Monthly Archives: March 2011

Legendary Drummer Seeks Royalties

Posted on March 30, 2011 by briansandberg

The legendary drummer Clyde Stubblefield is seeking royalties for his much-sampled beats, which have been re-used by thousands of musicians.  Stubblefield’s influential drumming style is considered a crucial aspect of the music history of modern rock, funk, rap, and hip-hop. … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Humanities, Music History | Leave a comment

Expanding Use of FOIA Requests on Faculty Members

Posted on March 30, 2011 by briansandberg

Now that the news of an open records request on University of Wisconsin Professor William Cronon has gone viral, other faculty at public universities are already being targeted by politicized FOIA requests, as a story in the New York Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Humanities Education | Leave a comment

Anthony Grafton Comments on the Cronon Affair

Posted on March 29, 2011 by briansandberg

Anthony Grafton, an early modern European historian and current President of the American Historical Association, has published a comment on the political attacks on William Cronon in the New Yorker. Grafton provides contextualization and commentary, referring to this growing controversy … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Humanities Education | Leave a comment

American Historical Association Supports Cronon

Posted on March 29, 2011 by briansandberg

The American Historical Association has issued a statement supporting Professor William Cronon against Wisconsin politicians who are seeking access to his e-mails.  For those readers not familiar with this case, see my previous postings about this abuse of freedom-of-information laws.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Humanities Education | Leave a comment

Of Pirates, Empire, and Terror

Posted on March 28, 2011 by briansandberg

An interview with Lauren Benton and Dan Edelstein, authors of two new books on piracy, imperialism, and violence appears in a recent issue of the academic journal Humanity. Lauren Benton’s book, A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Globalization, Piracy, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Napoleonic War Finance in the Media

Posted on March 27, 2011 by briansandberg

Princeton economist Paul Krugman discusses war finance during the Napoleonic Wars in his New York Times blog. This short piece is based on an academic journal article published in the Journal of Economic History in 1991.  The article by professors … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative Revolutions, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Neapolitan Music and the Camorra

Posted on March 27, 2011 by briansandberg

A new musical movement in Naples appears to be intimately linked with the Camorra (Neapolitan mafia). WBEZ’s Worldview offers a story on the “neomelodics.”

Posted in Italian History, Music History | Leave a comment

Thinking about Civil Conflict Comparatively

Posted on March 27, 2011 by briansandberg

As the Libyan civil conflict (or revolution if you prefer) continues, observers continue to struggle to make sense of the divisions within Libyan society.  Libyan and North African specialists obviously have much to contribute to analyzing this conflict, but considering … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Comparative Revolutions, History of Violence, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Academic Freedom Under Attack in Wisconsin

Posted on March 27, 2011 by briansandberg

Noted environmental historian William Cronon is facing retaliation by politicians in Wisconsin who are using an Open Records Act request in an attempt to view Cronon’s personal and professional e-mails.  This effort is a gross abuse of the freedom of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Human Rights, Humanities Education | Leave a comment

Outside the Law: A Film on the Algerian War

Posted on March 25, 2011 by briansandberg

Outside the Law, a recent film by Rachid Bouchareb, revisits the Algerian War of the 1940s and 1950s. Students in HIST 390 History and Film: War in Film may be interested in this film, since we will be watching the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Empires and Imperialism, French History, Historical Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment