The Insecure Egoist

2003-09-11T08:32:00.000-04:00

South Carolina Historic Preservation News and Notes
Sorry for the light/non-existent blogging so far this semester. That gives an indication of how busy I am between family and classes. Here's the latest monthly release from the State Historic Preservation Office, located in the South Carolina Department of Archives and History:

HISTORIC PRESERVATION NEWS AND NOTES from the
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)
S.C. Department of Archives and History
September 9, 2003

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In this issue:
CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT (CLG) GRANT APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE
U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO REQUIRE MANDATORY FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION
ENHANCEMENTS
RECENT LISTINGS IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
WELCOME TO LINDSEY GERTZ
TWO S.C. PROJECTS AWARDED BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION GRANTS
MARKET HALL RESTORATION TO RECEIVE NATIONAL TRUST AWARD
2003 COMMUNITY BUILDERS CONFERENCE

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CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT (CLG) GRANT APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

The Department of Archives and History is accepting applications for 2004
Certified Local Government (CLG) Grants for historic preservation projects.
These grants can assist both "bricks and mortar" projects and preservation
planning and education projects. South Carolina's 22 Certified Local
Governments (CLGs) are eligible for the grants. CLGs may also apply on
behalf of a nonprofit organization or other entity within the jurisdiction
of the CLG. Applications must be postmarked no later than October 24, 2003.
Visit our website at http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/fedbro.htm for more
information about the grants.

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U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO REQUIRE MANDATORY FUNDING FOR TRANSPORTATION
ENHANCEMENTS

On September 4, the U.S. House of Representatives cast a critical vote for
historic preservation. By a vote of 327 to 90, the House passed a bipartisan
amendment to require state departments of transportation to provide funding
for the transportation enhancements program for fiscal year 2004. Before
the amendment, the bill left the provision of enhancement grants to the
discretion of the state departments of transportation. South Carolina
Representatives Henry Brown, James Clyburn, and John Spratt supported this
amendment. Transportation enhancement grants (sometimes known as ISTEA or
TEA-21 grants) have made possible many great preservation projects across
South Carolina, including rehabilitation of historic depots, warehouses, and
other transportation-related structures and streetscape improvements in
historic districts.

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RECENT LISTINGS IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER

The Burdette Building at 104 E. Curtis Street in Simpsonville was listed in
the National Register on July 17. The building played a key role in the
commercial development of Simpsonville in the early twentieth century.
Built in 1921, the handsome, two-story brick building was the largest
building in Simpsonville. The dominant occupant of the building was B.W.
Burdette & Bros. Hardware, but a range of tenants occupied the building in
the first half of the twentieth century. On the first floor these included
at various times a dry goods store, millinery shop, drug store, gas station,
car dealership, barber shop, several grocery stores, restaurants, a doctor's
office, a department store, and Simpsonville's post office. The second
floor provided apartments, the office of a cotton broker, a doctor's office,
and a shirt-making company.

Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, on S.C. Highway 154 about 7 miles south of
Bishopville, was listed in the National Register on July 17. The
Neo-Classical Revival building was constructed in 1911 according to plans by
the prominent Columbia architectural firm of Wilson & Sompayrac. The
Church is a two-story brick building featuring a portico with monumental
limestone columns. Highlights of the interior include monumental pilasters
accentuating the wall surfaces between the large Palladian windows and
plastered beams in the ceiling that create a paneled appearance. To the
rear of the church is a small session house constructed in 1851. A cemetery
with graves dating from ca. 1830 to the present lies to the east of the
church.

Mullins Commercial Historic District was listed in the National Register on
July 20. The district includes much of the downtown commercial area of
Mullins, historically the state's largest tobacco processing and marketing
center. The 38 contributing buildings in the district illustrate the
development of the downtown as the center of commerce in the town of Mullins
and the surrounding area between ca. 1895 and ca. 1945 and reflect the
success and impact of tobacco on the local economy. Key buildings in the
district include the Old Brick Warehouse (ca. 1905), still in use as a
tobacco warehouse; the Beaux Arts style Anderson Brothers Bank (ca. 1910);
and the 1901 Mullins Depot, which now houses the South Carolina Tobacco
Museum.

Carver Theatre on 1519 Harden Street in Columbia was listed in the National
Register on July 17. The Theatre is important for its association with
Columbia's African American community from the early to the
early-to-mid-twentieth century. Built ca. 1941, it is the only theatre
built exclusively for African Americans still standing in Columbia. During
the days of Jim Crow segregation, the Theatre provided entertainment to
African-Americans, including movies, weekly talent shows, and special shows
on Saturday mornings for children.

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WELCOME TO LINDSEY GERTZ

We are pleased that Lindsey Gertz has been hired as a Historic Architecture
Consultant to fill the position vacated by Mark Doty. Lindsey is a native
of Columbia. She graduated from the College of Charleston and received a
M.A. degree in Architectural History with a Certificate in Historic
Preservation from the University of Virginia's School of Architecture.
Lindsey's primary duty will be coordinating the rehabilitation tax credit
program for homeowners. She will also administer the State Historic
Preservation Grant program. You can reach Lindsey at 803-896-6199 or
Gertz@scdah.state.sc.us.

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TWO S.C. PROJECTS AWARDED BATTLEFIELD PROTECTION GRANTS

The Palmetto Conservation Foundation has been awarded a grant from the
American Battlefield Protection Program for preservation planning, an
interpretation program, and a resource study of the Battle of Camden
National Historic Landmark. The S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and
Tourism has also received a grant to complete GPS mapping of the Rivers
Bridge Battlefield. More information about the American Battlefield
Protection Program is available at http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/index.htm.

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MARKET HALL RESTORATION TO RECEIVE NATIONAL TRUST AWARD

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has selected the City of
Charleston; Joseph K. Oppermann, FAIA; and NBM Construction Company, Inc. to
receive one of fifteen 2003 National Preservation Honor Awards for the
restoration of Charleston's Market Hall. The awards will be presented at
the National Preservation Conference in Denver on October 2.

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2003 COMMUNITY BUILDERS CONFERENCE

Newberry will host the 2003 Community Builders Conference on community
design, planning, and revitalization, October 23-24. Speakers will include
Charles Birnbaum, FASLA, coordinator of the National Park Service Historic
Landscape Initiative on "Listening to the Landscape and the Discourse of the
Street." For more information, contact blegrand@masc.sc.

2003-08-28T08:32:00.000-04:00

Columbia's connections to the "I Have a Dream" speech
With the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's most famous speech (which is today), Columbia, SC's The State newspaper has been running a series of articles related to that event's commemoration. Today, they released this article publishing the recollections of several Midlands citizens who participated in the March for Jobs and Freedom. Here's one excerpt:

James Sulton Sr. of Orangeburg drove to the march with his 11-year-old son, James Jr., and two white Roman Catholic priests.

"It was so dadgum hot," Sulton recalled, still relishing the memory of stripping off his socks and shoes and dipping his feet in the reflecting pool.

They drove to Washington the day before, dropping the priests off at a rectory and staying overnight with a physician friend.

They arrived downtown midmorning of the march, shortly before the official program began.

Sulton recalled working their way through the 250,000-strong crowd slowly, their timing nearly impeccable as they arrived 200 feet from the podium to hear the words of the day's final speaker, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

"It was just inspirational," said the elder Sulton, now 80.

The article also succinctly captures simultanesouly the magic felt by some, but also the fear felt by others, especially politicians who worried about mob violence, or President Kennedy's concern that such violence would destroy the chances for a Civil Rights Act. All in all, a good read.

2003-08-27T16:36:00.000-04:00

What you can learn from college brochures
Thanks to Invisible Adjunct, I've seen a hilarious list of things you can learn about all colleges from their brochures. Here's the link. Excerpt: "9. These schools have close to a thousand major areas, many of which are interdisciplinary.
Want to major in history or English? How unimaginative of you when you could get a degree in synchronized swimming studies, waterless cookware of the ancients, Klingon mating customs, or Botox body sculpture. All fiefdoms and separate turf areas on campus work together in complete harmony in melding the coursework into a satisfying and complete credential-granting experience."

2003-08-27T16:21:00.000-04:00

How long have special interests been around?
According to Geitner Simmons, a long time:

From a historical perspective, the rise of special-interest concerns turns out to have been one of the crucial developments in the early American republic -- and, surprisingly, a positive one.

As odd as it may sound today (given the common lament that special-interest pleading often skews public policy in unhealthy ways), the emergence of special-interest politics in the early republic dramatically revealed the democratic character of the U.S. political system. It also spurred the expansion of the franchise.

All this came as a shock to the founders. They had generally envisioned a system in which an enlightened aristocratic elite would wield political power, making decisions in a neutral fashion. This political elite, it was argued, would be independently wealthy and thus supposedly freed from the parochial concerns of the marketplace -- that is, from narrow private interests. ..

But Americans generally rejected that approach. It was unrealistic to believe that a wealthy elite would be freed of special-interest concerns, they argued, and events demonstrated the truth of that claim. (Actually, this was apparent all-around. George Washington observed: "The few, therefore, who act upon Principles of disinterestedness are, comparatively speaking, no more than a drop in the Ocean.")

Moreover, aristocrats often displayed no interest in representing particular concerns that many Americans thought important. If the new republic was to accurately -- which to say, democratically -- reflect the new nation's wide multitude of interests, then the system needed to adjust itself to accommodate that need.

2003-08-26T11:53:00.000-04:00

More thoughts on the hard/soft dichotomy
I've had a little more time to think about the ramifactions of "hardening" the liberal arts into a more analytical base. On that strict definition, I've not much hope for the history and public history fields. But if we broaden the definition as to what constitutes a "hardening," then I think there's some applicability.

My current field of public history serves as an example. Public history, encompassing museum studies, historic preservation, archives and library science, among other subfields, is the intersection of academic history/theory and public consumption. Often times, public historians serve as mediators between the general public's interests, historically speaking, and the current fashions within academia. Public historians, at least at USC, are trained within the history department, and take the same pedagogical/theoretical seminars as traditional students. Yet the emphasis lies much more on practical training in a given track.

So, for instance, last semester I enrolled in a a seminar on early American history, but I also took a course on exhibition development where the class divided into four competing groups, each designing an exhibit on urban slavery in Columbia, SC. I also took a third course that designed a document meant to help establish a national park based on Reconstruction in Beaufort, SC. The seminar proved to be a strictly academic exercise. However, all three courses shared research interests and topics.

This schedule shows that academic and public history interact on several levels. The two public history courses provided research material for my seminar paper, while each of the subjects in those same two courses drew upon recent historical scholarship. In turn, the end-products of those courses will (eventually) come to the public's attention, providing an educational opportunity for the general public. In short, from (potentially) unapproachable academia to easily digestible museum exhibit in a few short years. To me, this symbolizes progress and practicality. Anyone else have thoughts? Email me at cjscott -at- sc.rr.com.

2003-08-26T06:53:00.000-04:00

Changing the name of Butts County, GA
I did my undergraduate work in Atlanta, and went South to Macon, GA, and Tampa, FL frequently. On both trips, you have to pass through Butts County. Here's a article on the attempt to change its name.

2003-08-26T06:46:00.000-04:00

Dancing the Big Apple
Columbia, SC's The State newspaper is running a series this week on the Big Apple nightclub, where the dance known as the Big Apple was created. Sunday's first installment can be viewed here, while the second article, which talks about the migration of the Big Apple from Columbia to the Carolina beaches, is now online here. The series will run all week.

UPDATE: Here's Wednesday's article on the Big Apple's renaissance.

2003-08-26T06:37:00.000-04:00

The hard-soft split
I came across this excellent article on Harvard President Larry Summers in the New York Times Magazine via Daniel Drezner and Instapundit. Drezner's analysis focuses on how Summer's vision challenges entrenched power relationships at Harvard, and what that means for Harvard in the years to come. However, his snippets do not do James Traub's article full justice. As one commenter points out, the full article is biographic journalism at its best: highly descriptive, analytic, with final judgment reserved for the reader. (something that many "articles" on current events are sorely lacking) Given Pres. Summers' fact-based economics background, I find that approach quite appropriate.

Several other bloggers have previously taken on the hard-soft rift in academia. In a nutshell, Summers wants to make the so-called soft sciences, a.k.a. the liberal arts, more fact-oriented. In his own words: ''It is more important for students to have a basic understanding of literature than of the current fashions in literary theory.'' All things considered, he said, ''I'd like to see us emphasize more knowing.''

In an unconnected, yet related, post, physics-blogger Jay Manifold talks about the "two ships passing in the night" quality of discussion between science-types and artsy-types. (post found in the comments on Drezner's page) Quite amusing is the exchange between a type-M and type-N.

I reserve ultimate judgment on this hard-soft equilibrium. I simply do not know or understand enough about the pratfalls of either. I certainly can understand the exasperation with the postmoderism within the liberal arts today - for instance, the belief that all knowledge is relative and no absolute truth exists. However, I am in a decidedly soft-discipline (history), albeit a practical application of that discipline (public history - museum studies track), neither of which readily attune themselves to fact-based assessments or judgments. In fact, first-year graduate students at USC have it drummed into their heads that history is not the study of what happened, but the study of what others say what happened, and that all perspectives are inherently subjective. You can't get more po-mo than that. Yet I hold that assertion to be fundamentally correct. So I'm left wondering how Summers' policies would affect my chosen discipline, because I can easily imagine ways they could detrimentally affect it.

