during the Great Awakening people started changing their way of life. People started listening to different kinds of music like jazz.
• When Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick was drafted to play football for Atlanta Falcons he brought a whole new style with him. This is much like the Second Great Awakening.
• When Tom Sawyer wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin it created excitement around the world.
• Before the Second Great Awakening Puritans and Muslims were trying to make themselves fit into society.
• Alcohol and religion just seem to go together.
• I suck at history, why can't this be a math test?

These are some lines from a question on the Shay's Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion.

• Nothing can come between a man and his whiskey except maybe 13,000 troops.
• Shay's Rebellion was an important even remembered by many people. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

Grading U.S. History AP Exams - Day 2

So today was a little rough. 8 hours of grading essays on the Second Great Awakening. At first I had a bunch of okay and a little better than okay essays. So I spent way too much time figuring out if the essay was just okay or not. My second big group of essays were much much worse. They fell into two categories, complete crap and mostly crap. I actually started getting mad at the students. I mean what the Fux?! You are in an AP class and this is all you got? Give me a break!

Here are the gems from today:

• As a result of the Second Great Awakening many state governments passed laws banning the teaching of evolution.
• A woman working a job during the Second Great Awakening would be considered a flapper.

Where are all the history teachers this week?

If you guessed Lexington, KY you were right.

Why are there 1000+ history teachers in Lexington? We are grading the U.S. History A.P. Exams. It is my first time as a grader, but so far it hasn't been so bad. Apparently almost 200,000 students took the exam and there are close to 1 million essays that need to graded over the next seven days.

It was described by a colleague as a grading gulag, but I haven't felt that pain yet. Of course, being the first day we spent 1/2 the time trying to learn how to grade consistently with everyone else. We'll see how mind-numbing it becomes tomorrow.

I'm grading a question about the Second Great Awakening and it's connection to things like abolition and temperance. Best line from a paper I've seen today: "Drinking makes people feel good, and the Puritans weren't down with that."

A Little Knowledge of History is a Dangerous Thing

Found this on McSweeney's. It is pretty hillarious.

CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN FAMOUS PEOPLE AS IMAGINED BY SOMEONE WITH AN AMERICAN PUBLIC-SCHOOL EDUCATION WHO DIDN'T PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION IN SCHOOL BUT WHO DID JUST ENOUGH TO PASS THE EXAMS

Richard Nixon and Winston Churchill
NIXON: Hello, I see you're smoking a cigar and wearing a large hat.
CHURCHILL: So I am, young chap. Could I interest you in a cigar?
NIXON: Sure, I think I smoke cigars ... maybe ... I don't know.
(CHURCHILL hands a cigar to NIXON, who bites off the tip and lights it.)
NIXON: We were probably alive at the same time.
CHURCHILL: Indeed, my boy, indeed. I had something to do with World War II and I think maybe you fought in it.
NIXON: I'm not sure if I did.
CHURCHILL: There's not that much more about me that everyone knows.
NIXON: I once held up my hands and formed two peace signs. I was either about to get onto a plane or get off of one.
CHURCHILL: I have seen the photo, because I think there were cameras when I was alive.
NIXON: And what about Watergate? I did that.
CHURCHILL: Margaret Thatcher is someone else from England. She was leader after me.
NIXON: People can buy masks of my face.

Abraham Lincoln and Hitler
HITLER: Kill the Jews.
ABE: Free the slaves.
HITLER: Kill everyone, especially the Jews. Nazis are the best.
ABE: Emancipation Proclamation.
HITLER: Mein Kampf.
ABE: Four score and seven years ago.
HITLER: Kill all Jews!
ABE: I was shot in the head at a play, because the Civil War made people from the South angry.
HITLER: I created Nazis.

Funny Student Exam Answers

Found a post about funny student exam answers that professors had gotten. Most of them are math related, but still hilarious.

Most of my students don't even try the funny stuff, their answers are just funny because of misspellings or misunderstandings, etc. Here is an example of what I am talking about from Funny Exam Answers:

Later, the Pilgrims crossed the ocean, and this was called Pilgrim's Progress. The winter of 1620 was a hard one for the settlers. Many people died and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for all this.

