Ken Burns’ Historians on Donald Trump: Old white guys mostly

This all started because noted cranky scold Stanley Fish wrote a New York Times piece chiding historians for having opinions about Donald Trump as historians. Here, read Erik Loomis take it apart over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money. Honestly, the original essay makes no coherent argument about why it’s not ok to use one’s expertise to … Continue ReadingKen Burns’ Historians on Donald Trump: Old white guys mostly

Annals of Patriarchal Equilibrium: The Alewife and the Park Director

In the book History Matters, as well as the focused studies on which the book is based, Judith Bennett discusses the curious history of the medieval village alewife. She tracked the way that the internal ale-based economy worked, then, as ale shifted to beer, suddenly men took over the field. It turns out that beer, … Continue ReadingAnnals of Patriarchal Equilibrium: The Alewife and the Park Director

Women and War (and Public Scholarship) – Medieval Style

I’ve been caught up in my disability journalism lately, but don’t want to neglect some of my other passions  – medieval history and helping academics share their expertise with wider audiences. Over the past few weeks, a number of outlets have passed around research – just a working paper really – that argues women rulers … Continue ReadingWomen and War (and Public Scholarship) – Medieval Style

Hacks in Human Evolution: Menstruation

This was by far the most interesting thing I read yesterday: Menstruation as a Hack by science-writer Suzanne Sadedin. She goes through the whole process by which human fetuses operate as parasites on their mothers (as opposed to in other mammals where the mother’s control the process), thanks to the “ravenous hemochorial placenta.” Therefore, she … Continue ReadingHacks in Human Evolution: Menstruation

Cradle To Grave Sexism: Colleen McCullough and Yvonne Brill

The Australian author Colleen McCullough died at age 77. The obituary in The Australian begins as follows: COLLEEN McCullough, Australia’s best selling author, was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless, a woman of wit and warmth. In one interview, she said: “I’ve never been into clothes or figure and the interesting … Continue ReadingCradle To Grave Sexism: Colleen McCullough and Yvonne Brill