fragility

I’ll be teaching a special methodology class in Lent term on — what else? — causation and explanation in history. Any reading recommendations from those more well-read than I in these matters — and I can tell from some of the comments that there are a number of you — will be welcome. (am thinking [...]

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“saffron revolution”

tremendously anguished by events in Burma. Briefly: an absurd fuel price hike last month caused (caused!) untenable price rises in transport costs and other trickle-down effects on the cost of rice and cooking oil, leading to small but numerous demonstrations around the country. The monks got involved when a particularly forceful dispersal on 5 September [...]

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disorganized blather on causation

I’m out of town for a bit & in the midst of packing, so this is messy thinking-out-loud & will be the only post for a few days. Further to earlier musings, I have been thinking a little about what it means to explain something. There seems to be a difference between causal explanations like [...]

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links for 2007-09-22

Walter Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History meditations on history … (tags: history philosophy walterbenjamin) Walter Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History … poeticized. awesome. (tags: history philosophy walterbenjamin awesome poetry clever)

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thought-stubs

I’ve been woefully absent from the virtual world, mostly due to the highly absorbing presence of a certain boy. Just thought-stubs for now, and perhaps fleshed out in coming weeks: 1. What kind of knowledge is conferred upon us when we think about counterfactual history? What purpose does it serve to speculate, for example, that [...]

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links for 2007-09-17

Historical Maps of Southeast Asia o god (tags: maps history resource) The Book of Ratings | Angelic Orders, Part I the definitive review of angels — all nine types of them! (tags: angels ideas lists funny)

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links for 2007-09-09

[minstrels] Acceptance — Robert Frost let what will be, be. (tags: beautiful poetry)

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links for 2007-09-06

Latin Quotes, Latin Phrases, Latin Mottos and Latin Quotations note to self: by hook or crook 90% of these must enter the thesis! (ok, maybe just one: Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus) (tags: latin language reference resource quotes)

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links for 2007-09-01

Immanuel Wallerstein: The Vietnam Analogy world-systems theorist/historian inveighs against bush’s (mis)appropriation of Vietnam as an analogy for Iraq–with an interesting prediction for the future at the end. any thoughts? (tags: world news history analysis iraq war lookingahead)

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