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
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
I confess: I brought my laptop along on our recent family vacation. But for the most part, I did a decent job of ignoring the blogosphere and focusing on more crucial tasks — e.g., how to get western Michigan sand off/out of every object and article of clothing we brought to the beach. So I’m … More That Was the Week That Was
My family just got back from traveling to Michigan, where we attended a family wedding and had the chance to catch up with some good friends of mine from grad school. As a gadabout academic who can spend an hour of his summer holiday researching and writing about the following topic, this kind of diversion … More Why Are There No Holidays in August?
The Pietist Schoolman 