GOP politician Michele Bachmann recently commented: …You know the remarkable thing–when you read the Bible, every archeology find that’s ever come forward has only proved the authenticity of the Bible… Such a statement is both interesting and very problematic because Bachmann’s… Read More ›
philosophy
Facts Exist on a Spectrum – Adventures Teaching Writing
Teaching First Year Writing this semester continues to be an exciting, interesting journey. A few nights ago, I was trying to decide how I wanted to address a lesson introducing the broad topic of facts, opinions, arguments, and related topics. My approach… Read More ›
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,… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
The “Big Idea” History Syllabus
1. 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… Read More ›
Representations of the Past and What You Can’t Un-know
As I was watching Beauty and the Beast (2017) this afternoon–the day of its release for at-home viewing–a thought occurred to me…. Beauty and the Beast is, of course, myth. Yet it has a time–roughly mid-18th century–and place–France. Like basically all such… Read More ›
“I Am Not Your Negro” (2017) and Useable Pasts
I Am Not Your Negro (2017), Raoul Peck’s documentary film inspired by the life, work, and vision of James Baldwin, is a masterpiece. I have really been looking forward to seeing this film, as I have heard so many good things about it…. Read More ›
The “Trolley Problem” is Fundamentally Flawed
The so-named Trolley Problem first originated in 1905, and since its full development as a thought experiment in 1967 by Philippa Foot, it has captivated the on-going attention of philosophers and psychologists for decades. More recently, as indicated on the… Read More ›