Book Collection Contest: Win Some Cash!

As finals week begins, I am sure everyone is beginning to think of how to occupy all of the free time in the upcoming break. If you have a couple of free hours, consider planning a submission for the library's Book Collection Contest. The payouts are substantial: first place receives a cool thousand dollars, and second place receives half that.

From the Collins Library website:

"The aim of this competition is to encourage undergraduate students at Puget Sound to read for enjoyment and to develop personal libraries throughout their lives, to appreciate the special qualities of printed or illustrated works, and to read, research and preserve the collected works for pleasure and scholarship. Collections can be on any subject and this contest is open to all full time undergraduates.

A collection consists of items that a student has come to own as a consequence of developing a particular interest, which may be academic or not. A collection may consist of all books or a combination of books and other formats. For example, a collection focusing on a dramatist might include a playbill or poster associated with a performance. A collection on birds might include illustrations or a collection representing geography may include maps. For this contest, a collection consists of no more than 30 items of which the majority should be books, but related materials such as photographs, illustrations, maps, ephemera, CDs, music scores, posters etc. can be included. Collections can be on any topics. Subjects can be contemporary or historical and may stress bibliographical features such as bindings, printing processes, type, editions, illustrations, etc. Comic books and graphic novels will be accepted. Collections of ephemera alone if of historical interest will be accepted. Current textbooks should not be part of a collection, but historical textbooks may be included."

With that said, it would be wonderful if a history-themed collection were to win one of these substantial prizes. For more information, check out the library's context page, located at http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/collins-memorial-library/book-collecting-contest/.

Writing Excellence Awards

With the holidays soon approaching, money is on everybody's mind. Luckily, we've thought of a way to help history majors rake in the dough. The annual Writing Excellence Awards are under way, which could net you a cool $250 for submitting a well-written paper from the 2009 year. Past winning papers are available on the Puget Sound website under the Center for Writing, Learning and Teaching's page, if you are interested in seeing some of the elements for which judges are looking.

Rules for the Contest

Papers written as part of the requirement for courses taken at the University of Puget Sound during spring, summer, or fall of 2009 are eligible. Papers of any length may be submitted; short papers are as likely to win as long ones. A total of nine prizes ($250.00 each) will be awarded: two prizes in each category--Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics--and one prize each for Freshman Seminars, Connections, and Graduate Programs.

Students may submit no more than one paper in each category, and each paper must be accompanied by a description of the assignment and an entry form. (Entry forms are available in the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching, HO 105/109 and at www.ups.edu/writingexcellenceawards.xml.) Students should submit the original paper with the professor’s comments, or a photocopy of it, to the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 28, 2010. We are unable to accept papers submitted after this deadline.Questions

If anyone has any questions about the process or the prizes, please call Julie Neff-Lippman at x2696 or e-mail neff@ups.edu.

Senior Thesis Presentations

As the end of the semester approaches, so do senior thesis presentations. There are quite a range of different types of theses this semester from the American-focused research seminar, all of which should be interesting. Anyone interested in hearing one or more of these presentations is more than welcome to attend. For majors who have yet to write their thesis, this should be an especially valuable opportunity to see classmates in action with their own research.

All of the thesis presentations will be held at 11 AM in Wyatt 204.

Monday, November 30
Panel I: Wars Across American History: Remembering the Civil War and Recreating the Consumer in Wartimes
Jason Schumacher: Education and Historical Interpretation: American Viewpoints on Antebellum Slavery through Fifty Years of American History Textbooks, 1890-1940
Hannah Nicholes: Save Your Money to Save Your Country: A Look at the Consumer Cultures in the Revolutionary War and World War II

Wednesday, December 2
Panel II: Quarantine, Exile, and Race in Tacoma
Glynnis Kirchmeier: Authority, Race, and Outbreaks: A Case Study of Disease and Ethnicity in Tacoma, 1885-1918
Alex Leavitt: Prisoners at the Fair: The Effects of the Japanese-American Internment on the Tacoma Area