By the way, both Drezner and Manifold maintain high-quality sights. I highly recommend each for the expansion of your own general knowledge.

2003-08-24T20:01:00.000-04:00

City of Columbia balks at Historic Preservation guidelines
An article appeared in last Thursday's edition of The State newspaper (Columbia, SC) reporting that several Columbia City Council members are upset with guidelines that restrict improvements to City Hall. An 127-year old structure, Columbia's City Hall is an historic landmark, and it needs new windows. Because of its designation, any changes have to be approved by the Design Development Review Commission, and have to conform to different standards. For example, the window framing has to be made of wood, rather than energy-efficient steel, and cost more as a result. City Councilman Hamilton Osbourne is quoted in the article as saying "I think this whole historic preservation concept has gotten out of hand...If I have to propose an ordinance change, I will do so. I frankly don't want to be shackled to some arbitrary historic preservation concept." The mayor believes that the city should follow the same rules as everyone else.

Krista Hampton, Columbia's Preservation Planner (and graduate of the USC Public History Program, of which I am now a student), states the problem with Councilman Osborne's argument succintly: "It will undermine everything we do." Indeed. Perhaps I speak with bias, but I feel that this statement is an incredibly short-sighted. It's geared towards cost-cutting, and it reveals an irresponsibility towards the past. The city should follow the rules it sets for others. Without those same rules, most historic structures would eventually be torn down or irreversibly altered. That would leave Columbia without a recognizable past, and the city would lose an important part of its identity. Historic preservation guidelines should not be repealed for the sake of convenience.

2003-08-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

A rare update
At last, some free time has fallen my way. Let us see what is out there in the realm of history...

But first, some personal notes. Last night, the band I'm in performed our first show, and it went very well indeed. Lots of support from friends, colleagues, and coworkers. And to top it off, we weren't too shabby ourselves. (Constant practicing helps in that regard). Now, if only we could play more than a set's worth of songs! But for the months to come...Also, I'm now in charge of content for the webite of the Public History track in USC's History Department. I am not the web administrator, as I have no input over graphic design. However, since whoever is in charge of updating (currently outside of the department) performs that part of their job woefully, I've volunteered to take on that responsibility.

Alas, here's some real news. Let's start by perusing the list of blogs at right. Sadly, the History News Network's list of history blogs has not been updated in quite a while. That means several worthy histo-blogs (many of which are included in the blogroll at right are not receiving the discipline-specific attention they deserve. This may seem a general oversight; a hit on one's website is a hit, no? I disagree. I won't shy away from the fact that my blog in narrowly-tailored. I would therefore want it to be seen mostly by people who would be inclined to view it anyway. The rest are tangential, icing on the proverbial cake.

On other blogs:

David Nishimura links to this article in the Tehran Times publishing the accusations of a French-based Iranian archeologist that the Lourve purchased stolen antiquities from pillaged sites inside Iran.
Nebraska-based blogger Geitner Simmons gives a short history of publicly-owned electric companies in Nebraska, the only state in the nation's whose electricity is 100% provided by such firms.
Mirabilis links to the How Rome Went to China webpage at the Library of Congress.

That's just some quick examples of what can be found by clinking the links at right and browsing for just a few moments.

2003-08-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

Civil Rights in Florida
Florida blogger South of the Suwannee has an excellent post on a speech made by then-Governor LeRoy Collins in 1960 on what Florida should do about integration and how it should handle civil rights. He makes the case that Florida's dependence on tourism and construction made it prudent for the cities to integrate faster (re: less violently) than the interior of the state. His reference point is this article in the Orlando Sentinel on integration in Central Florida.

2003-08-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

Two notes of interest

Sorry for the light posting this week. Today was a good day, though. The text panels for my exhibit at the Sumter County Museum were sent to the printer today, and we started to pull artifacts. That will be completed (hopefully) on Monday. Meanwhile, the last band practice before our show next week went beautifully, and I'm really looking forward to what happens. Last, but not least, my wife (the InsecureWife?) and I go camping this weekend in the upstate. The summer is reaching closure...

Anyway, here's what you really want...two items of interest from the History News Network. First, a link to this article in the Washington Post, reporting that historic oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court are now available online. Technically, they have been available in streaming format from The OYEZ Project, based at Northwestern University. They are now available, for free, in MP3 format, and distribution is allowed, so long at the source in credited. I think this is a wonderful historical resource, important not just for research, but for public interest as well.

Second(ly?), this New York Times article details the murky waters surrounding the true ownership of one of the 14 original copies of the Bill of Rights. The document was taken from North Carolina by a Union soldier after the Civil War and has resurfaced now and again. Now, a federal judge will decide who the true owner is. An interesting legal question, but in my opinion it should belong to the State of North Carolina, since NC has documentable proof that it's theirs.

2003-08-09T22:54:00.000-04:00

No Posting
Yes, it's true, I've been laying off...for a number of good reasons. 1) I'm knee deep in finishing the exhibit I'm working on for the Sumter County Museum. 2) I'm knee-deep in finding ways not to clean my house. 3) I go through stages where I just don't feel like posting. Order those in any way you wish.

That said, there is some personal news. Today is my 24th birthday, and my wife gave me...camping gear! We're going tent camping next weekend as a last vacation before school begins again. Also, if you're in Columbia, SC, on August 20th, and happen to be downtown around 10 PM, stop in at the Art Bar to see the band I'm currently playing drums for, Dwayne Clark & Company. (No, I'm not Dwayne) It's a free show, and we're fairly laid back, so we won't disturb your senses too much.

I won't be posting much this coming week, I think, but after that, things might pick up until school intrudes.

2003-08-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

Historical Society for 20-year old town?
That's what Floridian blogger South of the Suwannee is reporting. The Broward County town of Weston, not long ago part of the Everglades, is seeking to establish an historical society. It's not as kooky as it sounds; the organizer wants it to become a haven for Native American research and artifacts, in which the area is apparently rich. This seems to be incredible foresight on the part of someone to save history before it is gobbled up by advancing civilization.

2003-08-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

More on ancient collections
Art history blogger David Nishimura links to more articles dealing with ancient collections. First, the BBC is reporting that the museum in Baghdad is loaning several artifacts to museums in the United States for a touring exhibition. Many of the artifacts were feared stolen after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and at least one was returning days after the looting, in return for "expenses." Unfortunately, very few important details, such as which museums will be included in the traveling route, are revealed.

Secondly, David links to a Sunday Times of London piece (requires subscription) stating that the British government is in secret negotiations with Greece to return the Elgin Marbles in time for the 2006 Olympics. Athens is building an Acropolis Museums specifically to house the Marbles, even though British officials are on record as saying they will never leave Britain. You can read more about the Elgin Marbles here.

2003-08-04T22:44:00.000-04:00

Ethical Questions about ancient collections
Last week's National Coalition for History Weekly Washington Update linked to this article in Saturday's New York Times about the ethical problems inherent in displaying ancient artifacts whose provenance is either vague or unknown. At issue is "a small limestone fragment, triangular in shape and delicately carved," that shows the Naram-Sin, "a king of the ancient Akkadian empire, seated beside Ishtar, goddess of love, fertility and war." The Naram-Sin came from a prominent collector, but there is no record of its excavation or ownership history. It appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Art of the First Cities" exhibition in May, about the same time news reports detailing looting at the Iraqi National Museum surfaced. That controversy has reignited the debate about the proper ethics surrounding the possession and display of loosely-provenanced artifacts. Moreover, lack of documentation also distorts analysis of the object's history, purpose, and value:

The Metropolitan's director, Philippe de Montebello, said the decision to include these artifacts in the "First Cities" show was neither unusual nor untoward. While a lack of provenance can indicate that an object has been illegally excavated, he said objects without a known provenance also come from legitimate sources, like longstanding private collections. Shunting aside artifacts for lack of documentation, he added, is a disservice to the public and scholars.

"We are an art museum," Mr. de Montebello said. "We have an obligation to knowledge. We have an obligation to the object." He pointed out, too, that the Met had more rigorous rules for acquisitions.

But many experts argue that by including such objects in exhibitions, museums abet an illicit trade that destroys archaeological sites and erodes historical knowledge.

"There is an ethical issue," said Jeremy Sabloff, director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the most prolific lender to "First Cities." "I personally feel strongly and my staff strongly believes that accepting objects of no or dubious provenance furthers and creates an environment for additional looting, and that destroys the cultural heritage."

These experts raise another point: ripped from their resting places, bereft of their context, these objects are themselves as mysterious as their recent pasts.

The scholar who spotted the Naram-Sin fragment thinks it may have been part of a mold used to emboss shields carried by the king's warriors. Then again, no one can really be sure.

"Without archaeological provenance," the museum display card reads, "both the function and significance of this object remain unknown."

In famous words, "Read the whole thing."

2003-08-04T08:25:00.000-04:00

One More (Be)fore the Road
This week's Weekly Washington Update from the National Council for History has numerous bits of information on funding for various governmental institutions and projects related to history. I do not have the time to lay them out here like I usually do.
WHAT'S COMING UP: More on my internship experiences, Textile League Baseball

2003-08-04T08:21:00.000-04:00

Worthy posts at other blogs
I'm extremely late in returning the favor, but Geitner Simmons at Regions of Mind has an excellent post on Spanish conquistadors, their interactions with Native Americans (and the American continent's climate), and the tactics they used to defeat them. It references the Florida History blog South of the Suwannee, where you can find this interesting post on the economic and ethnic orgins of the town of Tarpon Springs, FL, and how that town is trying to preserve its heritage.

2003-08-04T08:15:00.000-04:00

Long Weekend
It's been a busy weekend for me, and that's why there hasn't been any posting. That's not to say there aren't things worth posting about. Let me see if I can get to a few things before work.

2003-07-31T23:04:00.000-04:00

Ghost Towns on the Web
Perusing the site of Florida history and politics blogger South of the Suwannee reveals this post on Floridian ghost towns, linking to Ghost Towns.org. Here you can link to many dead or dying towns in the United States and Canada, reading about a particular town's history, and in many cases view historic and recent photographs. However, if you're interested in small towns today that are still existing, you may want to check out ePodunk.

2003-07-31T22:37:00.000-04:00

Local History on Talk of the Nation
A good friend of mine and fellow public history student let me know that today's (July 31) Talk of the Nation on NPR did a segment on hometown history (which you can listen to here). One of the guest commentators, Carol Kammen, "Guest Lecturer at Cornell University," has written a book entitled On Doing Local History: Reflections on What Local Historians Do, Why, and What It Means, which I had to read for the cornerstone course to the public history program. It's a fascinating little book, discussing the how's and why's of local history, how it differs from academic history and why, and offers suggestions for how the two can reconcile. A large part of the book is spent on differing interpretations of events, and dealing with difficult topics. I have to say that I really enjoyed the book.

Another good book on the same subject is T. H. Breen's Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories. Here the author, an outsider, gets a job in the famous Hamptons of Long Island for the fairly specific task of investigating a specific event in the local history, and ends up delving deeply into the intricate world of historical narrative, finding out how much the stories East Hampton citizens tell themselves about their past reflect their present concerns, wishes, and the future plans. Although the book is a little dated now, the issues therein remain relevant.

2003-07-31T22:23:00.000-04:00

Museums in the News
The New York Times' online edition carries an article, well really an evaluation/critique of an entire museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, in Salem, Massachusetts. Founded in 1799 as the East India Marine Society Museum, the Peabody Essex " is the oldest continuously operating American institution of its kind, mixing art, design and ethnology." Furthermore, they have just completed a $125 million expansion designed by Moshe Safdie with a large amound of exhibition space dedicated to displaying a representative sample of all of the museum's collections. Read the article for a full description.

The Peabody Essex is really a composite of institutions, including "the original East India Marine Society; the antique Essex Institute, focused primarily on New England decorative arts and architecture; and the China Trade Museum, with its trove of export porcelains and silver." As a result it is neither fully high-art, nor is it truly ethnological. As a result exhibits are multi-faceted. In the versatile environment, exhibitions that merge new and old works are the norm. Likewise, diverse viewpoints and narratives that explore a range of possibilities, as in the "Family Ties" exhibition, are common.

Despite these many assets, the author, Holland Cotter, levels some strong criticism. He argues first that many of the exhibits, for their modern-ness or cutting edge possibilities, are quite conservative. Perhaps being a "family institution" has tempered some of the edgier, avant-garde elements. More worrisome, in my opinion, is Cotter's assertion that the museum falls back upon traditional object-oriented presentations:

More perplexing, though, is the conceptual approach of the installations as a whole. The museum has given considerable thought to the complexities of presenting art, and has even done some of that thinking out loud. "The creation of a new institution offered a unique opportunity to see the collections with fresh eyes," Fred Johnson, deputy director for exhibitions, writes in the museum magazine. "How could the Peabody Essex approach things differently?"

