Monthly Archives: August 2011

France’s New Role in North Africa

Posted on August 30, 2011 by briansandberg

France has played a prominent diplomatic and military role in the revolutions and civil conflicts in the Arab world this year. President Sarkozy intervened early in the Libyan Civil War, supporting the rebel groups opposing Qaddafi in Libya. France has … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Comparative Revolutions, French History, Mediterranean World | 1 Comment

DNA Evidence of the Black Death

Posted on August 30, 2011 by briansandberg

The Black Death is back in the news. Several teams of scientists have been working over the past decade to extract DNA evidence from bodies of victims of the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. The latest findings confirm several other … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, History in the Media, History of Medicine, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Historical Research and Human Subjects

Posted on August 27, 2011 by briansandberg

Academic researchers who work on human subjects are required to request authorization from boards that review research methods for potential ethical violations. The goal is to ensure that human subjects in research studies (especially medical experiments, drug trials, and psychological … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Archival Research, Graduate Work in History, Humanities Education | Leave a comment

Climate Change and Civil Conflict

Posted on August 26, 2011 by briansandberg

For decades, historians have examined evidence of correlations between climate change and civil conflict. Bad weather and sustained droughts have often been seen as causes of  peasant revolts and revolutions, such as the French Revolution of 1789, yet these arguments … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Environmental History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History of Violence, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | 1 Comment

Today’s College Freshmen

Posted on August 24, 2011 by briansandberg

Welcome to the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic year as summer ends and classes begin again. Each fall semester, Beloit College publishes “The Mindset List,” a humorous attempt to capture the attitudes and experiences of incoming college freshmen students. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Policy, Humanities Education, Northern Illinois University | Leave a comment

A Publishing Revival

Posted on August 9, 2011 by briansandberg

Publishers have been complaining for years of a publishing crisis, while pundits portend the end of the physical book.  The financial crisis of 2008 fueled increased apocalyptic fears among many writers and editors, which were later heightened by the bankruptcy … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Publishing, History of the Book | Leave a comment

Devotion, Discipline, Reform: Conference at the Newberry Library

Posted on August 6, 2011 by briansandberg

September 15 – 17, 2011 Devotion, Discipline, Reform: Sources for the Study of Religion, 1450-1640 A Conference in Honor of Sister Ann Ida Gannon, BVM The Newberry Library, Chicago http://www.newberry.org/renaissance/conf-inst/devotion.html Printable flier: http://www.newberry.org/renaissance/conf-inst/DevotionConference.pdf Speakers include: Gregory R. Crane, Classics and … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences, Early Modern Europe, Religious Violence, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

H-France Webinars

Posted on August 6, 2011 by briansandberg

H-France is launching a webinar series beginning this fall. Graduate students in History at NIU, as well as undergraduate students in HIST 311 Early Modern France, 1500-1789 and HIST 423 French Revolution and Napoleon will be interested in this series. … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative Revolutions, Early Modern Europe, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Graduate Work in History, History in the Media, Human Rights, The Past Alive: Teaching History | Leave a comment

The Occitan War

Posted on August 6, 2011 by briansandberg

Southern France has certainly seen its share of religious conflict and civil warfare.  My own research explores violence in the French Wars of Religion of 1562-1629, especially focusing on the latter stages of those conflicts. Larry Marvin, one of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Early Modern Europe, French History, Languedoc and Southern France, Religious Violence, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Shame in Academic Writing

Posted on August 4, 2011 by briansandberg

We professors and graduate students in the humanities all struggle with academic writing.  Formulating new research agendas, carrying out fieldwork, developing rigorous analysis, applying appropriate methodologies, and discerning fresh interpretations of sources is difficult enough.  And, then the writing and … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Publishing, Graduate Work in History, Humanities Education, Writing Methods | Leave a comment