Friday, December 4
Panel III: Pursuing and Representing the "Other" across the Pacific Rim
Joan Ilacqua: Northwest Regionalism: Investigating Salmon and Sasquatch Symbolism
Brad Untereker: Japan Demonizes the West: Perceptions During the Nineteenth Century

Monday, December 7
Panel IV: Nature and Activism: Environmental Education and Food Politics
Kristin Steedman: A Walk in the Woods: A Study of Community Driven Environmental Education
Elizabeth Mintz: Narratives as a Method of Activism

Wednesday, December 9
Panel V: Turning Points in American Political Economy: Transportation and the New Deal
Matt Beman: The End of Railroad Predominance in the Early Twentieth Century
Daniel Burge: The Keynes Effect: The Roosevelt Administration and the New Deal

11/19 Talk: Barry Carr on Latin American Politics

Red, Pink or Tutti Frutti: Where is Latin America Heading Politically?

Reflections on the Shift to the Left by Barry Carr
Visiting professor of Latin American History at the University of
California, Berkeley, and emeritus professor of La Trobe University.
Author of Marxism and Communism in Twentieth-century Mexico.

Thursday, November 19 at 4:00 in Wyatt 101

Sponsored by Latin American Studies, History, and Politics and Government

Google Internet Policy Fellowship

While not strictly related to the discipline of history, this summer fellowship opportunity struck me as something that some history majors may want to consider as they go forward in their studies.

Google Policy Fellowship

As lawmakers around the world become more engaged on Internet policy, ensuring a robust and intelligent public debate around these issues becomes increasingly important. That’s why we're announcing our third summer for the Google Policy Fellowship Program—to support students and organizations working on policy issues fundamental to the future of the Internet and its users.

Who should apply?

We’re looking for students who are passionate about technology, and want to spend the summer diving headfirst into Internet policy. Students from all majors and degree programs who posses the following qualities are encouraged to apply:

• Demonstrated or stated commitment to Internet and technology policy
• Excellent academic record, professional/extracurricular/volunteer activities, subject matter expertise
• First-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently, and to work smartly and resourcefully in a fast-paced environment

Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks during the summer of 2010 (June-August). Exact dates of the fellowship will be worked out by the fellow and host organization. Applications are due by midnight on Monday, December 28, 2009.

While this may seem like more of a Politics and Government kind of fellowship, "first-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills" all seem like qualities Puget Sound history majors possess. If any of this sounds interesting, check the Google Policy Fellowship main site for more details.

We're on Fox News!

It's good to know that we're getting a little publicity in the world. Professor Doug Sackman is quoted in the linked video, as a part of Fox News' "Fox and Friends" show.

http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/21785372/leaning-left.htm#q=teaching+american+history

From Professor Sackman:

"The book referred to is: Gary Kornblith and Carol Lasser, eds., Teaching American History: Essays Adapted from the Journal of American History, 2001-2007 (New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. The quote that elicited the loud Doocy "huh" is drawn from some of my comments in "Part One: Teaching the American History Survey in the Twenty-First Century: A Roundtable Discussion," in which I wrote that I wanted students to come to see that "American history is not a fixed set of facts, figures, and events, that it is not a done deal. History was contested all along and continues to be contested. Conveying this is for me a big part of trying to make history come alive for students who consider it inert, dead, and distant from themselves and their world" (p. 8). "

British People in Pictures

Professor David Smith has a new research project in the wings and is going to England next summer to get a good start on it.

