It happened only a week ago, but for the life of me, I can’t remember just why I ended up interrupting a lecture on fascism to share with my Modern Europe students these details from my childhood: One day in 3rd grade French class, the story goes, Mme. Conway let me take over class. I … More When I Knew I Wanted to Teach History
I’ve already posted something for November 11 as Remembrance/Veterans Day, but given that it’s also one of the twelve days each century when the numbers of the month, day, and year (in mm/dd/yy format, or dd/mm/yy for our European readers) are identical, I thought I’d list the most important events in history for each such … More 11/11/11
October 17, 1660 – Nine “Regicides” are drawn and quartered At the conclusion of the English Civil War in 1649, Parliament appointed “commissioners” to sit in judgment of the defeated king Charles I. He was sentenced to death, with the warrant signed by fifty-nine men. When the monarchy was restored under Charles’ son in 1660, … More This Week in History
This entire week in history is special because of what happened in 1582, when the Catholic countries of southern Europe (plus Poland) became the first to adopt the new calendar decreed by Pope Gregory XIII and so move off of the old Julian calendar. The “Gregorian” calendar was designed to ensure that vernal equinox fell … More This Week in History
At long last (okay, six days) we come to the end of our series counting down the best national anthems. And in the end, there was really only one choice. France, “La Marseillaise“ Longevity: official anthem since 1792 Singability: ranges from D4-E5 (C4 = middle C) Inspiration: 4.1% of Olympic golds won; 1 men’s World … More The Best National Anthems: France
As the week nears an end, we come to the final two spots in my (and my Modern Europe class’s) ranking of the world’s best national anthems. If you’re new to the series, you might go back to the beginning and read on to learn the methodology employed and the anthems that have already been … More The Best National Anthems: The US of A
With twelve nominees for world’s best national anthem having fallen by the wayside, we’re finally up on the medal platform and ready to reveal our 3rd best anthem. (See earlier posts for a full explanation of methodology. The brief version: the first round used objective rankings for longevity, singability, and inspiration to narrow the list … More The Best National Anthems: Germany
Getting closer to revealing the best national anthem… Before we get to #4, let’s recap the top ten so far: 10. Greece, “Hymn to Liberty” 9. Uruguay, “National Anthem of Uruguay” 8. Russia, “National Anthem of the Russian Federation” 7. China, “Song of the Volunteers” 6. Japan, “Kimigayo” 5. Brazil, “The Brazilian National Anthem” If … More The Best National Anthems: The UK
In my quest to identify the World’s Best National Anthem, we breezed through six also-rans and three honorable mentions en route to last Friday’s reveal of my Modern Europe students’ choice for the 6th best anthem: Japan’s “Kimigayo.” Again, the initial rankings were based on a semi-serious but mostly objective calculation weighing three factors: how … More The Best National Anthems: Brazil
Having disposed of nine nominees on Wednesday and Thursday for the coveted title of World’s Best National Anthem, let’s jump right into the six finalists. Again, the initial rankings were based on a semi-serious but mostly objective calculation weighing three factors: how long the song has endured as official anthem; how singable the anthem is, … More The Best National Anthems: Japan
The Pietist Schoolman 