To a promising question, however, he gives a disappointing reply, one we've been hearing a lot lately from different sources: "In the new museum, works of art are not in the space as illustrations of ideas alone or as parts of a narrative. We're putting the object first." But why the defensive stance? This is what museums have always done. It's the old-school modernist way, and no amount of postmodern thinking over the last 30 years has been able to budge the status quo.

Yet it should be clear by now that by choosing to do little, interpretively, with art, you end up doing a lot to preserve existing ideologies and master narratives so long in place that we barely notice them. And so, in a professedly agenda-free situation, a museum can talk about exploration without mentioning exploitation, address the theme of leisure without bringing servitude into the picture, extol the exploits of Salem's globe-trotting merchant-shoppers without referring to the borderless capitalism and imperialist yearnings they represented. None of this has to be spelled out in neon, but it has to be folded into the picture: it's history.

The issue here is not one of political opinion, right or wrong, but of full disclosure, of making the mechanics of persuasion operating in a museum — any and every museum — transparent. As the art historian Susan Vogel wrote in 1991, curators should "inform the public that what it sees is not material that `speaks for itself' but material filtered through the tastes, interests, politics and state of knowledge of particular presenters at a particular moment in time."

That the Peabody Essex chose a conservative route in object presentation is perplexing. Perhaps the sometimes-messy politics of presenting an agenda-free environment proved too taxing. Perhaps they felt the object themselves would transcend their acquisitions. Perhaps they felt the museum patron would be best to figure things out for himself. At any rate, with new exhibitions designed to present new viewpoints that sometimes challenge the viewer, it somehow seems disingenuous when those same exhibitions reinforce traditional narratives anyway.

2003-07-29T21:54:00.000-04:00

The Case for Liberian Intervention
Jacob Levy writes an historically-accurate post at The Volokh Conspiracy arguing that the United States has both a moral responsibility and a compelling interest in sending troops to Liberia:

From the perspective of U.S. history, the Liberian experiment seems like an odd, foolish exercise in denial. From Jefferson through Lincoln, many of those who knew slavery to be wrong nonetheless found it impossible to imagine peaceful coexistence between whites and freed blacks on American soil. The fear of the South becoming Haiti was very real, as was the paranoia about miscegenation. Since we, in retrospect, know that slavery was abolished with blacks still living in the U.S., and we know the gravity of the subsequent history of multiracial coexistence, the Liberian experiment seems like a bizarre and doomed little footnote. Compared to the number of slaves, very few freed blacks ever went to Liberia, and it looks to us as though it couldn't have been otherwise. But prior to the Mexican war, and arguably prior to the Civil War, Liberianism was the dominant position among whites who disapproved of slavery. Abolitionism-- that is, the desire to abolish slavery without resettlement in Africa-- was a decidedly fringe position. Liberia was going to be the grand solution to the great American dilemma and tragedy-- this was the view of many apprently intellectually and morally serious people. Moreover, Liberia would be a chance for the U.S. to begin exporting constitutional republican government back into the eastern hemisphere. It had Protestant social reformism and liberal-democratic millenialism all rolled up into one. In short, it was a major undertaking, viewed very seriously by the Americans who indulged their urge for social experimentation.

Liberia wasn't just founded by persons who happened to be freed slaves. It was founded as part of the great American psychodrama about race and slavery, as part of an ostensibly utopian project to (not to put too fine a point on it) abolish slavery but preserve white racial purity and dominance...
Liberia was created as an attempt to solve one of America's central problems, to end up with two racially homogenous liberal Christian democracies, one on each side of the Atlantic. Instead, it had next to no effect on American racial politics but succeeded in exporting habits of ethnic dominance to another place. Liberia wasn't formally a colony, because precisely what the U.S. wanted was rid of the blacks it was sending "back;" but the American relationship to it is as intimate as that of any colonial power to a colony, and moreso than most. If ever there are historical debts to be paid, the U.S. owes one to the people of its misbegotten creation.

Levy does not necessarily support military intervention: "That doesn't automatically translate into military intervention; there has to be a credible case that armed outsiders can improve things rather than becoming just another party to the civil war...But the balance of powers, and the likely outcomes, are different if the U.S. commits to aiding Liberia and to removing Taylor from power."

I have several problems with this analysis. Starting with the end of what I've quoted, his style of military intervention doesn't in and of itself seem any different from the kind of intervention that ends up as "another party to a civil war," unless he means we go in, level the place, and take complete control. But aside from that, can anyone tell me the difference between his justification for intervention in Liberia and the most compelling argument for slavery reparations? Even as the most respectable moderate position on slavery, it was still designed to "preserve white racial purity and dominance." Further, "it had next to no effect on American racial politics but succeeded in exporting habits of ethnic dominance to another place." Intervention 150 years after the fact? Mr. Levy seems to be saying we owe it to them. Well, what about the slaves we left here?

I'll give credit where credit is due. Mr. Levy astutely uses the Philippines as an historical model, a country we've taken over, "pacified," lost, retaken, freed, and continously meddled with. (to their long-term benefit?) I'm not sure this is an encouraging model, but it would lay the groundwork. And in this administration, late help would not shatter precedents. By all accounts an Iraqi invasion based upon the U.N. Resolutions should have happened a long time ago. But like Iraq, I wonder when the time period passed is too long. Are we now forever responsible for Liberia's future stability? Lack of a true knowledge of that country's history and intranational relations prevents me from makng that opinion (Ed. When has that stopped you before?)

2003-07-29T19:49:00.000-04:00

Survivor of Little Big Horn Buried in Brooklyn
Via Cronaca, we find this this interesting story about one of the few survivors of Custer's Last Stand. John Martin, born in Italy, rode away from Gen. Custer with orders for more reinforcements. He later fought in the Spanish-American War, eventually taking tickets on the NY subway - before finally meeting his end on the wrong end of a beer truck (the ground).

2003-07-29T18:33:00.000-04:00

South of the Suwannee
There are several items of interest over at South of the Suwannee, a blog dedicated to Floridian history and politics. First, there's this story about a proposed visitors center for the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine. Then, he notes that the Florida State Archives have digitized Confederate Pension Application Files and WWI Serivce Cards. Alas, the news is not all good, as, in an all-too common theme these days, the city of Fort Lauderdale is eliminating money in its budget for a preservationist. If you're interested in historical issues as they pertain to a specific state, South of the Suwannee is an essential in your bookmarks.

2003-07-28T19:45:00.000-04:00

Quote of the Day
From C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow, cited in Michael Kammen's Mystic Chords of Memory: The Transformation of Myth in American Culture: "The twilight zone that lies between living memory and written history is one of the favorite breeding places of mythology."

This appears in Kammen's introductory chapter where he analyzes the often intertwined roles of tradition and myth in the formation of a national cultural identity. That particular quote arises within a discussion of mythmaking and identity formation. One paragraph earlier Kammen contends that "invented traditions" should not always be treated with cynicism because it arises from people's understanding of the past as it ought to have been. That sentiment is universal, evidenced for example by how the Sons of Confederate Veterans view Reconstruction. Since the Southern cause was eminently just, the period that followed the war represents a "blight," the nadir of national history and honor. Conversely, historians that wish to emphasize advances in civil rights for African Americans during that period theoretically might tend to demonize resistance to those advances.

2003-07-28T06:48:00.000-04:00

DoHistory
Here's another interesting site. DoHistory pieces together one woman's life, Martha Ballard, from a 200 year old diary. This diary is featured in "A Midwife's Tale," which is both a book and a movie. The website is meant as a learning tool for others who wish to recreate history from the surviving documents of the past. The Film Study Center at Harvard University created the website.

On the website you can read the diary with several aids: a java-based applet (which wouldn't load on my computer) that transcribes a word for you - Magic Lens, or you can try try transcribing the diary yourself. The website even helps decode Martha's abbreviations, spellings, and date and accounting systems.

2003-07-28T06:31:00.000-04:00

Is the South's anti-unionism historically unique?
The following discussion came off of the H-SOUTH listserv and can be viewed here. In response to a discussion on the history and prospects of unionism (the creation and maintenance of unions), David L. Carlton, "Associate Professor of History" at Vanderbilt, emphasized that the South was not unique for displaying a particularly anti-union flavor and that prospects for establishing a union there were not impossible (referencing other list subscribers' allusions to Wal Mart's anti-union behavior):

Finally, I fail to see just how positing some peculiarly antiunion character for the South can solve the basic problem of how to organize
southern workers. If that's your desire, you actually have to deal with the
labor economics of the situation; how do workers actually gain the economic
power to confront an employer? Northern workers of the 1930s were under no
illusion that employers would roll over and play dead; building a union was
a matter of amassing power, not whining because Wal-Mart won't "allow" its
workers to organize [And Henry Ford did? Jeez!]. And they succeeded in
organizing mass-production industries that most people at the time had
abandoned as hopeless cases, in the heart of what had been the
conservative, anti-union Midwest and Far West [People forget what an
antiunion bastion Los Angeles once was]. Similarly, I think strategies
could be developed to do the same thing in the present-day South.

But to do that one has to think economically and structurally -- something,
alas, that labor historians have long gotten out of the habit of doing.
Part of that is due to the curious notion that the Wagner Act brought the
federal government in on the unions' side. But the government was always
less interested in union power than in labor peace; as that mislabeled
"conservative" Sam Gompers would point out, in the end workers have to do
it themselves. Complaining about a peculiarly antiunion South diverts from
understanding the real problems, and postpones any real solutions.

As Instapundit would say, read the whole thing. Matter of fact, you should subscribe too (it's free!).

2003-07-28T05:34:00.000-04:00

A Couple of New Sites
I have not added these following sites to the blogroll to the right, but I think you should check them out if you are interested in how history is portrayed on the world wide web. First, a Geitner Simmons post on Abraham Lincoln's visit to Richmond in 1865 led me to Eyewitness and eHistory. The former site advertises itself as "Your ringside seat to history - from the Ancient World to the present. Presented by Ibis Communications, Inc. a digital publisher of educational programming." It contains thousands of primary sources ranging from personal accounts to photographs to audio clips covering many topics spanning most of western history (though I assume there are no audio clips for the ancient history section). The site provides a handy index to its holdings as well as various categorical finding aids in a toolbar near the top of every page.

The second site bills itself as "the site for history fans, enthusiasts and students. eHistory consists of over 130,000 pages of historical content; 5,300 timeline events; 800 battle outlines; 350 biographies; and thousands of images and maps. Explore our site and satisfy your curiosity." As you can see, it seems to deal more with military and political history more than social or cultural. In addition to categorial finding aids at the top and left of the page, a "Feature of the Week" on the main page explores its vast holdings. By perusing their About page, you find out that eHistory is a private company consisting of "successful entrepreneurs and passionate historians." That does not sound like a recipe for serious academic-level research, and it's not. Some of the articles do not display their sources for the information presented (although others are well-documented). But the site also provides a list of contributors, which gives you an idea of what is presented and why (largely what reflects the passions of the contributors themselves), and who might come closer to academia in that regard. eHistory is not a site to peruse scholarly opinion, but for the lay historian it does provide a wealth of general information on a wide range of topics.

One last interesting note. The website maintains a bookstore, which on perusal turns out to be little more than reprinted (or retyped) brochures on various subjects related to the sites' contents. Interesting.

2003-07-28T05:06:00.000-04:00

Commemorating Terrorism?David Nishimura of Cronaca links to a story in the Sunday Times of London (which requires registration) about public money from the Berlin city council pledged to a museum exhibit on the Baader-Meinhof gang, a "West German left-wing terrorist group that murdered industrialists and politicians for more than two decades from the late 1960s." Not surprisingly, the plan has outraged relatives of the groups' victims. While a spokesman for the city noted that the exhibit would look "artistically and critically" at the group, a recent spate of celebretory movies and portrayals might give the victims' relative ample reason to worry.

Most museum professionals, backed by lots of research and writing on the subject, would argue that controversial subjects require a lot of forthought to ensure an "artisitic and critical" look. Audience participation in every stage of exhibit planning, design, and execution is necessary to ensure this. So how does the museum or hosting organization (not specified in David's post) intend to balance these contrasting visions of Baader-Meinhof? Alas we are left to wonder.

2003-07-26T16:53:00.000-04:00

Historical South Carolina Figures
The Backcountry Conservative is participating in today's Blogathon by posting about South Carolina historical figures. He's got quite an impressive array of individuals already at his site! Learn more about the Blogathon here.

2003-07-25T00:17:00.000-04:00

Homeland Security Office of History
The National Coalition for History is reporting in their weekly Washington Update that an entity entitled the "Office of History," part of the Homeland Security Administration, is a step closer to authorization. This office would "produce, oversee, and coordinate the production of a range of reference, policy, and historical background assessment papers....provide expert historical knowledge essential for informed decision making to maintain the institutional history of the Department....provide professional assistance to the historical and archival activities of the directorates and bureaus within the Department; and...produce such documentary collections as may be deemed necessary." The NCH has been pushing for the creation of this office. This is the first I've heard of it. I see good things in it. For instance, proper archival practices are something that could have facilitated intelligence gathering and distribution before 9/11.