'THE BRITISH PEOPLE IN PICTURES' : NATIONAL CHARACTER AND PROPAGANDA IN WORLD WAR TWO

The aim of my project is the study of “’the British People in Pictures” (BIP) a series of books conceived to counter Nazi propaganda during the Second World War by providing a comprehensive view of British life in all its aspects when Britain’s independence as a nation was under threat. Between March 1941 and 1950, 113 (BIP) books were published by eminent authors, novelists, journalists, and authorities. These volumes which were limited to 48 pages contained some 4,000 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, sold at a reasonable cost to the public. The series encompassed wide range of subject areas – History and Achievement, Arts and Craftsmanship, Literature, Education and Religion, Science and Engineering, Social life, Sport, Natural History. Some two million copies were sold primarily to readers in the USA, Latin America and the Empire and Commonwealth. Rather than directed to readers on the Home Front, the publishers saw the series as a means to counteract negative perceptions of Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth that were held abroad. The editors hoped that the series “will contribute to the better understanding of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth,” as the aim was for individual writers to present all aspects of the British way of life, accomplishments and heritage. However the contributors possessed the editorial freedom to interpret the subject they had chosen as they liked.

The series was originated by Hilda Matheson, a pioneer of radio talks on the BBC in the 1930’s, working on propaganda for the Ministry of Information. After Matheson’s death in 1940, Walter Turner took charge of the project and suggested the titles and enlisted the writers. Turner remained the driving force behind (BIP) until his death in 1946. Collins and Adprint published and produced (BIP). Wofgang Foges and Walter Neurath, both émigrés from Austria, designed the layout of the books.

History Pre-Registration Event

Please come and tell others:
History Departments Pre-Registration Event
Wednesday, November 4th, 4:00 PM
Wyatt Hall 109

This event will give history majors, minors, or people interested in taking a course from history faculty to talk about upcoming classes next semester with like-minded individuals. Professors will be in attendance to talk about their courses and whatever else comes to mind. Again, come join us over food this coming Wednesday at 4:00 PM in Wyatt Hall 109.

An Interesting Presentation Opportunity

Jason Schumacher '10 sends along this opportunity to present a paper at an undergraduate conference in Canada

Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, offers an annual conference that is quite unique in that it invites a wide range of undergraduate presenters to submit papers for presentation in the early part of January of each year. This could be a paper developed for a course, or some sort of independent research such as a summer research experience. I had the opportunity to present a paper of mine this past year, after which I wrote a short description of my impressions, which I have included below.

'From January 15th to January 18th of this year, I attended an academic conference in Kamloops, BC at Thompson Rivers University entitled "Navigating the Labyrinth: History, Philosophy, and Politics." While I had initially been apprehensive about attending a conference to present the research I had conducted over the summer with a Puget Sound research grant on the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon during the 1920s, I quickly overcame my fears. I presented during the first panel of the day, alongside a fourth year history student from the University of British Columbia. Many of the fears I had about the conference stemmed from the content of my research and presentation, which was a very United States centered topic. However, after listening to the other student's presentation on Chinese history, I realized that my regional focus was not altogether incompatible with a Canadian conference.

With my presentation over with, I spent the rest of the day listening to presentations at the various panels, meeting the history faculty at Thompson Rivers, and meeting my fellow participants. I was especially excited to hear the keynote presentation by Dr. Elisabeth Gidengil, who spoke about the recent Canadian election and the defeat of the Canadian Liberal party.

Overall, it was a very positive experience, and I would love if more students from Puget Sound were interested in attending the conference in the future.'

I really did enjoy the opportunity to present a paper in a formal and unfamiliar setting, and I would highly recommend that anyone with even a small amount of desire to attend this conference to do so. You can get more information at the conference website at http://www.tru.ca/phpconf.html. If anyone has any questions about the conference or would like to investigate ways of getting either partially or fully funded by Puget Sound to attend the conference, feel free to contact me and we can sit down to chat.

Francisco Goldman on Wednesday!

While it's likely most people on campus have already heard about Francisco Goldman's upcoming talk, here's another reminder.

Writer/novelist Francisco Goldman

THE ART OF POLITICAL MURDER

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009
4 p.m.
Wyatt Hall, Room 109

Free

A triumphant tale of justice belatedly served in a country where the concept had lost all meaning, of institutional evil unmasked in a place where it had long operated behind a thousand disguises, of plodding police work and personal courage overcoming a culture of impunity and fear.