Of course, when I read these types of answers I have to wonder if I really wasn't clear enough, or if something else was going on that day that distracted the student. The student answer that really made me question what I was doing in the classroom however - was the student that claimed France had bombed Pearl Harbor starting World War II. FRANCE?!?!

*sigh* I am glad it is summer.

History is a Weapon

I stumbled across an online site today titled: History is a Weapon. The introduction to the site makes a statement with which most historians would agree.

It claims: History isn't what happened, but a story of what happened. And there are always different versions, different stories, about the same events. One version might revolve mainly around a specific set of facts while another version might minimize them or not include them at all.

Things get a little bit more uncomfortable for those of us who teach history a couple of paragraphs later, when the site's editors maintain: The very selection of which histories to teach in a society shapes our view of how what is came to be and, in turn, what we understand as possible. This choice of which history to teach can never be "neutral" or "objective." Those who choose, either following a set agenda or guided by hidden prejudices, serve their interests. Their interests could be to continue this world as it now stands or to make a new world.

Okay, yes what someone decides to lecture about and how they present that material is a bit subjective and it can benefit or hinder certain ideologies. But at the same time history that is published by university presses and taught on college campuses around the nation is not essentially an ideological basketball that gets passed back and forth between two teams. There is a little something called the historical paradigm, which does limit or constrain the dialogue that historians can engage. For example, you are not going to get taken seriously by colleagues, get a book deal with a university press, or even get hired in the first place if you are a holocaust denier.

If the historical paradigm isn't enough to ensure that history is more than just a 'story', there is a community of scholars in the discipline, who try to keep each other honest. Should one's interpretation not line up with the historical evidence this community, in book reviews, blogs, and at conferences, does not hesitate to challenge others' presentations.

While History is a Weapon is correct about history being a story and I even agree with them that people should examine the past for themselves by reading primary sources and seeing what opinions or stories might have been left out of their historical educations, at the same time, history is more than just a story and more than just twisted or ideologically driven interpretation. In fact, I would argue that history is a weapon because of its very real relationship to what actually occurred in the past. Something that literature or philosophy or fine arts can't claim.

Student Calls Police After Instructor Confiscates Cell Phone That Rung during Class

Apparently, the police in West Lafayette, IN showed up at a business law class after a student reported the instructor for stealing his cell phone. The instructor (who is also a judge in Lafayette) confiscated the phone for ringing during class, but refused to return it immediately after the class ended. He said he was going to give it to the Dean of Students and that it could be picked up there. (Sounds good to me - inconvenience the student the same way he inconvenienced the entire class for letting his cell phone ring.) This idea didn't sit well with the student (I'm guessing a business major), who called the police. The complaint was turned over to a Lafayette prosecutor who dismissed the charges. You can read the story here.

I am left with several impressions after reading this news article.

1. The instructor showed great nerve in not only taking the phone, but also not giving it back immediately. I do hope he had the cell phone policy in his syllabus, however, since that seems to be the end-all-be-all of classroom disputes.

2. The student showed great nerve in calling the cops on his instructor. It must have been quite a sight to see the student's righteous indignation. Although, I think the student probably went too far and should have sucked it up and gone to the Dean of Students to retrieve his phone. I am kind of proud that s/he handled it himself and didn't call mommy or daddy to save him.

3. I imagine that next class session was pretty awkward. Do you drop the class after accusing the instructor of stealing and trying to get him arrested? Or do you sit tight knowing that you got a perfect claim for retaliation if you don't get the grade you wanted in class.

4. Where did the student get the phone to call the cops? Did s/he borrow it from a fellow classmate? Did the person who loaned the phone know what it was going to be used for? How awkward is it for this classmate to stay in the business law course?

Personally, I don't have a policy on cell phones in class. Inevitably a few go off every semester, but I just ignore them or wait until they have stopped ringing (maybe do a little dance if the tune is particularly good) before continuing with my lecture. I have a colleague, however, who takes 1% off a student's final class grade every time his or her cell phone rings in class. That is pretty hard core, but effective. I think he's only had 1 cell phone ring in the 3+ years he's had the policy.