2003-07-24T19:52:00.000-04:00

Efforts to derail Reconstruction Project in Beaufort receive attention
This appeared over H-SOUTH today:

From the NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 9, #32; 24 July 2003):

5. CONTROVERSY OVER RECONSTRUCTION THEME STUDY Recently, what was
considered a non-controversial piece of legislation (S. 500 and H.R. 332)
proposing a Reconstruction Theme Study and consideration of a possible new
National Park Service site focusing on the story of Reconstruction has come
under fire from southern heritage groups. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC),
the sponsor of the House version of the bill, has been targeted to receive
letters opposing the study, which would focus federal dollars and public
attention on the unique Reconstruction era resources located in Beaufort
County, South Carolina.

The most vocal opposition has come from the Sons of Confederate Veterans
(SCV), an organization comprised of descendants and relatives of Civil War
era confederates. Recently, the SCV passed a resolution opposing the theme
study alleging that the study would be one-sided, and would ignore the
"blight of reconstruction dominated by occupying federal troops and
carpetbagger rule". The SCV also expressed concerns that the Beaufort
Arsenal would be turned over to the National Park Service.

Jefferson Mansell, Director of the Historic Beaufort Foundation, however,
disputes the claims of the SCV. "American history is not always pretty," he
said. "It is often controversial and it is always open to interpretation.
Our goal is that the National Reconstruction Study Act will recognize the
trials, tribulations, and injustices suffered by all South Carolinians and
the success and failures of that Federal program." Mansell also stated that
there were no plans to turn the Arsenal over to the federal government.

Senator Fritz Hollings' (D-SC) version of the legislation (S. 500) that
already has passed the Senate and has been sent to the House for
consideration, has the greatest chance of being enacted. Last year, the
Senator secured funding of $350,000 for the study in the FY-2003 Interior
Appropriations bill, but freeing up the funds for the study is dependent on
the passage of an authorization bill. Consideration of both the Hollings
and Wilson bills remain pending before the House Subcommittee on National
Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands which has yet to schedule a hearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Jurretta Jordan Heckscher
Research Specialist and Editor, American Memory
Digital Reference Team
The Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540-4604

This kind of attention is wonderful news for the project and has the potential to increase awareness of what's going on, a "rally the troops" sort of manuver, if you will. Hopefully, S. 500 will be passed this year.

2003-07-23T23:28:00.000-04:00

Most Important Post
Make sure you read my post on Reconstruction from earlier today.

2003-07-23T23:26:00.000-04:00

Over at Cronaca.com
Several items of interest discovered from Cronaca today. First, the man behind the James ossuary has been arrested on suspicion of forgery. Second the, Gutenberg Bible is now available online via the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the Univeristy of Texas at Austin. Third, and finally, David directs us to Vodka Pundit for an historical take on the way wars end (hint: in quagmires, not in sudden, brilliant flashes).

I can say honestly that Mr. Nishimura has vastly expanded my sphere of knowledge. The power of the web is simply astounding.

2003-07-23T23:18:00.000-04:00

Tons of ordinance beneath a Berlin Airport
The Scotsman is reporting that munitions and entire planes full of fuel and ordinance were buried under Schoenefeld Airport in Berlin by the Soviets after World War Two:

Papers among thousands of files captured from the Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, claim tons of live Second World War munitions were buried in concrete bunkers beneath the runways of Schoenefeld airport in East Berlin...
Experts believe it entirely feasible that, in the aftermath of the Second World War, with Berlin littered with millions of tons of unexploded ordnance, the Soviets could well have pressured local officials to move to clear the airfield as swiftly as possible.

"They would have stuffed them anywhere they could - there was simply too much stuff to blow up all at once," said Karl-Heinz Eckhardt, a Berlin historian. "There was a warren of massive Nazi bunkers beneath the site of the present airport that would have suited their purposes."

City authorities claim the airport is perfectly safe, but a thorough check on the claims in the Stasi files - 140 km of them that will still take a number of years to decipher - is being undertaken.

Nearly two million passengers a year pass through Schoenefeld. According to the Stasi files, the ammunition was buried in bunkers between eight and nine metres deep.

(Via Drudge Report.)

2003-07-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

Controversy over Reconstruction
This past Spring semester, I enrolled in a Historic Preservation Practicum course designed to familiarize public history students with fieldwork in historic preservation. Page Putnam Miller, former lobbyist for the National Coalition for History in one of its earlier incarnations, taught the course. As a class we prepared a report on the vast historic resources in Beaufort, South Carolina, pertaining to Reconstruction. As it turns out, the lower sea islands surrounding Beaufort became somewhat of a rehearsal for reconstruction when the US Navy captured Port Royal Sound late in 1861. Most of the planters fled with their families, leaving behind upwards of 10,000 slaves. In many ways, what the Union forces did to resolve "the Negro Question" foreshadowed US Government policy following the Confederacy's defeat.

We undertook this report to compliment a grassroots effort to have the National Park Service consider establishing a unit in Beaufort to study and interpret Reconstruction. Currently, no unit of the NPS performs this task, although several units discuss the Civil War at great length. We all felt that, since Reconstruction is probably the most misunderstood and understudied period in our nation's history, this discrepancy deserved correction. Furthermore, the existence of several historic structures dating back to the Civil War and earlier tied to important events during the War and its aftermath made Beaufort the best site for a unit of the NPS.

The group, the Reconstruction History Partnership, held three community meetings to hear from the general public, as required by the NPS. At one of those meetings, Michael Givens, Lt. Commander of the South Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, voiced great concern over the establishment of such a unit. His concerns boil down essentially to two: 1) the loss of public use of buildings, such as the Historic Beaufort Arsenal, where the SCV currently hold their meetings, and 2) the interpretation of Reconstruction that would be put forth. Mr. Givens ascribes loosely to an interpretation of Reconstruction popular with academics fifty years and more ago; scholarly opinion, led by Eric Foner and others, has advanced beyond Mr. Givens' views.

Mr. Givens expanded his thoughts in a resolution presented in March to the SCD, SCV's 2003 Convention, and subsequently adopted by SCV General Executive Council that same month. As a result of this resolution, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC, 2nd District) has received 800 letters urging him to withdraw his support for an NPS unit.

Events in Washington this session give hope that action might be taken. Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) introduced a bill (S. 500) that would "direct the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of historic sites in Beaufort County, South Carolina, to determine if they could be collectively designated as a unit of the National Park System. The bill also would direct the department to conduct a national historic landmark theme study to identify sites in the United States that are significant to the Reconstruction Era. S. 500 would authorize the appropriation of whatever amounts are necessary for the two studies and require the department to report its findings and recommendations to the Congress within three years of receiving funds." IT passed the Senate 90-0. For this bill to take effect, the bill has to pass the House (and be signed by the President). Therefore, Rep. Wilson's support is key, and that is why the SCV has undertaken a letter writing campaign.

It is our class's the the Reconstruction Working Partnership's wish to see this study approved. It is one step in the right direction for the establishment of a unit dedicated to the most misunderstood time period in United States history. A unit of the NPS cannot be established without these important studies being conducted. Members of the group and class are also writing letters in support of the project. If you would like to do the same, you can reach Rep. Wilson in the following ways: by e-mail at: Joe.Wilson@mail.house.gov or call his Washington office (202) 225-2452; fax his Washington office (202) 225-2455 or call his Beaufort office (843) 521-2530; or write his Beaufort office: Lowcountry Office, 903 Port Republic Street, Post Office Box 1538, Beaufort, SC 29901.

2003-07-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

Baseball integration in Columbia, SC
South Carolinian political blogger Wyeth Ruthven posted this week about the desegregation of minor league baseball following the death of Larry Doby. He lifts this exerpt from "Brushing Back Jim Crow":

In one early season game between Jacksonville and Columbia in South Carolina, the drawing power of [Hank] Aaron and his teammates was obvious. Fifteen hundred African-American fans came out to watch the Saturday night contest, a tremendous crowd compared to those in 1952, when only 54 black fans on average bought tickets to individual Sally [South Atlantic League] games in Columbia. ... Three months later, on July 21st, Columbia's largest crowd of the season, 5,048 watched first-place Jacksonville best the Columbia Reds, 2-1.

2003-07-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

Florida History Blog
Geitner Simmons of Regions of Mind has brought to my attention the Florida History blog South of the Suwanee. In addition to cogent thoughts on Florida's history and current affairs as well, he provides many links to other institutions, both public and private, related to the professional historian and public historian. Check him out.

2003-07-22T20:13:00.000-04:00

New History Blog
Through the History News Network's History Blogs feature, which they seem to be updating, I've discovered Jen Rosenberg's history blog on About.com. Her "In the Spotlight" feature highlights an interesting item in the news that day pertaining to 20th Century history. The latest reported that Idi Amin was in a coma (allegedly). Jen previously worked for About.com as guide to The Holocaust. She is a graduate student in history (though her website does not say where.) One thing to look out for at her sight: pop-up ads.

In other news, HNN has added me to their history blogs. Score one for badgering!

2003-07-21T17:30:00.000-04:00

Using DNA to follow the travels of historical documents
David Nishimura of Cronaca points us to this story in the Guardian about genetic fingerprinting of historic documents. Two scientists from Cambridge are attempting to take tiny samples of DNA from a set of gospels that tradition holds were given to St. Augustine, founder of Christianity in England, by Pope Gregory the Great. The scientists hope to match those samples of parchment with contemporary parchment from Italy to establish authenticity. They've done it before: the same technique was used to establish the correct order of different versions of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Fascinating!

2003-07-21T17:22:00.000-04:00

Historians Against the War: Pro and Con
This week's headlines on the History News Network website feature an article that appeared in Front Page Magazine decrying Historians Against the War by Greg Yardley, "Managing Editor of Follow the Network, a forthcoming database on left-wing groups and organizations created by the Center for the Study of Popular Culture" (he holds an M.A. in History from Stanford) and a response from David Montgomery, Farnam Professor Emeritus at Yale University, and I assume a member of HAW. The debate is predictably polemical. Nevertheless, it's an exercise (if not in futility), then an examination of how historians contribute to public debate on topic of contemporary national significance. So who in my opinion is right? Neither. I think Mr. Yardley vastly overstates the case on the public damage done by historians' organizational efforts against the war, not to mention that it smacks of "don't rock the boat" precisely at the time the boat should have been rocking. Yet neither do I fully support HAW, especially for its purported attempt to have the entire AHA speak for its beliefs. However, I do have a sneaking suspicion that the majority of the members in the AHA actually do support HAW. Perhaps that's not so outrageous, but it's out of my knowledge.

2003-07-21T17:19:00.000-04:00

2003-07-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

Devilish sign stealers in New Mexico
The New York Times is reporting that all of the road signs for the former U.S. Route 666 have been stolen in New Mexico: "Since the reports that we were changing the name, we virtually had everything stolen. It was a feeding frenzy," said S. U. Mahesh, a spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The road is now U.S. 491.

2003-07-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

Bunch of New History Blogs
The History News Network has created a list of history blogs. I, unfortunately, am not on it. Neither are some of the wonderful blogs to the right, including David Nishimura, Geitner Simmons, or Bill Allison to name a few. However, from that list I have added several new entries. These include Juan Cole, Rebecca Goetz, and Shana Worthen. There's a larger group devoted to history in the blogosphere than I realized! This is great news, but I'd love to see more devotees to American history and Public history, a wish that is sincerely selfish! (they are my fields.) Check them out, and check out there blogrolls for the growing list of academic and medievalist blogs!

2003-07-19T12:40:00.000-04:00

Commemorating the saving of a museum collection in time of war
This article from the New York Times reports on a new exhibit at the Prado that celebrates efforts to save precious collections from looting and the ravages of warfare.

Again, via Cronaca.

2003-07-19T12:35:00.000-04:00

Archeoglogy at Wright Brothers Shop
This article from Yahoo! News on current archeology at the Wright Bros. bicycle shop where they built their first airplane illustrates conflicts between current and older methods of historic preservation. In 1936, Henry Ford bought the shop and moved it to Greenfield Village, his living-history project/museum. Now, archeology students from Wright State Univeristy (Ohio) are excavating the property for remains from the building. So far, nothing concrete that can be tied to the shop has been found. The article does not mention what the students plan to do with any recovered material.

Via Cronaca.

2003-07-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

This week in Congressional Arts Funding
This week has been a busy one in appropriations for the arts. The House and Senate have both recommended more and less funding for the arts over last year's levels; the House and Senate have both recommended funding levels above and below what President Bush called for in his State of the Union speech earlier this year. Here's a roundup of events transpiring this week.

Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization (and lobbyist) reports the the House approved an amendment to increase spending on the NEA by $10 million and the NEH by $5 million over what the House Appropriations Committee allocated. Totals are now $142 million for the NEH, which matches the Senate appropriations level, and $127.5 for the NEA (or $10 million more than the Senate). The above report provides a link to the debate on the House floor, with several members from both parties citing the AFA's nonprofit economic impact study. The AFA further reports that the Senate increased by $35 million arts education funding, while the House gave the Office of Museum Services an additional $5 million.

