I still take notes at times, but I much prefer the freedom of simple reflection. I had the pleasure, while pursuing my undergraduate degree in history, to twice take classes taught by Dr. Alex Standen at NMSU. Alex, as he asked that we call him, taught me a lot of things–some of which he may… Continue reading What’s a Reading Reflection?
Reading Reflection 1.1.25: The Battle for Christmas . . . and the Newsboys
More thoughts about Stephen Nissenbaum’s The Battle for Christmas, about the evolution of Christmas during the 19th century. The first two installments can be found here, and here. Charles Loring Brace was a writer, minister, and social reformer in the mid 19th century. He was known for writing Home-Life in Germany, in which he notes… Continue reading Reading Reflection 1.1.25: The Battle for Christmas . . . and the Newsboys
Reading Reflection: It’s Your Misfortune And None Of My Own, by Richard White.
This is a bit of a recap of the New Mexico History course that I took with Dr. Jerry Wallace at NMSU during the Fall of 2024. Dr. Wallace mentioned this book more than once in both New Mexico History and the other course I took with him, the Making of the American West. It’s… Continue reading Reading Reflection: It’s Your Misfortune And None Of My Own, by Richard White.
Reading Reflection: The Battle for Christmas, Dickens and charity
In his section about A Christmas Carol, (starting p. 220) Nissenbaum concludes that there are many points to take from A Christmas Carol. That may be why it is a “classic,” but also means that it can be used by either side of the political spectrum. This is culture influencing politics, but in this case… Continue reading Reading Reflection: The Battle for Christmas, Dickens and charity
Reading Reflection: The Battle for Christmas, and learning history through literature.
Today is Christmas, and I haven’t read too much the last few days. Over the last couple of weeks, however, I’ve been working my way through The Battle for Christmas by Stephen Nissenbaum. I’m probably ⅔ of the way through it, slow by my standards, but it’s been a crazy festivity season. A couple thoughts… Continue reading Reading Reflection: The Battle for Christmas, and learning history through literature.
History Homework: America and World War I
I should note here that the rubric for all assignments in this class called for us to specifically cite, throughout the narrative, very specific assigned sources. There were also assigned questions to be answered. All in all, it didn’t make for the best writing, I don’t think, as far as flow and concision go, but… Continue reading History Homework: America and World War I
Family Recipe Project
This is NOT a recipe! I took the History of Food in the Summer of 2024, and one assignment was to trace the history of the ingredients used in a family recipe. Below is my finished paper. For the record, as I mention at the end, companies are not at all transparent about where our… Continue reading Family Recipe Project
Francis Bacon and the Enlightenment
Science in the Age of Reason This is from The History of Science course I took at NMSU during the Spring 2024. I took this class basically because it was available, and I needed to fill my schedule, but I ended up learning a lot that has given me intereststing perspectives in other classes. I… Continue reading Francis Bacon and the Enlightenment
The Panic of 1837
The following was written for my Early American History course during the Spring of 2023. Not my best work, but an interesting time in American History. As always, I ran into word limit issues, so maybe, I’ll update it with all the details I left out at a later date. Read “a later date” as… Continue reading The Panic of 1837