Disney Promotes War and Safe Sex

It is fairly common knowledge that during World War II, Walt Disney worked with different government agencies to make war-propaganda films, including one for the Treasury on the importance of paying taxes and four anti-Hitler films. He also allowed Disney characters to be used to support the purchase of war bonds and rationing.

Perhaps, less well-known is that some Disney characters in the interest of winning the war also encouraged soldiers to use condoms. It is now possible to purchase your own World War II Anti-VD poster of Donald Duck despairing that he can't shag a woman because he is without a prophylactic.

I can't help but wonder about the success of this campaign. I mean why Donald and not Mickey or Goofy? It is some sort of slam on Donald's morals? Or could it be that no one can imagine Goofy remembering to use condom in such a situation?

Did hearing such wise words from a cartoon duck work better than the posters that warned that "You can't beat the Axis if you get VD" or tried to scare soldiers into worrying about what diseases the women they picked up off duty might have?

Each year I make my classes read Walt Disney's testimony before HUAC where he talks about the use of propaganda in Hollywood during the war. I never shown them examples of that propaganda before -but I would be interested in hearing their thoughts on why the government thought such campaigns would be effective. Although if I decide to present an example, I'll probably stick with the rationing poster - just to be safe.

First Day of Summer Break

Well it as officially the first day of my summer break today. I spent the first 3 hours grading - was only 1 hour and 15 minutes late turning in grades this semester. Didn't prevent from having to do the 'walk of shame' but at least I avoided a visit from the Dean.

I spent the last 6 hours of the work day at a 'studies' conference. Some of the information was SOOO boring and I doubt will be of any use at all. However, other information was fascinating - although I probably will never use it either. Still how often any more do I get fascinated by something? Not often enough.

Now, I'm going to spend the rest of the evening on my couch - watching bad movies and surfing online. Then I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour, sleep well, and then wake up and start to plan so ambitious a summer of research, etc. that I won't get half of it done.

The Past in 3-D

Interesting post on metafilter about stereographs and the ability to view the past in 3-D. Nice set of links to historical stereographic images too.

Most Peaceful Time In History

According to the New Republic we are living in the most peaceful time in history. I have my doubts about that. Sure attitudes about violence and death have changed dramatically over time, yet there were periods in the not too distant past when people were much more optimistic about the possibilities of living in a truly peaceful world. Think about the international peace conferences at The Hague in 1899 and then again 1907.

I guess the real question is what makes for a more peaceful world? The growing abhorrence of violence or a genuine belief that world peace is attainable?

Senate Historians Don't Know Their Strom from Their Quayle

Wonkette picked up this little goof.

Taking Over the World Though a Meticulous Analysis of History

Pinky and Brain cartoon that explains why it is important to study history.

Presidents and Ipods

Audible.com is having a president's day sale and as part of their promotion that having lists of what they think some of the big name presidents would have listened to had they had ipods.

George Washington apparently would been interested in books about war and self-help books on how to influence people and be an effective leader.

William Henry Harrison has a list that includes a number of men's health books and ways to get more done faster - like inauguration speeches.

Harry Truman's lists contains a bunch of spy novels.

Bill Clinton has a list that includes everything from the importance of truth, jazz, fast food, sex, and a tome about Hillary's upcoming run for president.

As relatively pointless as these lists are, it could be a fun party/Phi Alpha Theta game to come up with lists of what TV shows, books, music former presidents would enjoy and why.

Walk on the Dark Side

I just accepted a part-time administrator position in exchange for a course release. Why do I suddenly feel dirty?

It is an administrator position that gets to work primarily with bright and hard-working students - so maybe it isn't really like taking the "Dark Mark" and becoming a Death Eater. But I still feel a little weird/guilty about it, especially when I had to decide which of my upper-level classes I would have to stop offering.

Wikipedia Book Summaries - Will It Ever End?

So do you think if professors assigned students to read book summaries, rather than entire books, the students would find some why to avoid reading summaries too?

According to the web site: WikiSummaries.org will provide free book summaries that anyone can edit, including information on character profiles, detailed chapter summaries, study questions, important quotes, analysis of metaphor and symbolism, etc.

