And we wonder why academics get the reputation for promoting obscure knowledge… The University of Ghent (Belgium) will be holding a conference this spring called “The Material Vehicles of the Circulation of Natural Knowledge in the Low Countries.” I wasn’t sure what this meant, exactly, so I went to the website for the meeting and,…
Turning Points in a Career
Historians are fond of looking for “turning points” in the past–pivotal moments after which things began to change for the better or the worse. Last month I spent two days at a valedictory conference for my friend and colleague Stan Katz, historian, mentor, and public citizen. As I listened to all the tributes to Stan…
Second Podcast from Digital Campus
The second installment of the Digital Campus podcast from CHNM is now up online. The topic this week is “The Old and the YouTube,” in which we discuss the use of YouTube in teaching. There are also some new and interesting featured websites to check out, and a continuation of our discussion of Wikipedia. Check…
Where We’s Headed
The March 17-18 edition of the International Herald Tribune contained the following quotations: After his team’s first round loss in the NCAA Tournament, Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “There’s 260 or 270 teams that don’t get into this thing. It’s not our birthright each year.” In a story about services that help people…