Today we get closer to settling, once and for all, the question, “What’s the best national anthem?” On Monday I explained how this series stemmed from an exploration of 19th century European nationalism in my Modern Europe course. Yesterday I revealed six national anthems that didn’t really come close to making the cut for our … More The Best National Anthems: Honorable Mentions
As I discussed Monday, song is often seen as an integral part of the project of constructing a nation, what Benedict Anderson calls an “imagined community.” So as my Modern Europe class spends a few days on the history of 19th century nationalism, I’m inspired to settle, once and for all, the question, “What’s the … More The Best National Anthems: Also-Rans
This week “This Week in History” will take a break. In its place, I’ll use the Monday morning post to kick off a new series I’ve been looking forward to for weeks: Once and for all, I will settle the question, “What’s the best national anthem?” Later today my Modern Europe class will start a … More The Best National Anthems: Introduction
One of the statistics provided every day by WordPress (the service that hosts this blog) is a list of “referrers,” websites that blog visitors click on to get to your blog. 90% of the referrers for this blog are sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, and WordPress itself. Most visitors have been here before and … More Fun with Googling
September 19, 1945 – “Lord Haw Haw” is sentenced to death One of the courses I teach at Bethel University is the capstone of our major program, Senior Seminar, in which students spend the spring semester conducting original research on a topic of their choosing, produce an article-length paper, and close the year by giving … More This Week in History
September 12, 1977 – My brother is born While this indirectly leads (through a combination of rough-housing and my lack of coordination) to my visiting the emergency room at least half a dozen times in our shared childhood, it’s still worth celebrating. Happy Birthday, Jon! September 13, 1916 – Mary the elephant is executed See, … More This Week in History
Labor Day Edition September 5, 1882 – New York City hosts America’s first Labor Day parade Here’s how the New York Times began its report on the proceedings: The parade of the working men yesterday, although not so large as its organizers had predicted, was conducted in an orderly and pleasant manner. Those who rode … More This Week in History
A very special week in history, since we start with… August 29, 2011 – I make my 100th post at The Pietist Schoolman Namely, this one. How to properly assess the historical significance of this moment as compared to the other landmarks we’ll be commemorating today? Well, only time will tell, but I think we … More This Week in History
August 22, 1942 – Brazil declares war on Italy Well, on Germany really; I’m guessing Italy was an afterthought. But I’ve got to think this was close to the last straw for even the most fervent supporters of Mussolini. Imagine with me, if you will, the following dialogue that fateful morning of August 22nd, 1942: … More This Week in History
August 15, 1057 – Macbeth, King of the Scots, dies Seventeen years to the day after King Duncan I died while leading the fight against the forces of Macbeth, the successor himself was mortally wounded in battle. For an update, let’s go to The Pietist Schoolman’s special correspondent, Wm. Shakespeare: DUNSINANE CASTLE – A shocking … More This Week in History
The Pietist Schoolman 