About the Lecture
Goldman will discuss the assassination of a Guatemalan bishop Msgr. Juan Gerardi, whose bludgeoned body was found just days after he and a team of human rights investigators announced the publication of a 1,400-page report blaming Guatemala’s security forces for a 30-year reign of murder, torture, massacres, and disappearances.

About Goldman
Francisco Goldman is a Guatemalan-American journalist, and award-winning novelist. He lives in Mexico City and Brooklyn, New York, and teaches at Trinity College in Connecticut.

Sponsored by Latin American Studies, Hispanic Studies, Politics and Government, and The Graduate School of University of Washington, Seattle

For more information, contact John Lear at 879-2792.

Staffordshire Hoard

Professor Katherine Smith sends word of an important new discovery in medieval studies.

Historians’ consensus about the past evolves in two main ways: important new sources are discovered, and scholars find new ways of interpreting existing sources. In the field of medieval studies, major discoveries of long-lost sources, be they written or non-written are extremely rare; a scholar working in a European archive might come across a long-lost letter or charter (or, more likely, fragments of texts), while an archaeologist might hope to find scattered bones, potsherds, bits of clothing, or – if he or she is very lucky – a piece of jewelry. Since medievalists’ encounters with the past are often mediated through such fragments, the finding of a whole cache of texts or objects, all in perfect condition, is a rare and tremendously exciting event.

It is no wonder, then, that the discovery this past September of the ‘Staffordshire Hoard,’ a collection of over 1,500 elaborately worked gold and silver objects dating to the seventh and eighth centuries, has become many medievalists’ favorite topic of conversation. (For about a week after the discovery came to light, I felt like wearing a pin that said ‘Ask me about the Staffordshire Hoard,’ and I don’t even work on this time period!)

Why is this such a big deal, you non-medievalists ask? For starters, we know very little about these centuries, smack in the middle of what were long referred to as the ‘Dark Ages.’ Most texts that were written in England during this period have been lost, and those that survive often survive only in later manuscript copies. There are no complete extant buildings from these centuries in England, and there is no agreement about what people’s houses even looked like at this time. This is a world that has been reconstructed by scholars mainly on the basis of a few texts – Bede and Beowulf, along with a handful of others – as well as scattered archaeological evidence. Up to this point, the royal ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, first excavated in 1939, had held pride of place as the richest trove of early Anglo-Saxon objects (including some 4.4 lbs of gold) ever found, but the Staffordshire Hoard (which so far totals 16.5 lbs of gold and silver) promises to tell a story every bit as interesting.

Unraveling this story will undoubtedly take years of study, but a team of archaeologists, art historians, and historians has already begun to develop scenarios to explain why so much treasure was buried in a field some twelve centuries ago. The objects are almost exclusively of a martial nature – including gold sword-fittings, helmet decorations, and shield bosses – and are so exquisite that they were likely the possessions of aristocratic or even royal men. (At least one scholar who examined the hoard was moved to tears by the beauty of the workmanship. ) Since many of the objects seem to have been torn off weapons, it has been suggested that these were trophies of war, roughly stripped from the corpses of fallen noblemen after a battle. The jury is still out on why, when, and by whom the objects were buried, and study of the hoard is likely to go on for years. Whatever conclusions are reached, it is certain that these, in turn, will eventually have to be revised as new generations of scholars ask new questions and reimagine the early medieval past.

History Alums and Conferences

Professor Doug Sackman sends this as an account of an historian at the Western History Association Conference this past October.

I attended the Western History Association Conference in Denver last week, arriving Thursday afternoon to this high plains city at the base of the Rockies. Fittingly, snow was falling. The last time I flew to a conference was for the American Studies conference in Albuquerque a year ago; much to my surprise and delight, I had found myself sitting next to Jordan Hansen, Puget Sound alumnus, history major, extreme adventurer, and transatlantic rower extraordinaire. Jordan currently is pursuing a budding writing career. Little did I know, I would “see” another Puget Sound history alumnus in Denver (though not in person).