The Spanish American War is Over, Time to Stop Being Taxed for It

MSN.com has a nice article about how Americans have been paying on the phone bills for a tax instituted to pay for the Spanish-American war in 1898.

If you have access to the Historical New York Times you can read about the debate over the bill to fund the war. Apparently, members of the House agreed that a new tax would be required to pay for the war (what a concept), but debated over what form the tax should take. The Republican Party favored the a tax on consumption and business transactions, while the Democrats and Populists favored an income tax. The Democrats ended up being out-voted.

Public-Domain Image Links

Progressive Historians has a nice list of sites where one you can find public-domain images online.

Excuses for Missing Class

Three days into the semester I've already gotten two excuses from students about why they had to miss class. One of them had some sort of retreat connected to their job and the other was going to visit a graduate school. I just *love* hearing about what students consider to be more important than coming to my class. I especially liked the kid who told me he was going to miss class because the 5 year-olds at the Child Development Center were getting married and he was going to video tape it.

Thank goodness I don't have night classes, I would hate to know how many shows (House, Desperate Housewives, etc.) were more important than learning about the Industrial Revolution. If you think that no student who thought a TV show was more important than class would be silly enough to actually tell that to the teacher than you probably haven't had your idealism crushed out of you by hundreds of general education students. I remember years ago T.A.ing for a U.S. Women's History class at the the same time the O.J. Verdict was announced, I probably received a half dozen emails from students informing me that they wouldn't be making it to class in order to find out he was convicted or not.

I hate listening to student excuses so much, that I specifically give my students a number of *free* absences. They can skip class for whatever reason they want and it won't affect their grades. I do this primarily to save my own sanity and so I don't have to know just how far down on their list of priorities history class ranks.

Despite this fairly permissive attitude, I still get a ton of stories about why students had to miss class - especially on a test days. Car wrecks, flat tires, illness are all common place excuses. An old favorite is the death of a grandparent. It is likely, hard to disprove (bring me a copy of death certificate -seems a bit cold), and only a heartless professor would refuse a make-up exam to a student who just lost his grandpa. One year, I swore that someone must have put a curse on me because almost a 1/3 of my students grandparents passed away in a single semester.

Although Joseph Palladino's and Mitchell Handelsman's contention that "There is no relationship between the validity of an excuse and its apparent creativity/outrageousness" is probably true, I do hold a soft spot in my heart for those student's who have the wildest/weirdest excuses for missing class. Like the the kid who couldn't make it because he had to go to court because he was going 50-miles-per-hour over the speed limit on I-75 (I was surprised that anyone even noticed). Or the student whose dad was being evicted from his apartment and had to help him move all the stuff out before it ended up on the sidewalk. Of course, my all time personal favorite is the girl who couldn't make it to the exam because she had gotten her first pap-smear that day and was traumatized by the experience (I am certain this crossed some sort of line).

If I didn't teach at a small college, where we are supposed to notice if the students aren't in class, I would probably not have an attendance policy at all - just to avoid the excuses.

Note: A colleague just sent me a link to an article at The Chronicle on professors' favorite student excuses.

Post-World War II Newsreel

There is an interesting newsreel on google video show how the War Assets Administration disposed of drums of Sodium in 1947. Did they bury it? Nope. Did they store it in a warehouse for the next 60 years? Nope. Instead they threw it into a lake in Washington State. See the spectacular results here.

AHA - Sunday Notes

Despite my good intention to go to a session today (because I've presented on Sunday's before and it sucks when just 3 people show up in the audience), instead I went down to the book exhibit to see what I could snag cheap or free.

I ended up bringing home (for a total of $11):

1. Laskin - The Children's Blizzard
2. White - Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long
3. Millard - The River of Doubt: TR's Darkest Journey
4. Stole - Advertising on Trial
5. Flood - Grant and Sherman
6. Walker - Shockwave
7. Ambrose - D-Day
8. Ambrose - Citizen Soldiers
9. Ware - Title IX
10. Moran - The Scopes Trial

AHA - Saturday Notes

I *love* a southern breakfast. I've noticed that everyone north of Virginia and west of Louisiana thinks of breakfast as a danish or bagel or cold cereal type of affair. At the 'Le Cafe' in Atlanta's Hilton hotel, however, they were serving a southern breakfast buffet that included bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, grits, and potatoes. I was in heaven, until I got the $15.00 breakfast bill.

