Today’s What We’re Reading features Shutdown 2013, a new digital database dedicated to Albert Einstein’s writings, a history of Twitter, librarian shaming, and much more!
Shutdown 2013
Historian Sean Wilentz authors an op-ed in the New York Times on the history of the 14th Amendment, and how Congress originally intended to apply the document in the context of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
5 Smithsonian Scientific Research Projects Shut Down by the Shutdown
The Smithsonian offers a partial list of research projects interrupted by the shutdown.
After One Week, Federal Shutdown Is Already Taking a Toll on Higher Ed
The Chronicle offers an update on how the shutdown is affecting academia. [Paywall]
History and New Media
U-M Acquires Archive of Maverick Filmmaker John Sayles
From the University of Michigan: “The U-M collection includes scripts, production documents, legal documents, photographs, storyboards and correspondence regarding such films as Matewan, Brother from Another Planet, The Secret of Roan Inish and more.”
Publishing company Tizra will offer The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein in digital form, containing searchable text in German and English translations.
History in the News
All Is Fair in Love and Twitter
A new book offers a look at the history of Twitter, and the men who founded it.
Amtrak launches a site celebrating historic train stations, and encourages communities to preserve theirs.
Snyder Defends Redskins Name in Emotional Letter to Fans
Five days after President Obama waded into the waters of the Redskins name, team owner Daniel Snyder authored a letter to fans that cites the team’s 81-year history as evidence to keep the contentious team name.
Teaching and Learning
Leonard Cussuto, for the Chronicle, discusses the shrinking population of part-time humanities graduate students.
Of White Boards and PowerPoints
Rob Jenkins, also for the Chronicle, weighs the costs and benefits of foregoing the white board in a classroom in favor of a PowerPoint slideshow.
Your Stereotype of College Students Is Bad and You Should Feel Bad
Dylan Matthews reacts to the Hamilton Project’s reporting on the demographics of college students: “the picture of college that the media tends to promote—of highly selective four-year schools with residential campuses—represents quite a small fraction of colleges and universities.”
Fun and Off-Beat
In the same spirit of dog shaming, librarians “come clean.”
Age of Internet Empires: One Map With Each Country’s Favorite Website
Facebook wins in North Africa, Yemen, and Columbia. Google dominates the USA and Brazil, and Japan favors Yahoo!
This post first appeared on AHA Today.
Tags: AHA Today What We're Reading
Comment
Please read our commenting and letters policy before submitting.