The National Council of History, however, takes issue with the language in the Senate's appropriation bill (S. 1391) for the NEH. Although $15 million has been allocated for the President's "We the People" initiative, that's $10 million less than what he wanted. Further, report language for the bill indicates that Congress wants the final product to reflect "congressional priorities," which means Sen. Lamar Alexander's "American History and Civics Education Act of 2003" (S. 504). NCH has issues with language in the bill that would create a redundant national organization of history and civics teachers. Concerns have been raised that the bill is heavily loaded with what is characterized as "value-laden concepts," thus raising concerns about "the politicization of the teaching of history." Finally, rather than allocate 100% of "We the People" money to Alexander's Bill, NCH wants additional funding tacked on to the budget.

2003-07-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

Brown University's threat to an historic neighborhood
David Nishimura of Cronaca blogs about Brown's Univeristy's attempts to build a new Life Sciences building "in the middle of Providence's oldest and most historic neighborhood." David lays out the case for cheaper and open land that is more environmentally conducive to such a building. He also mentions that several Brown-affiliated individuals live in the potential neighborhood. He even provides a link to the neighborhood association website to help fight Brown University's highhanded approach. Now this is a public history controversy. If you live in this area, I urge you to visit website for the College Hill Neighborhood Association and follow their suggestions for action.

2003-07-16T17:07:00.000-04:00

Further Black Panthers update
To recap, here is my original post on the subject. After receiving some reader email, I posted further on the subject. This article at History News Network further prompted further discourse on my part. (You'll notice that I've left comments at the end of that article.) Prof. Williams has now given me permission to reprint his email in full. Everything in quotes below is his language.

"Dear Chris,

Thank you for your interest in the Black Panther Party as a subject of
historical inquiry. As I explained on NPR all too often, people have been
inclined to depend on journalistic accounts of the Party which, in their
desire to accentuate the more seductive aspects of the "story," reject the
tenets of scholarship in pursuit of a marketable product. The result is
often poor scholarship contributing to the popular meta- narrative that I
discussed on the program. It is interesting that Sol Stern mentioned Jason
Blair in his piece. Kate Coleman, who has written three articles on the
Wheelock conference, which have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle,
The LA Times and the online magazine FrontPage, did not attend the
conference, but assumes an air of authority. In Blair like detail she
discusses the panels as if she were present and has made the vilification
of the conference and its participants her own personal crusade. I should
mention that both the Chronicle and the Times, interestingly enough,
refused to print rebuttals by the organizers of the conference. This is the
problem. The journalistic accounts have created a vicious circle whereby
academics, relying on journalistic accounts, perpetuate the popular
meta-narrative. The journalists then criticize any historians who are
trying to break out of the sensationalist mold that has been created by
those very journalists. I submit for your review a review of my book on the
Black Panther Party in New Haven, Connecticut by Yale professor John Halle
which answers many of the queries you raised about the Party nationally by
looking at how it functioned in a local setting. Dr. Jama Lazerow, who
co-sponsored the conference, and is working on a book on the Black Panthers
in Massachusetts and myself are currently editing the papers from the
conference for publication by Duke University Press. This volume should be
available in 2005."

The full text of the review he references can be found here. It's from the Summer 2001 (Vol. 8, No. 3, (new series) whole no. 31) of New Politics, whose website carries the subtitle "A Journal of Socialist Thought." Prof. Williams was kind enough to copy the full text into the email for me, but for brevity's sake I've provided the link. I find his email provocative in the sense that it takes jabs at the way journalistic coverage helps shape popular knowledge and opinion of historical events. (The slightly more personal jab at Sol Stern is also quite provocative.) I personally think that there is much to lament in this process. Whether we want to blame market-driven product formation is another question entirely. As is evident in my other posts on the subject, ultimately I retain a negative opinion of the Black Panthers as an entity. However, I continue to applaud recent scholarship that at least can help contextualize the Panthers within larger frameworks of the Civil Rights Movement and postcolonialism (among others).

2003-07-15T23:31:00.000-04:00

NPS Archeological Centers up for outsourcing
David Nishimura of Cronaca points out this article in the Washington Post about the controversy over the Bush Administration's outsourcing plans. At issue are the potential privatization of the National Park Services' two Archeological Centers (one in the Midwest, another in the South), which hold archeological oversight over all NPS parks and monuments. The central complaints revolve around who could do a better job for less money:

The administration says turning over the archaeology jobs to private contractors could save money, but critics charge that contractors are ill-equipped to cope with an array of endemic challenges, including influential outsiders trying to dictate Park policy, chronic congressional underfunding and serious personnel shortages that Park Service archaeologists mitigate by using thousands of volunteers -- an option not open to a private company.

And that says nothing about the institutional memory, experience and public trust that would be squandered, said Ron Tipton, senior vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association, a citizens' group that closely monitors the Park Service: "This is an agency that to some degree is respected and even loved."

Others question the motives behind the move, complaining about a potential loss of neutrality:

"(Rep. Doug) Bereuter (D-Neb.) concluded that the initiative was driven strictly by quotas -- "a very arbitrary decision," he said: "On a job-by-job basis there are firms that could do this work, but you're not going to have the institutional history, archives and resources. This will destroy centers of expertise that can never be reassembled."

Even more important, added Ehrenhard, "you lose the watchdog function."

Park Service archaeologists are nonprofit-oriented, he said, and have the full weight of the U.S. government behind whatever decisions they make: "We do what's in the best interests of the public, which is not always in the best interests of some developer and may not make the most sense economically," Ehrenhard said. "But we're the government, and we can't be bought."

2003-07-14T23:01:00.000-04:00

The American Association for State and Local History is pressing for more funding for state and local history at the state government level. Citing drastic funding cuts, the AASLH encourages others to put some pressure on their respective elected officials to save and increase funding for their constituents' history. (Second item, which opens an MS Word document.)

2003-07-14T22:47:00.000-04:00

History blog moves to new site
Bill Allison at Ideofact has moved. The blogroll at right has been updated. Drop by and wish him well with his newest addition - comments! While you're there, check out this post on duty, glory, and how Napoleon sacrificed the former to achieve the latter.

2003-07-14T22:27:00.000-04:00

Three Gorges Dam begins flooding archeological sites
David Nishimura also brings to my attention this article in The Art Newspaper about the progress (or is it retrogression) of the Three Gorges Dam. According to the article, the first stage of the massive hydro-electric project has finished. The end result for Chinese archeology: 1,200 potential sites have now been flooded and lost forever. The article details just some of the many rich sites that are now underwater. It truly is enough to make one weep.

David's home is here.

2003-07-14T22:18:00.000-04:00

Lax museum security in Europe?
Art history blogger David Nishimura located this article in the Dallas Morning News about the state of museum security in Europe, including some of the world's most famous museums. David has already exerpted several paragraphs in his post on the subject, so I will simply ask you to read it. That is, if you can get past the lengthy, but free, registration process.

2003-07-14T19:28:00.000-04:00

More on the Black Panther's historical legacy
Yes, I'm still waiting for Prof. Williams to contact me. But in the meantime, Robert Self, who "teaches history at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee," has penned an article for the History News Network placing the Panthers within a broader framework of the "good sixties" versus the "bad sixties." Self sees an endless initiative to draw from the sixties overbroad moral lessons. In Self's words: "If we can't take on the complexity of our past, we are ill-prepared to learn from it and even less equipped to make critical judgments in the future." Self doesn't stop there:

"Let's be honest. One of the reasons that most white Americans, and not a few black ones, are eager to minimize the importance of the Panthers is race. White Americans sought redemption by participating in the civil rights movement. When organizations emerged that did not offer such redemption, whites by and large lost interest and abandoned the movement. The Panthers' mixture of black liberation, anticolonial solidarity, and anticapitalist rhetoric was too provocative an alchemy to attract the mainstream. Many white Americans today cringe at images of Panther radical chic, but many African Americans embrace the party's example of dignity, self-possession, discipline, and intellectual rigor."

I am personally skeptical of statements that lump competing historical memories to racial groups as self-defined and self-contained wholes. However, that is not to say that they do not exist. I do not know of a poll that measures Self's characterization, so I have no way to analyze whether this statement is accurate.

Self goes on further to equate Black Panther initiatives with a political vanguard:

"They spoke the truth about the state of the nation's cities in the 1970s. Between 1972 and 1975, the party ran a series of campaigns for public office in Oakland. In those campaigns, Bobby Seale and Elaine Brown stumped as grassroots politicians on an agenda of urban reform. They pointed to the glaring contradictions at the heart of the urban crisis: rich suburban communities, poor urban ones; good suburban schools, struggling urban ones; mounting black poverty in an era of affluence. Indeed, much of their critique of the Bay Area foreshadowed the statewide debate over Proposition 13 in 1978. The Party made itself relevant to the most important socio-political conversations of the day in California."

However, to bring in my previous post, as well as points I've made earlier about the Panthers here and here, is it simply enough to be on the right side of history? In other words, for all that the Panthers accomplished to better the economic and social conditions of inner-city African Americans, how does that measure against the more negative aspects of that organization? Self is correct that historical scholarship cannot be reduced to simple morality plays. Yet there are lessons to be drawn, and for better or worse, groups can be either placed on a pedestal or ultimately condemned for their behavior, even in historical scholarship.

I do consider the current historical legacy of the Black Panthers to be incomplete. And I think that Self is correct that our determination to draw lessons from the sixties, if not simply our proximity to that time period, have shrouded it from proper historical analysis until now. I join him in the quest for a fuller understanding of the Black Panthers in historical context. To that end all contemporary voices are equal and should play a role in its formation. Insiders from the organization, and citizens that benefited from its programs ought to have a say. But so should victims of its policies and actions. Historical judgment is often created over time, by the voices of many. This should be no different.

2003-07-14T18:59:00.000-04:00

HNN article blasts Ann Coulter's new book for wielding an historical sledgehammer
The History News Network has published an article by Stephen Schwartz, a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, titled "Ann Coulter's Betrayal of Anti-Communist Historians." (I've provided a link to his affiliated institution so that you can analyze the content of their site and draw your own conclusions about them) In his article, Mr. Schwartz carefully details the connections between Soviet infiltration of the U.S. Government as well as several Latin American nations, and Trotskyism. His contention is that Soviet infiltration proceeded with much less rationalism that Coulter projects, often operating more to eradicate other Leftist intellectuals rather than truly undermine national governments in the service of Communism. However, there more one reads into his argument, the more his true motive surfaces.

Like other anti-Communist, right-leaning intellectuals such as David Horowitz, Ronald Radosh, or journalists such as Harry Stein, Mr. Schwartz shared with them a background steeped in American Communism (and I presume at one time was as idealistic as they were, prepared to serve the cause). In his words, "Because we began in the Communist movement, we had to come to terms with our own misguided beliefs and motives; we had to let go of an idealism that we had nurtured and that had nurtured us; we had to break with friends, family, colleagues, a whole world. We had to ask ourselves a million times if we had made the right decision."

Schwartz pays homage to many who were his spiritual brethren at the time for their martydom to a cause that Ms. Coulter now slanders in a misguided defense of an American ideologue merely because he happened to be superficially correct. Moreover, in Schwartz's eyes, her incorrect historical revisionism has slandered himself and other anti-Communist intellectuals who have fought long and hard battles with themselves in the formation of their own, now fervently patriotic beliefs. For Schwartz, many respectable, if ultimately misguided partisans died horrible deaths in the fight against Joseph Stalin. And to him, Coulter's attempted rehabilitation of a political opportunist and demagogue, who like herself lumped together all Communists as treasonous individuals bent on destruction of the American way, is too simplistic if not downright fallacious.

I've read a few testimonials from former Communists, including Ronald Radosh's Commies: A Journey Through the Old Left, the New Left and the Leftover Left, Harry Stein's How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (And Found Inner Peace), and even Joshua Muravchik's Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism. (The last is really a sociology/history book, but the author details his similar personal history in the introductory sections) Based on their descriptions of intellectual self-torture in order to come to grips with their changing ideologies, I think that Mr. Schwartz is justifiably upset at Ms. Coulter's convenient simplification of a vast, complex, and misunderstood period in our nation's history (not to mention its international connections).

2003-07-12T00:32:00.000-04:00

Senate OKs museum of African American History and Culture; Get your pieces of the "Rock"
The Senate has approved legislation that would establish a museum of African American History and Culture within the Smithsonian Institution. Here's the full text from the National Coalition for History's weekly Washington Update:

3. AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM GETS SENATE BLESSING
On 24 June 2003, the Senate passed legislation (S. 1157) to establish a
National Museum of African American History and Culture within the
Smithsonian Institution. The bill, sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback
(R-KS) and passed by voice vote, authorizes $17 million to begin work on
the project. The House version of the measure (HR 2205), sponsored by John
Lewis (D-GA), is expected to pass before the August Congressional
recess. It is currently pending in both the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in the Committee on House Administration. The
White House supports the bill.

The museum would cover the history of African-Americans through slavery and
Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights
movement. Construction may be completed by 2013 with funds provided by
both the federal government and private donors. The remaining key question
that lawmakers must consider is where best to locate the museum. Some
backers want it built on land in front of the Senate side of the
Capitol. Other possible locations include several parcels of available
land adjacent to the Mall and nearer to the Smithsonian central complex of
museums. The site for the project must be chosen by the Smithsonian Board
of Regents 18 months after the bill's passage.

