Last night I finished reading Norman Ohler’s fascinating and best-selling Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich (2017, translated by Shaun Whiteside). Ohler describes the relationships between Adolf Hitler and drugs, Nazi soldiers and drugs, and German society and drugs. In addition, Ohler explains how drugs changed the nature of wars. Society, War, and Drugs Before continuing,Continue reading “Drugs, War, and Nazi Germany”
Category Archives: Without Ritual, Autonomous Negotiations
Creating and Omitting History, Fundamentalist Nationalism, and the A Beka History Textbooks
I first started officially drafting this article on August 7, 2015! During the past two years, I have constantly struggled with how to approach the issues raised in this post. I am always interested in how different institutions teach History, and a while back, I discovered that the A Beka History Textbooks are very problematic. AtContinue reading “Creating and Omitting History, Fundamentalist Nationalism, and the A Beka History Textbooks”
21 Assumptions Revealed by 21 Words and Pieces of Plastic Claiming to Support Soldiers
We seldom stop and think about how much we assume and how much our world assumes of us. In this blog article, I do a detailed analysis of such a situation working form the following display. I’m not pointing to anything being “right” or “wrong” here – just doing a very detailed analysis, similar toContinue reading “21 Assumptions Revealed by 21 Words and Pieces of Plastic Claiming to Support Soldiers”
Exploiting Kids On and Off Stage: Labor and Fiction
I often think about important ways in which the children who become star singers or become star actors or actresses in various television or film productions are exploited–exploited by their families, agents, colleagues, and audiences. Kids in such positions receive far too little critical academic attention. The Kids Who Work Historically, child labor has notContinue reading “Exploiting Kids On and Off Stage: Labor and Fiction”
Ali Mroue and Life Before and After Being a University Student from Lebanon – Interview Series #7
The seventh installment in my interview series spotlights the experience and wisdom of (the future Dr.) Ali Mroue! I first met Ali in the Spring 2013 when he was a student in one of my United States History from 1877 Lab classes at the University of Houston. Ali was a remarkable student–in terms of hisContinue reading “Ali Mroue and Life Before and After Being a University Student from Lebanon – Interview Series #7”
Other Strange Rituals of the Nacirema
In almost all cases, this particular ritual occurred at least once every twelve years, once members of the Nacirema reached age 15 or 16 on the Gregorian Calendar. This ritual involved several steps but ultimately permitted them to legally steer large machines on rows of asphalt, concrete, or dirt. These machines went at unprecedented speedsContinue reading “Other Strange Rituals of the Nacirema”
Promoting (Anti-)Violence with Violence in Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better” (2016)
Recently, I was listening to videos on YouTube for research, and I didn’t realize the “autoplay – up next” feature was on until I heard Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better.” The song bothered me. Once I looked, the music-video bothered me, too. It’s taken a few days to start put my finger on it, butContinue reading “Promoting (Anti-)Violence with Violence in Shawn Mendes’s “Treat You Better” (2016)”
The “Big Idea” History Syllabus
Whereas 99.9% of the past is forever lost to direct analysis, the past and everything that has ever happened anywhere (history) is different from the study of what has happened (History). Historians aim to assemble and examine stories about the past and Homo sapiens, a past full of complexity and simplicity, a past that showsContinue reading “The “Big Idea” History Syllabus”
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda 