National History Day

National History Day is almost upon us.  It’s the sort of event that should make history buffs stand up and shout.  Maybe even dance a conga line through the local library. I will admit, Natural History Day first came to my attention in a less than positive way.  Several months ago, I began to receive…

Read More

Choosing (Historical) Sides

Recently a friend of mine texted me from Culloden in Scotland*–the battlefield where the Duke of Cumberland routed Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite forces and effectively ended the Jacobite cause. (Charles was later involved in a half-hearted French plan to invade England in 1759, but it came to naught.) She wanted to know if I wanted…

Read More

Social Science or Humanities? It’s a Conundrum.

Several weeks ago, this question appeared in my email: The history department at MSU is part of the College of Social Science with Social Work. Yesterday a colleague said she thought it should be in Humanities. I’m curious what you think. As it turns out, this is something I’ve spent some time thinking about over…

Read More