The History News Network, purveyor of quality online history and history-related accessories, has a bi-weekly feature called Top Young Historians, which profiles “interesting scholars who are making their mark on the profession.” I cannot tell a lie: years ago, in my own callow youth, I sometimes raised an eyebrow at HNN’s definition of “young.” Today, however, it is their definition of “top” that seems all too generous: they’ve picked me as their latest “top” “young” historian. Thank you, HNN. I’m pleased, flattered, and not at all sure I belong in such company.
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This is the online home of Rob MacDougall, historian and robot fancier. -
The Good Old
A few of my favorites:
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When blogging, I allow myself the vice of not explaining every reference. Until now.
- The Secret Syllabus
Is this post good? Sir, it is pie.
- History At Play
Playing in order to learn is teacher logic, where play is the means and learning is the end. The kids who will keep doing it after the bell rings are the ones who learn history in order to play.
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Both the phrase and the spooky world of semi-buried Americana it denotes are having their Elvis moment.
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For the Red Sox, and Bill Gienapp.
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The New Old
Most recent posts:
- The Backwards Survey
Here’s a second concept course, though the idea is neither new nor mine, and maybe it’s not really a concept course if several people have done it. Still, I would really like to try this someday.
The Backwards Survey
Every single event is the offspring not of one, but of all other events prior or contemporaneous … […] - Concept Courses
Last fall, Bill Turkel had a great blog entry calling for “concept projects” in academic history: like concept car prototypes or catwalk fashions, these would be imaginative efforts that need not prove wholly workable or utilitarian, but that might serve to get ideas into circulation, push the boundaries of the form, or, a la Thoreau, […]
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Peeing dogs, Donkey Kong, lesbians, sitcoms, and gin.
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Spybots invade English village.
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Beards, bots, and were they hot?
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The Old Old
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The New New
Interwob links to confound and bemuse:
The SITI Program
The Search for Intelligence on the Internet: My man Mark Rayner plugs the numbers into the Drake equation, predicts that there should be 2.7 intelligent blogs in cyberspace. Keep watching the skies!The Tank
Tom Englehardt posts Chalmers Johnson’s review of Alex Abella’s new history of RAND.Note To Self: Ia Fhtagn
What appears to be H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book: creepy images, story ideas, and games he’d like to run. (Via Felix Gilman.)High Tech Noon
Do not laser-shark me, oh my darling: isn’t everything better with rayguns?Men In Tights
It’s been well linked (Barista assumed it was taking the piss but I think he underestimates Chabon’s geeky earnestness) but it’s worth it: Michael Chabon on the superhero unitard. PS How good is All-Star Superman, am I right?The Cardboard Internet
Paul Collins on the Mundaneum, a networked encyclopedia on fifteen million index cards (shades of the Memex?). Plus index cards as (literally) the U.S. War Department’s killer app.Google Maps of Sci-Fi
BLDG BLOG’s Geoff Manaugh on mapping the fictional onto the real.More Dick
You heard it here first:* Moby Dick is awesome! (*No, you didn’t.)Au Clair de la Lune
Feast your ears on the oldest known sound recording–from 17 years before Edison’s phonograph. (Via Corn Chips & Pie.)The Pickle King of Islamistan
Khalid (née Bertram) Sheldrake, the “power hungry, toothbrush mustachioed, British ninny” who somehow failed to convert western China to Islam. Some Of Our Corky Chums
- Citizen of Somewhere Else
Pillar of the Constructivist's multi-blog empire: Hawthorne studies, life in Japan, Daddyhood, and women's golf. - The Emily Chesley Reading Circle
Studying and celebrating the Speculative Songstress of Southwestern Ontario. - The OLD Old is the New New
This "classic" version of the blog you are now reading ran from 2004 to 2007. - Civil War Memory
Reflections of a high school history teacher and Civil War historian. - Digital History Hacks
Methodology for the infinite archive: the future of the past, today!
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Jess Nevins // May 15, 2007 at 9:00 am
Woah! Congrats!
2 Chris // May 15, 2007 at 9:08 am
That’s awesome. Congratulations! Most impressive!
3 Jere // May 15, 2007 at 9:12 am
Wow, congrats.
Though I’d still be quibbling about the young bit if I was you.
4 Michelle O'Brien // May 15, 2007 at 9:49 am
Congrats, young man!
5 Sean // May 15, 2007 at 11:13 am
Congratulations! You know Dixon and I voted for you, like, a million times - but then, I bet you didn’t know we were members of the Academy, did you?
6 Kyle N. // May 15, 2007 at 11:18 am
Very cool, Rob. Congrats.
7 Dr. K // May 15, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Zowie! You rock! Congratulations! *throwing horns*
In 2004 I referred to you in print as “the hippest historian Harvard ever produced”. Sorry it took everyone else so long to clue in.
Although I did have to laff at the supporting documentation from “Anonymous Students”, three of which are from ratemyprofessor.com (easiness rating, 2.7 - tsk!). I suppose if blogs get to be quoted in news sources, what the hell!
8 Mark A. Rayner // May 15, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Congratulations! It’s nice to know your not only youthful, but the tops!
9 Mr. Black // May 15, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I want you to start your acceptance speech with the line “Blood Alone Moves the Wheels of History!” and then at some point scream “We Are Warriors” Dwight Schrute-style… Nice job KF!!!
10 Rob // May 16, 2007 at 9:19 am
Sean: Larf. I can totally see you doing that. But I could have sworn you & Chris were kicked out of the Academy.
Dr. K: I guess they were scraping the barrel looking for plaudits about me. For most of the other (read: “qualified”) Top Young Historian entries they use blurbs about their award winning books. (Awkward cough.) Also: Curse you! I’d managed to get through 2 years of teaching without checking or even thinking about Rate My Professor. I don’t understand the easiness rating: are high numbers easy or hard? And which is good? And most importantly, where are my chili peppers?
Mr. B: I model all my lectures on Dwight Schrute. “Question: Which bear is best?” (See also: http://www.beaucoupkevin.com/2007/04/i-dont-know-which-i-love-more-maybe.html )
Everybody: Thanks!
11 Adam // May 22, 2007 at 8:30 am
Out-cha-go, Chief! Two points!
12 Dave // May 22, 2007 at 9:38 am
Congratulations!
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