Philosophy
On Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, let's ask whether we are living in a tale of two cultures. A colleague came back from Europe six months and was fascinated that people were asking about "American spring," comparing the Occupy movement to the Arab spring uprisings. The idea was that we were starting to recognize the oppression that we were laboring under, even in our opulence, and were starting to emerge from its influence. It does lead us to ask whether these are the best of times and the worst of times. Are we seeing a repetition of the London and Paris of Dickens' story in western culture and the rest of the world? Or would it be China and America?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...
- Year Of The Dragon
Today is the Chinese new year and the start of the year of the dragon. In the set of signs of the Chinese zodiac cycle, the dragon is the only mythical member. While imaginary, the dragon is to be found in stories from cultures across the...
Philosophy
A Tale of Two Cultures
On Charles Dickens' 200th birthday, let's ask whether we are living in a tale of two cultures. A colleague came back from Europe six months and was fascinated that people were asking about "American spring," comparing the Occupy movement to the Arab spring uprisings. The idea was that we were starting to recognize the oppression that we were laboring under, even in our opulence, and were starting to emerge from its influence. It does lead us to ask whether these are the best of times and the worst of times. Are we seeing a repetition of the London and Paris of Dickens' story in western culture and the rest of the world? Or would it be China and America?
- Modern Mencken
Tomorrow is Mencken day at the Enoch Pratt Library, honoring one of the great intellects of Baltimore. Who would be the modern day version of H.L. Mencken? Is there a writer who is smart, ascerbic, conservative, and wry? P.J. O'Rourke? ...
- Continuity Of Self
Today is my birthday and it is fun to look at all of the greetings on Facebook from folks I've known over the entire range of my life. Some who know me only as a graying department chair and others who knew me as a member of the red group in...
- Historians, Archaeologists, And Scientists
Are historians scientists? They frame hypotheses about the causes and effects of real events and use empirical evidence to support their accounts. But they don't do not look for regularities to make into laws; to the contrary, they account...
- Grammar Curmudeons
Had a student ask yesterday about grammatical pet peeves. His was "irregardless." My big three are: 1) "Quote" used for "quotation." Quote is a verb. You quote someone. What you write down is not a quote, but a quotation. ...
- Year Of The Dragon
Today is the Chinese new year and the start of the year of the dragon. In the set of signs of the Chinese zodiac cycle, the dragon is the only mythical member. While imaginary, the dragon is to be found in stories from cultures across the...