http://www.breathinghistory.org Doing History One Breath At a Time Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:19:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've long had this vague understanding that the origins of the word bedlam came from a psychiatric hospital in the English speaking world named Bedlam.  Past that, I hadn't any idea what it meant or where it was, so I dug into it a little bit.  (The reasons for this ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/07/06/bedlam/ I've been using the StumbleUpon widget in my browser to find interesting stuff. I found this 1903 picture of a flatiron building in New York City on Eyewitness to History in their photo of the week section. It reminded me that there's one in San Francisco. http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/06/30/flatiron-building/ Here it is, Summer Break and while some would think it's the time for reading mind candy, my current book is Poverty and Progress: Social Mobility in a Nineteenth Century City by Stephan Thernstrom. One of the main themes of my American Urban History class was that of ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/06/17/you-might-think/ The terms "hip" and "hipster" probably came from the jazz age in 1920s Chicago and can be defined as: a fanatic of jazz, alcohol, and cabarets who defiantly carried a flask hidden in a hip pocket Source: William Howland Kenney, Chicago Jazz: A Cultural History 1904-1930, (New York: Oxford University Press, ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/05/03/hey-all-you-jazz-cats-and-hipsters/ Think about the implications of this: I was like a brain-damaged child born into the bosom of a hearty, muscular clan, and I felt guilty for a long time. Young black writers will go through the same thing until we have established as a race here in America a tradition of books, ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/03/28/on-black-writers/ For many years now, my friends and I have questioned the propriety of singing the national anthem before sports events. We never quite understood why this was such a tradition. Well, I'm here to tell you I now know the answer. According to Gunther Barth in "Ball Park," a chapter found ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/02/24/the-national-anthem-and-sports/ One of my classes this semester is Women in Medieval and Early Modern Britain. A student can take it and receive credit either in History, English Lit or Women's Studies. Last week, we read some of the most appalling misogynistic diatribes I've ever read. I had heard ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2008/01/29/herodotus-and-the-power-of-women/ In a show of what can only be called continued, and blissful, ignorance, Sherri Shepherd of The View continues to be an example of how American education fails its students. She makes a good case for more, and better, teaching of history and science. But thank the heavens for Whoopi ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2007/12/05/nothing-predated-christians/ There are times when I am surprised that people don't know more about the world and religions that surround them. But because I am biased as an historian and a very curious person, I try to understand that others aren't as fascinated as I am. Take, for instance, the fascinating ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2007/11/24/islam-and-christianity/ Now entering Week 10 of the semester and I am busily researching my paper for History of Islam due at the end of the semester.  I was really excited and happy to spend most of my day reading one of the many books from my bibliography.  It has been a ... http://www.breathinghistory.org/2007/10/21/fall-2007-the-midway-point/