Skip to main content

It's been a long time

I haven't written an academic paper since 2011, so it's quite a formidable task to gather sources, write citations, and assemble everything in a way that's easily digestible.  I've been poring over old papers I'd written, MLA style journals, and as many other sources I can find, but it's still tough.  The cool part is that I'm not bound by the expectations or schedule of a professor, but the flip side is that I have no specific rubric to adhere to.  I'm quickly understanding how Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts stretch to 8 hours or more:  It's not just the topic at hand, it's all of the events around the topic at hand, the hows and the whys, and the greater historical context that gives your readers (his listeners) the best understanding.  And, to reiterate my intro post, I'm simply looking for light, fun topics!  I have no desire to write volumes on World War I, like Carlin does.  I'm looking for something a little deeper than "Holland's worst-kept secret, the Itty Bitty Bar," but not too much deeper.  And, that's the difference:  Context.

In a classroom setting, you've got the context of the lesson plan.  When I studied History Of The UP at Northern Michigan University, the one-page history digests that we wrote were presented in the context of the class.  I needn't have gone into extreme depth explaining the whos, whys, and whens, as we'd already covered all of that.  All I needed to present to my professor and classmates were the hows and the whats.  But, with this blog, I myself am learning quite a bit, so I need to assemble who, what, when, where, why, and how for myself.

Hang tight, actual content is forthcoming as soon as I can get it wrapped up.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Merry Christmas from Tulip City!

I don't have a full article this week, but here's a little bit of trivia for you: While Holland is a predominantly Christian Reformed city, it was the early Methodists that sprung the Christmas spirit. While an 1867 Sunday School Christmas Program drew nearly 150 youngsters to Hope Church, it was several generations before the Reformed church allowed even Christmas trees into their sanctuaries, as Christmas trees were seen as Pagan symbols. Early Methodists adopted the 19th Century American spirit, and welcomed things like Christmas trees and even Santa Claus into their sanctuaries. I tried to determine exactly how long "several generations" were using Dr. Swierenga's book (and the sources he cites), but could not ascertain the exact time. It's almost certainly somewhere in the vicinity of 50 years (before the Christian Reformed Churches allowed 'pagan' Christmas symbols), which would put their allowing of such things into the early 20th century, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Rebuttal To *Robert Evans: The Joe Rogan Of The American Left*

 User TheOriginalBigDave on Reddit recently wrote the following scathing review of Robert Evans and his content material , instead calling Robert Evans "The Ben Shapiro Of The American Left:" Yeah, you heard me. I know this is the most unpopular thing to post, but it's been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I couldn't think of another place to say it. Know what the difference is between Robert Evans and Ben Shaprio? Ben Shaprio probably makes less money then Robert Evans. Otherwise, they're the exact same. Shapiro says don't trust the media because its controlled by the democrats, Evans says don't trust the media because they manufacture consent. Both of them do the whole contrarian 'Im just saying' bullshit, both of them indirectly encourage streetfighting and buying firearms for 'self-defence', both of them actively want a second American Civil War, and both of them have come real close to advocating for the assassinat...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cedar Swamp Village

Holland has only been a settled city for a little over 170 years. But, it's got a dense, unique history. I took an interest in local history during my college years at Northern Michigan University, and was able to take that interest back home after graduation. Recently, I began researching for this blog, and hanging out at the library, poring through the Local History section. I found an old, forboding looking book, entitled Memorials Of The Grand River Valley, flipped open to a seemingly random page, and read the passage "The Indian village, near the southeastern limits of the city,w as also a prominent landing-place. The log-houses, built by the Indians, were of great service to the newly arrived immigrants; and, as it appears, there never has been any trouble between the Red man and the Dutchman." This piqued my interest, as I live near the southeastern limits of Holland. Was there an Indian village in my own neighborhood that history forgot? Memorials ad...
Post a Comment
Read more