In other NCH news, the National Park Service entity at Alcatraz has begun selling pieces of the famed prison as tourist-trap souvenirs, a practice the NCH and many historic preservationists condemn. Most feel that this cheapens the significance of the historic structures being protected. I'd like to add my own caveat; this policy contradicts the well known aphorism "Take only pictures; leave only footprints." I feel that its dangerous to encourage visitors to take something tangible that is historic from an historic site or structure. It contradicts policies against relic-hunting for example, at least in spirit. What? You can't take it yourself, but we'll sell it to you, and that makes it ok? It's not that bad, but it's still a step in the wrong direction.

2003-07-12T00:02:00.000-04:00

U-Boat sank in Gulf of Mexico to be studied
David Nishimura's blog Cronaca point me to this article in the Lafayette (Louisiana) Advertiser about the partnership of a Lafayette business and the History Channel in an underwater study of the only German U-Boat sank in the Gulf of Mexico during World War II. According to the article, confusion has surrounded the wreck since it occurred over whether or not the patrol plane hunting it actually sank it. For years, the U-boat was mistaken for another that was also being pursued that day, only to escape (and later be sunk by a mine in sight of the French coast).

2003-07-11T22:54:00.000-04:00

National Constitution Center now open
The National Constitution Center, located in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, is now open. It's official website is here. Through the website you can take a virtual tour of the museum (if you have Real Player), take an interactive tour/lesson through each of the Constitution's Articles and Amendments and/or learn about how the Constitution interacts with daily life and political issues of the day such as abortion or affirmative action. This sections features explanations of the articles, issues, and selected Court Cases by Linda Monk.

The NCC is not part of the National Park System, and there is a fee to get in. In addition, you must purchase timed tickets, similar to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, or Philadelphia's Independence Hall. I am a Philly native, and I can't wait to see how this building looks. Last time I was down there it was still under construction.

The building itself is made of Indiana limestone and granite. This means it does not match the historic structures of Independence Mall nor the brand new visitor center. However, the current Liberty Bell building is also made of limestone, so it does not clash with its surroundings. The New York Times glowingly reviewed its architectural style.

2003-07-11T22:33:00.000-04:00

In Case You Didn't Know...
...freed slaves did not found the nation of Liberia. The History News Network clears up this widespread misunderstanding that has arisen since events in that country have reached world news recently.

2003-07-11T17:17:00.000-04:00

Unknown Truman Diary Discovered
The Truman Library announced today the discovery of a previously unknown diary written by President Truman in 1947. Here's a particularly interesting account from the library's website.

"The diary book bears the title 1947 Diary and Manual of The Real Estate Board of New York, Inc. The first 160 pages contain information about the board, including a listing of all its members and officers. President Truman wrote his diary entries in the second half of the book. This diary book was transferred to the Truman Library by President Truman's office staff in June 1965. At that time, the Library staff was not aware of Truman's diary entries and the book was catalogued and filed with the Library's book collection, where it remained until its recent discovery.

One of the most striking entries is Truman's account of a conversation with General Dwight D. Eisenhower in which Truman indicates that he is willing to yield the Presidency to Eisenhower. He writes that he and Eisenhower both believed that General Douglas MacArthur intended to run for President in 1948 on the Republican ticket. "I told Ike," Truman records, "that if [MacArthur] did that he (Ike) should announce for the nomination for President on the Democratic ticket and that I'd be glad to be in second place, or Vice President. I like the Senate anyway. Ike & I could be elected and my family & myself would be happy outside this great white jail known as the White House. Ike won't quot[e] me & I won't quote him." No record of the conversation was found among Eisenhower's papers at the Eisenhower Library."

The diary also contains entries revealing Truman's well-known dislike of being President, and also of his anti-Semitic views. This diary is larger than any other known Truman diaries in existence. Although Truman wrote frequently, he often used small books, loose leaf paper, but rarely a large volume for the sole purpose of keeping a diary. That makes this find that much more incredible. Other news stories about the diary can be accessed here, here, and here.

2003-07-11T17:04:00.000-04:00

New Online Historic Preservation Magazine
New (to my eyes) is the online version of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's magazine, Preservation Online. Features not in the printed version include a daily story about an historic structure as well as a "911" section whereby readers can alert others of the imminent teardown of an historic structure. This will be added to the blogroll at right.

2003-07-11T16:58:00.000-04:00

SCDAH creates online finding aid for the Statewide Survey of Historic Properties
By going here you may access the finding aid for the S.C. Department of Archives and History's Statewide Survey of Historic Properties. The website is designed for potential patrons to ascertain what information SCDAH has before they make the trip to Columbia. The index includes brief descriptive information about photographs, site forms, maps, and reports for hundreds of survey projects.

2003-07-11T16:55:00.000-04:00

SC Archives and History Commission awards Certified Local Government Grants
The Archives and History Commission, which is part of the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, awards CLG grants to local governmental apparati for work in historic preservation. Money for the grants is dispersed by the Department of the Interior, and the SHPO administers the distribution. This year's winners are:

Georgetown Design Guidelines (Georgetown, Georgetown County): $7,500
The City of Georgetown will produce revised and updated guidelines to help
the Board of Architectural Review protect this coastal city's rich heritage
of buildings from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

James S. Gibson House Stabilization (Darlington, Darlington County): $18,000
The Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation will repair the roof and roof
support system of this ca. 1877-1884 house. After the repairs are made to
this endangered key building in the St. John's Historic District, the
Palmetto Trust plans to market the house for resale to a preservation-minded
owner.

Dillon Theater Roof Replacement (Dillon, Dillon County): $12,000
The Dillon County Theater Association will replace the roof of the Spanish
Colonial Revival Dillon Theater. The former movie house is used for
community theater productions serving children and adults, but severe roof
leaks have forced the cancellation of some recent productions.

Bethel A.M.E. Church (Columbia, Richland County): $15,000
Bethel A.M.E. Church at the corner of Sumter and Taylor Streets was designed
by John A. Lankford, one of the nation's first registered black architects.
Vacant since the late 1990s when the congregation moved to a new home, the
building is suffering from water damage. This project will provide
architectural planning services for emergency repairs to the building as the
congregation explores potential new uses for this Columbia landmark.

Rock Hill Historic Resources Survey (Rock Hill, York County): $10,000
The City of Rock Hill will survey properties that have become 50 years old
since the 1988 city-wide survey was conducted, plus properties annexed by
the city since 1988, and properties adjacent to the downtown historic
district. Survey data will support the City's planning efforts for downtown
development and revitalization.

These are matching grants, so I'm not sure if these institutions have already received the awards, or if money has been earmarked for distribution contingent upon matching funds. Either way, congratulations are in order for the winners.

2003-07-10T19:06:00.000-04:00

New History Blog
Check out the blogroll for a new history blog, The Invisible Adjunct. According to his website, the Invisible Adjunct is an anonymous adjunct professor of history at an unknown institution who writes mainly on the various failings of the academic job market in the field of history. With such a potentially sensitive topic, no wonder he is anonymous. However, a quick perusal of his content proves he is an insightful thinker and writer with well-informed opinions on his selected topic. I plan to read him often, and if you are looking to enter academia at any point, maybe you should too.

2003-07-10T18:48:00.000-04:00

Today in History on American Memory
Those who have never visited the Library of Congress' American Memory webpage should check out its vast online archive of photographs, paintings, maps, documents, and multimedia. Over 7 million pieces are available, and many of the documents can be enlarged and/or zoomed in. For instance, I accessed an 1872 Bird's Eye map of the city of Columbia, SC, and was able to zoom in ten levels onto a specifc structure.

American Memory also provides a Today in History highlight. Today's features Jelly Role Morton, who died on this date in 1941. Their feature provides biographical information as well as links to sites within American Memory focusing on specific topics, such as vaudeville, and even all the way to individual items related to Jelly Role, such as a recording of the "Frog-i-more Rag."

2003-07-10T18:40:00.000-04:00

Early Las Vegas
A new project sponsored by the Univeristy of Nevada-Las Vegas Library system has produced a webiste, Early Las Vegas, A Digital Collection. This website brings together images, video and audio clips to create a virtual Las Vegas, a la late nineteenth and early twentieth century. For the most part, content predates the introduction of casinos. Altogether, it provides a fascinating insight into a frontier western city through its early development stages. I highly recommend it to everyone, history and non-history buffs alike.

2003-07-10T14:22:00.000-04:00

Teaser
An update to the Black Panther posts below. I've been contacted by Yohuru Williams, the Delaware State University professor whose appearance on NPR's Talk of the Nation inspired the whole string. His response and defense are both enlightening, informative, and yet provocative as well, both furthering the debate while raising new questions. I'm simply waiting for him to give me permission to reprint what he said! Prof. Williams, if you're reading this, please respond!

2003-07-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

Redbones
I've come across an interesting tidbit while researching for the Sumter County Museum. I've found a document relating to a group of people in Sumter County known locally as "Redbones." The document is from the last decade of the nineteenth century. "Redbones" were individuals of mixed racial background, in this case Native American, African American, and white. In antebellum times they were known as free persons of color and after the Civil War distanced themselves from the freedmen. Apparently, some of their ancestors fought in the American Revolution and several served the Confederacy in both combat and non-combat positions. They seem to have some ties to North Carolina. I just came across this information tonight, and I will of course continue to look into the matter locally, but if anyone out there has other information concerning the term, the people, or their history, drop me a line at cjscott -at- sc.rr.com. I would greatly appreciate it.

2003-07-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

Congress fails to meet President Bush's funding recommendations for history initiatives
According to the July 2nd Weekly Update from the National Council for History, the House recommednations for spending come under the President's recommendations from his State of the Union speech:

The House mark of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies
spending bill includes funding levels for the nation's cultural
endowments. The House Appropriations Committee has recommended a FY 2004
funding level of $137 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH). This is $15 million less than the President's request of $152
million, but $10 million more than the FY 2003 request ($126.9 million) and
$12.1 million over the FY 2003 enacted level ($124.9 million). Of the $137
million, the committee designated the full amount of the increase be used
for the agency's new "We The People" initiative, which seeks to encourage
teaching and learning of American history and civics. The Committee also
recommended just over $8.5 million for the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars -- the level requested by the Center and approved by
the Office of Management and Budget.

The Interior bill also includes funding for the National Park Service and
its various history-related programs. The House committee recommended
$1.6 billion for National Park Operations, an increase of $73 million over
FY 2003 levels. The House mark also provides the NPS with $682 million for
backlog maintenance, a gain of $27 million.

The Interior spending bill also provides $71 million for the Historic
Preservation Fund (HPF), including level funding of $34 million for the
State Historic Preservation Offices. Historic preservationists were hoping
to see a funding level of $50 million for the states and $90 million (a 30%
increase) for various other historic preservation efforts. The House
funding recommendation includes $3 million for the Tribal preservation
organizations and $30 million for the Save America's Treasures (SAT) grant
program. In an effort to shore up what some Republican strategists
consider "sagging support" with black voters, the Republican controlled
committee recommended $4 million in new money for grants to Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) -- if appropriated this would be
the first funding by Congress for the HBCU in two years.

As this item makes clear, this still represents a step up in funding for several history related governmental programs, departments, and initiatives. I find in it encouraging, regardless of politics, that our President is finding room for this in the budget during an economic downturn. Concerns can be expressed over the content of some of his programs, such as his Teach American History initiative, but I still consider it a step in the right direction.

2003-07-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

Income Inequality over time
A message came over a listserv that I'm on with a link to a .pdf file that examines rates of economic inequality between 1913 and 1998. The paper is published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, and can be accessed here. For those with slow connections, it's a 121 page document, so it may load slowly.

2003-07-03T08:31:00.000-04:00

The Star-Spangled Banner
What better way to remember what July 4th is about than this article in the New York Times about the conservation efforts surrounding the original Star-Spangled Banner that hung at Fort McHenry, and the one which Francis Scott Key saw as he wrote what became our national anthem during the War of 1812. Aside from the brief history of the flag, the article does a nice job of showing how ideas about history and conservation technology have changed over the years.

Yet as soon as the flag, made of 400 yards of fabric, was lowered from the ramparts, pieces were clipped off and given away as souvenirs, significantly reducing its original size, 30 by 42 feet. Flags then "were considered functional objects that could be replaced," explained a Smithsonian textile conservator, Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss.

That practice led to decades of well-intentioned attempts to care for the flag, whose 15 broad stripes and 15 bright stars (one is now missing) were lauded in verse, but the efforts ultimately ended up weakening it further. When the flag was given to the Smithsonian, for example, it was initially folded over because its glass case was too small to accommodate its size, which was typical for garrison flags, made to be seen over long distances.

The flag's full length was unfurled when it was hung vertically in the history museum, which opened on the National Mall in 1964 and was initially called the Museum of History and Technology. It was designed with the Star-Spangled Banner as its centerpiece.

