December 2011
8 posts
5 tags
Christmas pt. 2: Setting the Scene
In the last post I said that part 2 would be about how a few wealthy citizens of New York City invented modern Christmas. However, in writing this post, I realized that there remains too much material to be covered in one post. Thus, this post will discuss the socio-political factors which inspired these citizens to re-invent the holiday, and the third post will discuss how they actually...
10 tags
Christmas pt. 1: Puritans, Anglicans, and...
It’s not a secret that because of the measures taken by the later Roman Empire to convert mainland European pagan society to Christianity, many Christian festivals retain elements evocative of Pagan worship practices. Some of the most important of the Pagan religious festivals took place (and continue to take place) in late December, when ceremonies such as Saturnalia and Winter Solstice were...
8 tags
Chanukah and Historiography
You know, I was going to try to be unpredictable and not make a Chanukah post. But as I was writing my Big Fucking Christmas Post (That Isn’t About Paganism), I realized that this one couldn’t be avoided.
Today, Chanukah is kind of a cute holiday about god’s pyromania saving the Jewish people from cultural genocide with lots of songs about candles and spinning tops. With presents. But at its...
6 tags
Archives, Social History, and Money
Just so you’re not all like “…whut?” I’m going to go in a slightly different direction with this post than usual. I am studying History and Archives (I am enrolled in a joint History/Library Science graduate program), and while I tend to stick to the history side of things on this blog (because, you know, it’s a history blog), I thought it would be interesting to write a post about the...
4 tags
A counter-point to myself
I was talking to a good friend of mine (the same ones who edits these posts) about the socio-linguistics course she is currently taking, and she made a point about the classification of certain languages which made me re-examine some of the posts I’ve written about syncretic religion, or, the manner in which I wrote those posts.
In labeling a religion of language as syncretic, you are labeling it...
3 tags
drive-by post
“Historians are dangerous people, capable of turning everything topsy-turvy. They have to be watched.” -Nikita Khrushchev
In Soviet Russia, history watches you.
9 tags
Common Historical Myth/Misconception: Hannibal...
This is a post about military history. Just to keep things fresh~
On August 2, 216 BCE, Hannibal’s army defeated the Roman troops in the Battle of Cannae 250 miles away from Rome. It was their third victory in a row, and the second greatest defeat ever suffered by a Roman army up until that point in time. For millennia, historians—including Livy—have argued that Hannibal should have used the...
2 tags
Okay I am not even that into Ryan Gosling (idk, John Krasinski is more my style~), but this tumblr must be shared:
http://publichistorianryangosling.tumblr.com/
Enjoy.