I have never studied this formally, either from the perspective of a sociologist or historian, but I often find myself thinking about how quickly we (generic Americans and Europeans) have come to believe that our concept of “personal space” and housing are absolute, when in fact the way we live has changed in the past,…… Continue reading The concept of personal space
Year: 2009
Quote on History
“Human nature is the same in every age if we make allowance for the difference of customs & Education, so that we learn to know ourselves by studying the opinions and passions of others” -William Bradford (paraphrasing Hume) in a letter to James Madison, October [1772], original in the collection of the Historical Society of…… Continue reading Quote on History
Tartan societies
Thoughts on the Scottish-American clan fascination.
why a magpie?
As a jewelry-loving girl whose first name starts with M, I was nicknamed ‘magpie’ by my family long ago. It is, at this point, a fairly good decription of my approach to history – not that I gather everything shiny, but that I’m willing to take sticks and grass as well as silver to build…… Continue reading why a magpie?