"This was part of the cold war ideology," Marilyn Zoidis, the flag curator, said. "The museum was meant to show the intersection of history and technology, and the flag was the symbol of what America was all about."

In a proposed renovation of the museum, the Smithsonian still plans to have the flag as the signature display, but it is too fragile to be hung again. Even though precautions had been taken to limit damage, the flag was sagging under the weight of a 1914 conservation that turned out to be a botched repair job. In an effort to stabilize the flag, a heavy linen backing was added, stretching it to a rectangular shape and tripling its weight to 150 pounds.

Three decades of hanging further aggravated its condition, even though an opaque screen shielded it from light and pollution. Once each hour the screen was raised by a pulley system to patriotic music and narration to reveal the flag, which had begun to have large holes. Those gaps, caused by the flag's constant rubbing against the linen backing, spurred the Smithsonian to convene an experts' conference in 1996 to devise a plan to halt the flag's disintegration.

2003-07-01T19:39:00.000-04:00

Hey now!; Forthcoming posts
This has been a rather long hiatus, hasn't it? Take a couple of days of not feeling like blogging, add a visit from my in-laws, and a day or two of lost internet connections (I spliced the wire incorrectly), and it comes to this. Well I will be back posting this week, but maybe only one or two a day.

Upcoming posts include: an update to the Black Panther thread straight from the horses' mouth; an interesting discussion involving my father and grandmother concerning racial tensions in my dad's high school; random updates from other web sites. A few additional posts may appear here and there. To anyone whose been stopping by, thanks for the support, and sorry for the lack of content. But like Glenn Reynolds, I do this for the fun of it, and I like not having many responsibilities to go along with it. One of those freedoms is 'not blogging when I don't feel the urge.' I still appreciate you dropping by, however. Honest!

2003-06-22T20:37:00.000-04:00

Orwell informed on others?
According to this article in the Sunday Times (London), George Orwell "supplied Britain’s security services with a list of suspected communist sympathisers, including the Scottish poet Hugh McDiarmid, because he feared being killed by the KGB, his son has claimed."

(Via David Nishimura.)

2003-06-21T22:53:00.000-04:00

Update on the Black Panther post
I blog, you respond. At least I asked for it. In response to my post on the Black Panthers (which you can read here), reader Fred Ray has emailed me and granted permission to reprint parts of it here. In my original post, I talked about an NPR segment on reimagining the history and "meta-narrative" of the Black Panthers. Though I recognized an obvious slant, I thought the radio piece raised interesting questions about dealing with difficult history. I ended with the quote "Whatever final verdict is reached in the popular or academic mind, it seems clear that the current meta-narrative is incomplete and needs revising."

I'd say that Fred disagrees with me.

Just a note on the Black Panther "meta-narrative." They were thugs from beginning to end, and a criminal enterprise that operated under the cover of being a civil rights organization. Worst of all, most of their victims came from the very community that they were ostensibly trying to help.

He also provided links to substantiate his opinions, which you can read here and here. Fred also made the well-taken point that Hamas' social activities do not excuse their use of terrorism to obtain political goals. That analogy seems particularly apt in this situation.

My earlier analysis stemmed from the fact that I had not heard the evidence on the Panthers' socially-benevolent activities before, and it seemed to merit looking at. Fred's articles make a damning case against that assessment, but I'd still like to read more on those activities and their place within the larger Civil Rights Movement. For instance, can they be separated from the violent tactics of the Panthers? Were they in reality little more than fronts? What did they accomplish, and how do the accomplishments of the Panthers' other activities stand in relation? I advocate not necessarily a revisionist account of the Panthers, but rather a more nuanced view that takes into account benevolent activities for what they were. Here again the analogy to Hamas proves to be apt. Both the terrorism and the benevolent actions purport to achieve the same purpose: the creation of an independent (and Judaism-free) Palestinian state. Hypothetically, if Hamas was the largest philanthropic organization aiding Palestinians, would their terrorism cloud any positive effects their other actions might have? I answer yes, emphatically. The means in this case are not justified by the ends. Speaking with less certainty and less knowledge, I would extend the same judgement to the Black Panthers. However, were I a Palestinian or a young urban African American living in the 1960s, I might see things a bit differently. (Point is I don't claim a larger worldview than anyone else, and I don't always assume morality and history to be on my side of the debate).

2003-06-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

Update on Zach Taylor
Geitner Simmons contributes more to the discussion on comparisons between Presidents Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln. He notes the historical coincidence that of the two Whig presidencies of the 1840s, both elected Presidents died in office, while their Vice Presidents then pursued different political strategies. (The other presidency was William Henry Harrison, whose VP was John Tyler). Geitner's original post is here while my response is here.

2003-06-21T10:22:00.000-04:00

Google searches and me
A quick look at referrals from Site Meter revealed that the Insecure Egoist was the first entry to come up under a search for "sumter sc strip club." Well, I guess any, uh, exposure, is a good thing.

2003-06-21T09:56:00.000-04:00

The American Women home page
The Library of Congress's American Memory homepage has introduced the American Women website, a resource for study of the Library's vast holdings on women's history. At the core of the site is a digitized and web-friendly version of their 2001 publication, American Women: A Library of Congress Guide for the Study of Women's History and Culture in the United States." Although the content is much the same, hypertext links and illustrations have been added in a redesign. Any person researching a topic in women's history should make this a first stop. Although American Memory already has a place in the blogroll to the right, I'll add this site for the time being.

2003-06-21T01:32:00.000-04:00

Finding Nemo and Barbeque
Tonight Erin and I treated ourselves to some good mustard-based barbeque pork at Millender's in West Columbia, SC. I'll have to say I enjoyed it. Afterwards we saw Finding Nemo. I grow ever more impressed by what CGI can accomplish. I was stunned by the scene in Monster's Inc where Sully goes flying off the sled, landing in the snow, where every hair on his body blows with the blizzard surrounding him. The subtle shading in that movie also was very impressive, evident in this scene, and also in the bedroom scenes (woah there! I know what your thinking) By tackling water, Finding Nemo goes over Monster's Inc. by leaps and bounds.

Pixar Studios know that they run the show when it comes to this form of entertainment, and several scenes in the film were added to show off their capabilites. At least that's what I think, as virtually every five minutes I'd see at least one shot that blew me away. "They can do that?!?" ran through my head many times. Just a few associational thoughts: think what you might see if you were personally viewing the ocean bottom in a submersible; if you were Jonah; jellyfish.

Pixar is raising the bar with thematic content as well, once again acknowledging their broad audiences. If you have kids, be prepared to discuss some fairly heavy topics for a young mind; the movie opens on a somber note, and flirts with serious emotional content throughout, such as separation anxiety, fear and traumatization. I think it also captures the ruthlessness of the animal kingdom and the daily struggle for survival without turning into a Discovery Channel special on predators. However, it is a family flic throughout, raising many laughs, resolving conflicts, and remaining on the whole an uplifting film. Very much worth the price of a movie ticket (and so many today are not).

2003-06-21T00:52:00.000-04:00

David Nishimura's blog Cronaca always has plenty of tasty morsels to choose from to highlight on this site. I enjoy reading his sight so much and I post to it so often that I almost think he should offer a daily digest for willing readers to browse with their breakfast in the morning. Among the wonderful things he's posted in the last 24 hours are this story about a museum exhibit featuring the world's largest collection of objects related to medical history, a new entry into the debate over Leonardo da Vinci's topographical knowledge of his landscapes, and this story about flooding the Colisseum in Rome for a reenactment of a sea battle held during Roman times (I mean the reenactment). You should defintely add David to your daily reading list.

2003-06-21T00:39:00.000-04:00

Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln
In a post in which he states, "The approach taken by Taylor in the 1840s was the same as that adopted by Abraham Lincoln in the 1860s," Geitner Simmons gets it about half-right. From my understanding, Taylor attempted to formulate himself into a proto-Jackson, a strong military figure who could unify the country and the two political parties. His political ineptitude and stubborness failed him, as his policies (and those of his successor Millard Fillmore) doomed the Whig party as a functional national organization.

In his book The Political Crisis of the 1850s, Michael Holt argues that Taylor and the Whigs attempted to create a national consensus over the slavery issue (via the Compromise of 1850), and then force the Whig Party to accept the Compromise as it stood. Both attempts were, politically speaking, impossible, suicidal, and ultimately led down the path towards the Civil War.

Holt's central thesis is that the Second two-party system (roughly 1830's-1850's) flourished because it managed to prevent the debate on slavery from becoming a sectional issue by channelling it into state-level political competitions. Thus the potential firestorm created by the Wilmot Proviso of 1848, which would have barred the extension of slavery into the western territories, was avoided through political debate over popular sovereignty, or leaving the question open to the settlers' themselves.

Taylor came to the Presidency with one goal in mind: to end the national debate over slavery once and for all. His version of the 1850 Compromise (which was not the final version) reached out to tenets of both parties. Whigs hated it because of the concessions it made, and Democrats decided that if there was going to be a Compromise, it would be on their terms. Taylor at this time was also filling his Cabinet with his own men and passing over notable Whigs, such as Henry Clay. The eventual Compromise of 1850 emerged from Congress with a decidedly Democratic flavor. Taylor would have vetoed it. However, he died. His successor, Millard Fillmore, decided to push for the Compromise, and in the process force the rest of the Whig party to accept it as well. His efforts to do so effectively tabled the slavery issue for the time being, yet also managed to help destroy the Whig Party by alienating large blocs of its constituency.

Holt argues that the Second American party system needed slavery to remain healthful. With its disappearance, the party system would have to rely on other issues to remain strong. For a number of reasons, these also disappeared in the early 1850's, leading to massive party disillusionment and the eventual rise of sectional parties, a reconstituted Democratic Party, and a loose conglomeration of Free Soilers, Know Nothings, and former Northern Whigs that eventually became the Republican Party. With slavery now the central issue and no poltical room to sidestep the issue, for Holt the Civil War was now an inevitable consequence.

I did paraphrase and abbreviate Holt's argument, but the meat is there. Reasonable people can disagree about his premises. I use him to illustrate that saying that Lincoln and Taylor pursued identical policies is somewhat misleading. They did in that both attempted to attain a broad national consensus, Taylor over ending the slavery debate, and Lincoln in favor of union over secession. However, Lincoln came from the Republican camp that feared the Slave Power conspiracy's attempts to limit the Northerners' right to free labor and free soil. (read Eric Foner's Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men for the whole story) Not to mention that Lincoln was decidedly more committed to antislavery than Taylor, who did not wish to end slavery but to end the political conflict over it. But about my analysis, reasonable minds can disagree.

2003-06-16T18:32:00.000-04:00

The Black Panther Legacy: A Questionable Meta-Narrative?
The last item today on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan explored the legacy of the Black Panthers in the popular imagination and within the academic community. I wouldn't classify the discussion as a debate, since both speakers seemed to agree that the reputation of the Black Panthers as a violent organization needed to be informed by other, philanthropic activities the Panthers also engaged in. However, the interaction that took place following a listener call-in nicely encapsulated the problem that many individuals and organizations run into when investigating difficult topics.

The one listener allowed on the air during that portion of the program noted that his personal experience with the Black Panthers revealed them to be "thuggish" and hostile, an opinion he did not wish to relenquish. This illustrates the problem scholars face when confronting memory. The fact that the Black Panthers engaged in philanthropic activity meant little to this individual, since his only interaction with the organization was uncomfortable and aggressive. Kathleen Cleaver, former Secretary of Communications for the Black Panthers and faculty member at Emory Univeristy, seemed unwilling to accept the caller's opinions, stating that more likely than not the individuals he encountered were thugs acting as Black Panthers or individuals hired by the government to subvert the organization. The show's other guest, Yohuru Williams, professor of history at Delaware State University, was more conciliatory, acknowledging Cleaver's assertions but adding that there was no way of figuring out whether or not the caller had actually encountered members of the Black Panthers.

The segment also brought up interesting revelations I was not aware of. Recent scholarship on the Black Panther operation on a local level has uncovered initiatives to uplift poorer black communities. I recall from memory one example of the Panthers running a free ambulance service in one North Carolina community where such service was normally slow and inefficient. Still, I would not want to jettison one meta-narrative for another if that version sees everything with rose-tinted glasses.

In my opinion, as with most things, the truth lies somewhere in between. While the Black Panthers provided social services, they may have also engaged in violent activities. At least, statements by their leaders seem to indicate a willingness to use force (in what situations, I do not know). These two statements do not cancel each other out; rather, each carries a certain amount of moral weight to it, and any true, total history of the movement would need to address each claim separately, giving as reasonsed a verdict as possible. Whatever final verdict is reached in the popular or academic mind, it seems clear that the current meta-narrative is incomplete and needs revising.

MORE: Prof. Williams recently organized the "History and Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education in Delaware Conference, whose program (available as a PDF file) you can access here

UPDATE: My wife remembers reading something about the Black Panthers' social services, how sometimes religious institutions were reluctant to take the help because of the Panthers' other actions, and because there were questions about how the Panthers were funding these intiatives. My wife could not remember where she read this, so I apologize that I cannot verify this information. However, if you've anything to add to this, either strengthening or rebutting the argument, please email me at cjscott - at - sc.rr.com, and I will update this post further with your observations.