So back to Denver: some 800 Western historians (and a welcome smattering of western history aficionados and enthusiasts) convened there to share their scholarship on the North American West, broadly construed. I attended several excellent sessions—one on history in the Powder River basin, including one on “Feral Lands, Animals and People” (by Michael Wise) a fascinating examination of changing perceptions of wolves (Timothy Lehman) and one on the Cheyenne Indians’ agency in securing a reservation in that landscape (sometimes through militant action, sometimes through action, such as taking up agriculture, which was only accomodationist on its surface—in its roots, it was a strategy of maintaining culture and sovereignty rather than giving either up, Jaime Allison convincingly argued). My favorite session of the first day was on the “Pacific World in 19th Century Western and US History.” The panelists were all graduate students (one just completed his dissertation): Michael Black, of USC, argued that commerce—and commercial dreams of and engagement with China in particular—motivated American presence in the Pacific through the 19th century—certainly more so than any dreams of manifest destiny. Katherine Jenks (of UC Irvine) examined the curiously stymied business plan of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company during and after the Gold Rush, while Richard Ravalli explored the fate of the sea otter after the heyday of the otter trade (roughly 1795-1820). David Igler (Associate Professor at UC Irvine) provided the expert and lively commentary. This panel was especially interesting to me as my next book project will be explore how the “traffic in nature” in the 19th century tied far-flung places, peoples, plants, and animals together, forging a Pacific World (that was more “tumultuous” than “pacific” in terms of effects on natures and cultures)

Every conference will have a few blockbuster events, and one of those for this conference was the session on “Spatial History” featuring John Christensen, Matthew Booker, and the eminent and constantly path-breaking historian Richard White (William Cronon had been scheduled to chair the session, but he was not able to make it; his substitute kept the session going with a chiming marimba tone iphone keeping strict tract of time and a number of keen and aggravating interventions and comments. It almost seemed as if she was trying her best to through Richard White off his message, but he would have none of it). White is one of the leading historians of his day—a member of the so-called Gang of Four who trailblazed a New Western history in the 1980s, and a leader in environmental and Native American history as well (also, a “certified” genius, that is, a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, like our own Mott Greene). As is his way, White extracted the core useful perspectives of a difficult yet rewarding text (in this case, Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space), signaled how it could be of use to historians, and gave us a few glimpses of what he’s doing in a team effort (supported by a Mellon Grant that White used to establish a lab and spatial history project at Stanford) with a current project on transcontinental railroads. White spoke of the difference between maps and spatial information as illustration and as research tool. He is clearly more excited with the latter, as it can allow new questions—new ways of seeing and opening up the past—to emerge. But he said the work is inherently collaborative, as well as expensive (both in time and in the money to support the technology and collaborators). He also called GIS a clunky technology, and flatly stated that it was not a tool historians can expect to profitably take up by themselves. This was a conclusion I reached myself several years ago after participating on a workshop through on the technology, though it was useful in itself. Matthew Booker’s paper (on seeing the human-nature interactions in the SF Bay in new ways) and Jon Christensen’s paper (on butterfly conservation and mapping serpentine soils on which the animal has historically ranged) were also eye-opening and excellent.

I served as the chair for one session on Saturday, entitled “Railroads and Radios in the Making of the Canadian West.” As some of you know, I’m part of our Canadian Studies initiative at Puget Sound; we’ve received grants from the Canadian government over a number of years that have given us the opportunity to enrich curriculum in campus, often by bringing scholars and artists from Canada to speak or perform on campus. I was happy to be part of the Western History Association’s welcoming of Canadian topics and scholars into its program; in fact, while the US/Mexico borderlands has a rich and growing (and hot) historiography, the borders with Canada have been neglected, until recently. But an excellent session had focused on the US/Canada borders on Friday, with a great commentary by Andres Resendez and superb papers by Michel Hogue, Charlene Porsild, and Andrew Graybill (who has edited a forthcoming book comparing US/Mexico and US/Canadian borderlands).

