Latest Posts
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The Unselfish Ruler
The story of the life of the first and only emperor of the United States, Joshua Abraham Norton, seems quintessentially American. Born to a middle-class Jewish family in England, Norton came to the United States around 1845 from South Africa… Continue reading
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Incomplete Paperwork
At first glance, a document in box 108 H 17 from the Archives départementales de la Haute-Garrone in Toulouse, France, is as boring as its name suggests. An eight-by-five-inch parchment with 21 lines of Latin text written in a neat… Continue reading
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My Libraries
Do you have a third place? Coined by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book, The Great Good Place, a third place is one where people can regularly relax, talk, and socialize outside the “first place” (home) and “second place”… Continue reading
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City Stratigraphy
Wedged between the National Mall and the Potomac River, the Washington, DC, Waterfront is not yet a city again. It has the bustle, the nightlife, the commotion and vibrancy of a city, but it lacks the sense that it is… Continue reading
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Dreaming Cities
One unexpected outcome of the COVID-19 lockdowns is that cities were suddenly quiet. It’s cars that make them noisy, it turns out. Unable to socialize indoors, city dwellers began exploring the urban outdoors and found them enjoyable, much to their… Continue reading
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Editorial Oversight
Journalists don’t often get the best press from historians, and not without reason. The study and practice of history is built on the particularity and specificity of events, on localized facts that we craft into delicate, nuanced arguments. Our colleagues… Continue reading
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Ghosts in the Machine
Those who keep abreast of social media, and particularly those who have been preparing courses for the spring term, have probably heard about ChatGPT, the newest assault on academic integrity. With a few clicks, panicked commentators breathlessly tell us, your students… Continue reading
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More of a Comment Than a Question
In The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), a novel set on a distant future planet where the concept of gender does not exist, Ursula K. Le Guin imagined a group of fortune tellers called “the Answerers.” Through long practice, the Answerers could… Continue reading
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It’s Always Gritty in Philadelphia
C’est quoi Gritty?” (What the heck’s a Gritty?) asked a reader of Le Monde in November 2020. “[Un] icône de l’extrême gauche américaine” (an icon of the American Far Left / of extreme American bad taste), replied the French paper. In the run-up… Continue reading
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Alma Mater
I came to Brown University not knowing much about the history of the place. I just knew that there were multiple faculty members with whom I was excited to work and a generous stipend. Of course, once I arrived, it… Continue reading
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