2003-06-15T21:23:00.000-04:00

Washington, DC, during the war
In a post meant as a tribute to the late David Brinkley, Geitner Simmons blogs about Brinkley's "Washington Goes to War." Included in this post is a picture of the Mall taken from the Washington Monument showing the massive amount temporary buildings that surrounded the large reflecting pool. I had not previously known about that, even though growing up in Philadelphia I had been to DC several times as a young tourist. The picture is worth looking at to make a mental comparison to today.

2003-06-15T21:12:00.000-04:00

New Find
Via Instapundit, (so I doubt the site will need any help now), I came across PaleoJudaica.com, a blog that is "an experiment that aims to chronicle and comment on current developments (mainly as recorded in Internet sources) in the academic field of ancient Judaism and its historical and literary context," according to the author's About page. Although focusing on ancient Judaism, itself a broad term, the website also stays abreast of knowledge in other antiquities sub-fields that may broaden interest and understanding in Judaism. If that sounds appealing to you, please visit and support that site. Blogroll to the right has been updated.

2003-06-15T19:36:00.000-04:00

We're #2065! We're #2065!
Back from visiting friends in Atlanta, and checking on my weekly stats, I find a link from N.Z. Bear's ecosystem. Crudely, it's a list that tracks how many times a blog is linked to by other blogs from that list. I came in at 2065 out of 2857 with 3 links. Curious the things that you find. I'm amazed that someone surfed that far down the list, because I assume that person visited 2064 sites before mine. All I can say is I hope he or she likes what is read and sticks around for some more!

2003-06-12T08:23:00.000-04:00

New Home
Geitner Simmons has moved off of Blogger. Go check him out at his new home, regionsofmind.blog-city.com. The blogroll to the right has also been updated.

2003-06-11T22:29:00.000-04:00

The Truth About Iraqi Archeological Looting
David Nishimura of the art history and archeology blog Cronaca has been on top of the Iraqi National Museum and archeological site plunder stories since each broke. In the post linked to above, David states, as he has before, that the miscalculations on the number of artifacts looted from the Iraqi National Museum have strained the credibility of Western art historians who were quick to excoriate U.S. forces for not doing enough. Because of that, the very real problem of illegal archeological excavation in Iraq is not receiving the same exporsure level as the more glamorous museum looting story.

I am of a few minds here. My initial thought is that the museum looting story received so much press because at the time it countered the euphoria from winning the war (providing a 'balance'). Cynics might argue that it revealed the latent anti-American or perhaps the anti-Republican/anti-Bush slant of mainstream journalists eager to find negative coverage of the administration at the peak of its glory, but I don't really buy that.

The story did not seem too-far-fetched on its face; pundits have pointed out from the beginning that protecting a museum would be farther down the checklist than say, defeating all enemy troops and securing law and order (not that we performed all that well on that point). It's plausability, moreover, carried into the realm of public history professionals, who at any rate would have reacted with severe disappointment at the very least upon learning of looting at the INM. Even though the official number of missing artifacts has now been reduced to thirty-three, the very fact that looting took place is still a tragedy on a great scale.

On the other hand, there is something less-sexy about archeological excavation (apologies to professionals in the field). The smash-and-grab is more alluring than the root-and-sift, hands down. I believe that this, too, plays some role in this story's lower profile. How much so, compared to the time elapsed since the war ended and the retractions on the looting angle, I wouldn't venture to guess.

2003-06-11T20:01:00.000-04:00

Working in a Small Museum
My internship at the Sumter County Museum in Sumter, SC, has begun, and what an exciting situation it is! Not exciting as in the heart-stopping motions of a roller coaster, mind you. But to a budding professional in the field of public history, this is prime experiential learning.

Sumter County Museum focuses on presenting the history of Sumter District, the original administrative body in which present-day Sumter County is located. The District, County, and city are all named for General Thomas Sumter of Revolutionary War fame, who owned lots of land in this part of the state. The museum itself is located in an historic home that formerly belonged to the Williams-Brice family, who made their living in the furniture business. Williams-Brice Stadium, home turf for the USC Gamecocks, is also named for this family, while the mascot takes its name from the "Fighting Gamecock" himself, General Sumter. The home contains exhibits relating to various aspects of the history of Sumter and its citizens. Behind the historic home on the property lie the Carolina Backcountry, where the museum hosts several camps and fairs during the year depicting life for early denizens of Sumter District.

In addition to learning a great deal about Sumter in a short amount of time, I am experiencing life at a small museum first hand. On my first day (last Monday), I was given the grand tour of the entire complex, a luxury only Mondays can afford, since the museum in closed to the public that day. The staff also takes advantage of that opportunity to have their staff meetingn at a local eatery. They work as a team several times a day - for example, the director helped remove the cockroaches from my office while I was shown around the complex. Afterwards we all washed down tables for the board meeting that afternoon. One could argue this is a continuation of the Upcountry's strong democratic traditions, but I think it's because the institution's shoestring budget would not tolerate false airs.

I spent various parts of Monday and Wednesday learning the artifact database system. Although the museum uses PastPerfect museum software, most of the files are still on NutBase, an old DOS-based program. All artifacts were accessioned as they came in, in numerical order. However, the database is not ordered numerically, nor is there a general index. Once an artifact is idenitifed in Nutbase, you must go to the artifact file, where you will find where that particular is located - if you're lucky. Some have been deaccessioned; others, most documentary artifacts, have been moved to the Archives, located a block away. Some have no location listed; others are simply missing. For those artifacts whose location is listed, it is usually a general term, such as "Storage Closet" or "North Office Shelves." The museum will be moving into a new building soon, and that will greatly ease the problems with the current system. But most small institutions have neither the manpower or the resources to keep the database completely up-to-date. That in itself could be a project years in the making.

My main task will be to research, design, and install an exhibit on the history of Sumter District, using existing sources and artifacts from the museum. Here, too, the caveats of a small staff creep in. Though I was told the content would be left up to me, I really expected the staff, at least the director, to have some set of preconceived notion about what the exhibit should entail. After much prying on my behalf, an answer finally appeared: the education coordinator would prefer that the exhibit be chronologically linear, if at all possible. All other decisions are my own to make.

As the summer progresses, I will be posting more about my experiences. For now I have enjoyed the experience, as the staff is knowledgeable, accomodating, and pleasant to work with, and I expect no change as far as that goes. Hopefully, I can live up to their expectations and perform the tasks assigned with skill and precision. I look forward to the completion of this exhibit.

2003-06-11T07:58:00.000-04:00

More Teasers than a Strip Club
Geitner Simmons offers yet another teaser for his new website, set to debut tomorrow sometime. This man knows how to market! When will the tantalization end?!? Tim LaHaye has offered deliverance more often than this!

2003-06-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

The Truth About Museum Looting
Also from David Nishimura, The Guardian prints a damning article about the actual extent of looting at the National Museum in Baghdad, stronly implying it was an inside job. Worthy read.

2003-06-10T19:55:00.000-04:00

Reconstructed Farms in Wales
The BBC news has a story on an ambitious project in Wales that will recreate several working farms dating back to the beginning of agriculture in Britain.

(Via David Nishimura).

2003-06-10T19:35:00.000-04:00

Viking Re-enactments
Yes, you've read that right. I had no idea such events took place in the United States, but perhaps my ignorance is not shared by the rest of you. In any event, you can read Geitner Simmon's personal account here..

2003-06-07T17:07:00.000-04:00

Museum of Canadian History
Here's a reprint of an article from the Ottawa Citizen at the History News Network about PM Chretien announcing that $90 million dollars will be spent on a new museum of Canadian history. The article is really an editorial taking a partisan stance in favor of what Chretien is doing. Opponents are mentioned as saying the money is better spent on already existing museums. The article makes mention that the museum will be placed in a to-be-restored railroad station, and also makes mention that Canada, like the United States, suffers from historical amnesia and ignorance.

2003-06-07T17:00:00.000-04:00

2000 Florida ballots saved
Here's the scoop from the National Coalition for History's weekly Washington Update.

. FLORIDA BALLOTS FROM 2000 ELECTION SAVED

On 8 May 2003, Glenda Hood, the Florida Secretary of State, announced that she had instructed all 67 Florida counties to forward more than six million ballots from the 2000 election to the State Archives. Hood's action puts to rest concerns of historians, political scientists, and archivists who feared the 2000 presidential election records would be destroyed in accordance with Florida's records disposition schedules.

For well over two years, the National Coalition for History has played a leading role in advocating the preservation of the ballots and the related election records such as instructions from supervisors to poll workers, records of canvassing board meetings, legal briefs, and paper and electronic communications between the Secretary of State's office and local election board officials.

Hood spokeswoman Jenny Nash said the 5,000 cubic feet of ballots (the equivalent of 450 large filing cabinets) will be stored in the climate-controlled archives building in Tallahassee. The ballots will be transported by truck at the expense of the state. The Secretary of State's office estimated that it will cost between $250,000 to move and store the documents, and $100,000 annually after that.

Normally, ballots are destroyed after 22 months, but the Department of State and the Division of Library and Information Services extended the deadline to 1 July 2003. However, at least one county had already destroyed its ballots. "Our ballots are gone," said Mark Andersen, elections supervisor for Bay County in the Panhandle, adding that he thought state officials had already given approval to get rid of them.

While the ballots were saved for the benefit of future historical research, some doubt their potential usefulness. "They're of no value at all except as a historic relic," said Barry Richard, Florida attorney for the eventual loser Democrat Al Gore. "They're just a curiosity at this point." Julian Pleasants, a history professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville disagrees: "For the most part, ballots don't have historical value, but obviously 2000 was a bit different...This is the most controversial presidential election in modern history."

For some reason, I no longer receive the Washington Update, but if you do not receive it either you can view this week's here.

2003-06-07T16:46:00.000-04:00

Controversy over new director at Utah State Archives
Fellow blogger Geitner Simmons forwards an item of interest from the H-IOWA listserv concerning the new director of the Utah State Archives. Here is the post in full:

HIRING OF NON-ARCHIVIST GENERATES CONTROVERSY IN UTAH
In early April, Governor Mike Leavitt of Utah selected Bob Woodhead to head the State Archives. Woodhead is not an archivist, but rather a former deputy director at the State Division of Facilities and Construction, thus raising the eyebrows of many archival and records management professionals. In a letter dated 10 April 2003, Stephen C. Sturgeon, President of the Conference of Inter-Mountain Archivists, said that "while we do acknowledge that the position of State Archivist is an 'at-will' appointment not covered by civil service protections, state law does require the archivist to be someone 'qualified by archival training, education, and experience." Sturgeon's letter expressed the concerns of many in the archival community: "a director lacking an understanding of the issues related to archives and record management...cannot reasonably be expected to guide this agency in an adequate or successful manner." Sturgeon concluded, "We strongly urge that you re-examine your decision to hire a non-archivist to lead this important agency." Over the last month, however, the Governor has been unwilling to change his appointment. In fact, he has justified it, claiming that there is a short-term need for someone with Woodward's expertise to oversee an eight million dollar building project. Spokeswoman Natalie Gochnour recognized the concerns raised by Sturgeon's letter, but supported the Governor's decision, stating that the State is "already on track for this position to be changed in the near future." Dave Fletcher, deputy director of the Department of Administrative Services, confirmed that statement, saying that Woodward would retire within a year or less.

2003-06-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

Photocopying clay tablets
My daily link to David Nishimura's blog continues with this piece about scanning clay tablets with lasers. The original story from the BBC is here.

2003-06-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

Richland County, SC, experiences highest growth ever
The State newpaper is reporting that Richland County, SC, which holds the capital Columbia, last year experienced the largest amount of new construction in its history, totaling over $561 billion dollars. For some, that may be small potatoes (for instance, I can't even imagine the total amount of new construction in my old home of Atlanta). But for this area, the strains of growth are showing. Since I've moved here, I've talked to several locals who say they can't imagine living any place larger and are uncomfortable with growth. In addition, the State has run several articles over the past year on development of new lands, the abandonment of older, in-town neighborhoods, and Town and Country, Richland County's proposed land-use plan, which has not been implemented and is being opposed by developers. (I do not know it's ins and outs). For these reasons, Columbia will be an interesting location to be in for the next couple of years, although I imagine the problems it faces have duplicates all across the United States.

2003-06-03T20:45:00.000-04:00

Alcaldes and Al-Qaid, but not Al-Qaeda
Geitner Simmons republishes a letter from UPI columnist Jim Bennett showing the links between colonial Spanish alcalde governments and their Arabic roots. This post follows up on earlier posts on Geitner's website (where permalinks are currently down) about the transition from Mexican-style government following the granting of statehood in 1850.

Geitner reports he is moving off of Blogger to a secure server. We all look forward to that day...and we wish him good luck in doing so.

2003-06-03T20:16:00.000-04:00

Digitizing Cuneiform
Art history and archaeology blogger David Nishimura posts about this piece in the LA Times about the Cuneiform Library Digital Initiative. Pretty neat stuff.

Also at Cronaca, more on located Iraqi antiquities and homemade Cruise missles.