My job was to introduce the panel, keep time (I refrained from aiming the iphone marimba at the speakers), and moderate the discussion. I used a bit of history people who have taken my History of the West and Pacific Northwest will recognize (as Annie Dillard tells a version of it in her novel The Living, but the event has been documented in The History of Whatcom County, and other sources). Here is what I said:

“I’m hoping that the WHA in the Western US has given a better welcome to our colleagues from north of the 49th parallel than the welcome Bellingham (then called Whatcom) gave to the Canadian Pacific Railway when it ran a train south of the border to that town in 1891 The officials at Whatcom apparently wanted to give the Canadian dignitaries a bang up reception—they erected a welcome arch, but they thought they would top it off by having two local volunteer fire departments create an archway of water, each department on the opposite side of the track shooting up a stream to meet majestically at a top. Unfortunately, these VFD’s were rivals, and they started hosing each other; when the train then rolled in, accounts say (and these may have been exaggerated over the years), they knocked out the windows and got the visitors drenched. To compound matters, someone thought the Canadian flag was flying higher than the U.S. flag on pole, and so tore it down.” The papers by Norm Fennema and Heather Longworth were quite good, as was the commentary by eminent historian Richard Orsi (author of Sunset Limited). In introducing Orsi, I joked that among his many, many contributions to Western history was his son Jared (who is a professor at Colorado State University and the author of an environmental history of water and Los Angeles, Hazardous Metropolis.

We historians love books, especially new books in our field. Many publishers came to the conference, exhibiting their new (and old) wares. We like to see the fruits of our colleagues’ research (indeed, the conference is a time to catch up on what our friends at other places are working on, and what they have coming out). Once in a while you get to see your own book for sale for the first time. (I should have something at the next conference I’ll got to in the spring, but at this one I was able to thank in person several of the contributors to a new book I’m editing and which has just been sent off to the press). But I found something at the book fair that I wasn’t expecting, and turned out to be one of the highlights of the conference (even though it was quite literally buried in a footnote). Thumbing through a fairly new book published by the University of California Press on the history of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, I found that the author cited a paper written on the topic written by a Puget Sound history major in History 400 in 2004—Tiffany Dyer! Congratulations to Tiffany! It’s a very nice honor to be cited by other scholars. It shows that our work here can contribute to something larger—the making and remaking of history as a constantly evolving product of our collective research and imaginations. Tiffany did a wonderful job on her thesis, even conducting archival research at the Bancroft library. He found her paper on my website (and I’m hoping to get more up once I shift over to the new web platform). .

All in all, it was a superb conference. It was also very nice to come back to Denver. The last time I came to town was just before I got the job at Puget Sound almost a decade ago. I had come to Denver for a job interview at another school. The first night, I was taken to a restaurant in the Cherry Creek area, and, as if the Wild West had come anachronistically to life right before my eyes, a fight broke out at the bar. It turned out to be a little bit of foreshadowing for the interview as a whole, but that’s another story for another time....

Postscript: the snow, unfortunately, meant that the excruciatingly early morning run I was hoping to do with Patty Limerick (another one of the Gang of Four and a certified genius to boot) and her husband Houston had to be called off (even the Rockies didn’t play that day). But I got a rain check (in the most literal sense): we’re going to go for a run, shine or probably rain, in Portland during the American Society for Environmental History conference in the Spring.

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to the blog of the History Department at the University of Puget Sound. We are just now joining many other departments in this form of communication, so please forgive any small mistakes as we get used to blogging over the next couple of weeks. We will be posting information from faculty about their research, student opportunities on and off campus, departmental events, interesting developments in the world of history, and anything else that comes to mind! If you are a history major, minor, or just interested in history, keep an eye on our blog for updates.