13 education stories for 2013
What does an education historian see as important developments in a year? I have a complicated arrangement for my end-of-year review: I position my rearview mirror (the one that came with my history Ph.D.) to reflect the 880-nm laser focus of my attention, split the laser beam with my “multiple-perspectives” prism, diffract it through a […]
13 blog entries for 2013
I hope your last week has gone well. My children have returned from college for winter break, my family has visited several beaches, and my university is in the middle of its winter closure. So a little time for reflection, and here is the first part, a bit personal: my writing on this blog that […]
What is historiography?
In my talk earlier this month at the Australia and New Zealand History of Education Society, I wanted to make the different strands of my argument clear, and after I framed the broader question of the talk, I formalized the way I often talk about historiography (mostly with graduate students). Historiography is one of the few […]
American Studies Association chickens out on boycott resolution
For the past 12 days, I have been in Australia, drawn by an invitation to speak at the Australia and New Zealand History of Education Society meeting in Brisbane (whose pronunciation rhymes with “Fizzbin”). It’s been a marvelous opportunity to learn more about the history of another country, especially since I had friend and retired […]
Department chairs as middle managers
Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education published an article on department chairs. The gist of the piece is that department chairs work hard, their jobs have changed, and they’re often not supported in a new role. To which my response is, mmmn, yes. Yes, department chairs put some part of their academic life on hold; […]