There are way too few chairs in the lobby of Hilton and Marriott. I saw a ton of people leaning all day. People leaned against walls, against big planters, on pillars, and anything else that wasn't moving. I finally scouted out a couch on the fourth floor hidden behind the elevators where I could sit and read in between sessions.

There should be some sort of warning in the Marriott that there are at least 2 lobbies. I was suppose to meet my major professor at 11 a.m. and she never showed. I found out later that the little lobby area on the ground level across from the Hilton WAS NOT the main lobby of the hotel, instead the main lobby was two stories higher!

I participated in a focus group about textbooks and basically argued for a textbook that worked like Wikipedia, but with accurate information. I don't think anyone was very impressed with my suggestion.

The only session I attended today was one on balancing work and family. The panelists made a big deal about trying to go beyond stories or anecdotes about the difficulties of raising children, etc. while being a full-time faculty member and instead tried to present some concrete suggestions for ways that individuals could build coalitions on their campuses and organize for family friendly policies. Most of the suggestions were ideas that would make it easier for women and men to meet their family responsibilities and their work responsibilities. What I didn't hear was any demand for a reconceptionalization of what it means to be a productive faculty member. Why is there never any discussion about the norm of a faculty member is a 60 hour work week for the 15+ weeks of the semester and then spending an unpaid summers doing research so that he or she can get tenure, promoted, or raises?

Is it just me or is alcohol in Atlanta extremely expensive? I had to pay 6.00 for a draft mug of Bud Light! Pitchers (of slightly better beer) cost $17.00! It almost made me want to go back to grad. school where for a $3 cover, I could get a pitcher for $5. I think we should demand that the AHA start planning to hold its conventions in college towns so that cheap beer is easily attainable.

AHA - Friday Notes

Some of the most interesting quotes heard at the AHA today.

1. The last Republican National Convention was more diverse than the history profession.
   
2. 75% of all history teachers listed in the AHA directory of history departments are not members of the AHA.
   
3. On average each attendee at the AHA goes to one session (so if you go to 2 you are just paving the way for someone else to not go to any).
   
4. There are 5 times as many brunettes as blonds in the AHA.

Atlanta irony - the restaurant named 'Max Lagers' doesn't have a liquor license.

Biggest disappointment of the day - one of my undergraduate students went to the Careers in History Workshop and walked out of there thinking she had to go to graduate school to get a job doing history. The session was suppose to be for high school students, undergraduate students, and beginning graduate students to find out what opportunities there were for history majors on the job market. I had hoped that it would demonstrate the wide variety of things history majors can do with just their B.A. I didn't want to send my students to a graduate school recruitment forum.

13 Photographs that Changed the World

Ransom Riggs posted 13 photographs that he believes changed the world in the January - February 2007 issue of Mental_Floss Magazine. Many of the one's he chose, I would also argue helped change American history - including the Migrant Mother photo, the Brady photo of the dead at Gettysburg, and the photo showing the killing of a Vietcong in a Saigon street during the Tet Offensive.

I was trying to think of other photos that were important to the direction of American history and the first one that sprang to mind was the photo of the bodies of the women who jumped from the Triangle Shirtwaist Company to avoid being burned alive inside the factory

This photo and the incident it represented not only led to improved fire safety laws, but also strengthened the labor union movement and the desire of middle class progressive women to protect the safety and health of working class women.

I think there is something powerful about images that burns some incidents into our memory that the story or explanation of a situation by itself fails to do.

War Debts

Great Britain has made the final of its World War II war debt payments. The U.S. loaned England 4.33 billion in 1945 at 2% for 50 years (apparently there were 5 years that Great Britain had to defer payments because of economic hardships). World War I war debts have still not been repaid.

I wonder how long it will take for the U.S. to repay the money it is borrowing to fight the insurgency in Iraq?