Category Archives: writing
Haunted by the Strangling Angel (of History)
Cross-posted from History Compass Exchanges I’m a historian because I’m haunted. The words and names from the archives surface in my thoughts and dreams…as I immerse myself in their world, their stories become mine. Am I like a clan storyteller, … Continue reading
What's print got to do with it? New frontiers of digital of scholarship
History, for me, remains text-centric, which I hope sounds perverse in a conversation about history and new media. Although I’m not technically accomplished, neither am I a Luddite. And I’ve drunk enough Derridian Kool-Aid to be willing to see most … Continue reading
Pico Iyer on writing
Last night I heard Pico Iyer speak about his latest book, The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. This morning, still musing on his words, I read through some of his writings that I found readily … Continue reading
Event: Writing in the Age of Globalization
Writing in the Age of Globalization: A Conversation with Pankaj Mishra and Laila Lalami Moderated by Kavita Philip Time and Place: April 20, 1:30-3:00, Humanities Instructional Building Rm 135, UC Irvine Sponsored by UCI’s International Center for Writing and Translation … Continue reading
The fragmented narrative: writing out of order
I finished a chapter of my dissertation late last semester, the first portion of it I’ve completed. The first draft was seventy-nine pages long. After an admirably quick turnaround from my adviser and a couple other readers, I tightened and … Continue reading
The familiar or the new?
This week I had the opportunity to present my research to a Civil War Roundtable, one of the dozens of such groups around the country that regularly gather non-academics to learn more about Civil War sites and battlefields and share … Continue reading
Making my (collaborative) butter sculptures of history
I recently came across Jennifer Gardy’s blog article “Feeling the elephant, or how scientists collaborate,” and it provoked several lines of thought. First, Gardy suggests that there are two types of scientists in this world: those live, eat, and breathe … Continue reading
The China Beat blog: Where the East is Read
The China Beat blog, despite being completely outside my field, is one of my favorite history-themed blogs. The engaging mix of articles keeps me thinking and learning more about China than I ever knew I wanted to. Of particular interest … Continue reading
This Computer is Finished: The Physical Requirements of Writing History
This computer is finished. Its silver casing shows the years of scratches, bumps, and smudges. It bears the scars of balancing one too many books, of leaving the computer too casually on an ottoman, of eating and working feverishly for … Continue reading
Writing History Event: Alexander Nemerov on Oct 8 at Yale
Please join the Writing History Colloquium for a discussion with Alexander Nemerov Professor, History of Art Wednesday 8 October 4 p.m. Room TBA (likely HGS 204) We will read and discuss an excerpt from Alexander Nemerov’s Icons of Grief: Val … Continue reading
