Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
Hi, I'm a Professor of Classics at the University of Reading who has just published a collection of translations of ancient language textbooks. These were written to teach Latin to young Greek citizens in the Roman Empire and I've translated them into English for the first time.
They give a fascinating window on every-day life in the Empire, from meeting at the baths, running late for school, to scolding a relative for their drunken behaviour at a party.
I'll be doing an AMA in AskHistorians on Monday 7 March, 3-4pm GMT or 10-11am EST. Ask Me Anything about learning and speaking latin, how filthy the baths really were, and how to hurl insults.
Maledicis me, malum caput? crucifigaris!
When someone posts a myth online for upvotes, like a quote of dubious origins attributed to a historical figure, I don't really mind (the internet is full of similar posts). I am really bothered, however, by all the 'white slavery' posts I keep seeing on sites like Imgur. If people want to point out the horrors of Indentured Servitude or the crimes England has perpetrated against the Irish, they have my blessing and support. But I'm damn tired of seeing people post about their damn Irish ancestor claiming 'my ancestors were slaves too, black people need to get over it'.
The posts and those who flock to their comment sections aren't even well meaning people with simple misconceptions who are ready to hear counter arguments. Nope. Just full on circlejerk pushing a narrative with a crystal clear political objective in mind.
On one occasion I saw someone cite a book by a Michael somethingruther II, about 'white slavery' which was supposedly 'amazing'. The guy turned out to be a holocaust denying conspiracy theorist who spent his time mixing it up with neo-Nazis and worrying about governmental takeovers using fluoride in the water. And I know making a post on a place like Imgur is useless because it'll just be downvoted and ignored.
Sorry, I just really needed to vent.
In this week's edition of "What Hath /u/caffarelli Wrought?," I finished the first draft of (what I hope will eventually be) my comprehensive database of middle Byzantine eunuchs!
It is very small (only 90-some people) and mostly confined to the 11-12th centuries, but I am using the data in not one but two papers this semester, and I learned basic database wrangling in like, two days, and now I get to graduate from online stuff to the really terrifying German prosopographies in the library! Hurray! \o/
Greetings /r/AskHistorians! /r/WritingPrompts invites you to write stories and comments on this week's theme: The Ancient World
It would be fantastic for some historians contribute! Thanks for considering it!
List of prompts using the theme.
If you have any questions I am happy to answer them.
One of the top questions I get asked when people find out what I study for a living is, "What do you think about Michael Frayn's Copenhagen?" (Or a question spurred by the play, in any case.) I've been promising to write up my thoughts on the play for some time, and this morning I finally did it: Historical thoughts on Michael Frayn's Copenhagen. TLDR;: Don't use the play as your main historical reference for understanding the failure of the German nuclear program, but it has many good insights in it beyond that.
I have a question for Sinologists: do old-timey Chinese people really keep their hands hidden at all times, like this? If so, why?
I was recently at a European history workshop at my university and one of the scholars workshopping her book said something along the lines of "form is argument." I forgot to write down who said the quote, but does anyone know who might've said/written this (with regards to history writing).
Fun in the archives, or why you should take notes even if you're not really doing research.
I've been browsing the Harbottle Dorr Jr collection which is maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society and is a collection of papers from Boston during the mid to late 18th century in Boston. Mostly mid to late 18th century and mostly Boston.
I've been browsing it just for fun, because I think looking at 18th century newspaper advertisements and newspaper debates is kind of fun, and I saw a couple of things that I made mental note of that I thought might be of interest to look at later.
One was an ad placed by a group of concerned citizens congratulating a grand jury on returning a vote of ignoramus against the Massachusetts Spy on a case of libel for a series of inflammatory articles it had printed by an anonymous writer using the alias Mucius Scaevola. I'd recognized some of the Bostonian names--three of the Bostonians were participants in the Tea Party, one of them had been a member of the Loyal Nine (which was where the original Sons of Liberty had started from). I remember thinking to myself "That's a stacked jury if there ever was one, I wonder if much has been written about this."
I went about bouncing through different papers, then decided to search on the Mucius Saevola case, and there's not much about it, and basically nothing on the men on the grand jury. And now I want to write about it, and I can't find the original paper and I spent a couple of hours the other day going through every paper trying to find it. Only I wasn't as thorough as I should have been because I was positive that the article I was remember was on the front page, maybe the second page.
So today I'm going to try again, only I'm going to be more careful and hopefully find it.
Lesson learned: Take careful notes of anything interesting, even if you think you'll remember it, because you'll almost certainly forget it.
Silly question: King Louis. Why did the french decide to have 17 of these guys? Was the original so great that they decided to keep naming their monarchs after him? Or after like 3 of them that they wanted to see how long they could keep it going?
Excited to get my traditional Amazon monthly book buy in the mail soon. Picked up The Box and Ninety Percent of Everything together, as my first steps into reading more on 20th Century shipping industry and maritime commerce.
What have you guys been reading lately?
Back to Africa this weekend--it ought to be an interesting few months, once again. Hopefully there will be more little archival updates, though I can't guarantee as many as last Oct-Nov. With any luck I will get to buy /u/profrhodes a beer in person, though.
Is the documentary Engineering an Empire historically accurate? I could pick out some hyperbolic information and its reliance on myths to build narratives (Dido laying out hide to build Carthage), but on the whole is it a worthwhile watch? What are some good, historically accurate documentaries I can watch? I'm primarily interested in non-Western, pre-20th century history but I'm open to anything of quality.
Has anyone else started getting back information about fellowships? I have gotten some rejections and one acceptance (without financial information).
Just curious.
One more update on my dissertation:
I might be able to get an extension of a day or so, but even if I don't, I've got a good deal more work done than I suspect my committee expected me to finish anyways, so I'm feeling good. After relaxing for a bit of today, I'll put my nose to the grindstone and see what I can tell y'all next Friday~
Hey there!
Come and join us over at /r/afghanconflict for unbiased news coverage and analysis, soon to be filled with great in depth write ups on the conflict. One on the Taliban is out soon so keep an eye out!
We need your help getting this sub off the ground, come and lend a helping hand!
