Today’s Financial Crisis in a Historical Mirror

Economist and blogger extraordinaire Brad DeLong takes a whirlwind tour of economic history in his recent talk, Today’s Financial Crisis in a Historical Mirror (weblink).
First comes the tale of the Panic of 1825. As DeLong tells it, this was the first time a central bank (Bank of England) intervened to avert a financial crisis by [...]

Archaeologist Isabelle Pafford teaches new course

University of Santa Clara archaeologist Isabelle Pafford is back with a new course about heroic narratives, Heroes & Heroism (iTunes). The course covers heroic figures in ancient works like the Iliad, the Gilgamesh epic, and the Bhagavad Gita, and explores the historical background behind these tales.
Pafford has many fans among my readers who have praised [...]

Treasure trove of courses at UCSD

University of California San Diego is offering a record 63 courses available for free download on its podcast website this quarter, enough to fill your mp3 player for months to come. But carpe diem, seize the day. Most of these riches will only stay on the website until the end of the quarter (roughly mid-December), [...]

When the modern world began

For much of human history, most people lived in the world of poverty and hard labor described by that most dismal of early economists, Thomas Malthus. In brief, Malthus reasoned that any increase in food supply would be quickly outpaced by increased population, thus forever depressing living standards to bare subsistence.
So when did we [...]

Fall quarter 2009 at UCLA and UCSD

Classes start Sept 24 at UCLA and UCSD, and now you can check out the rosters of new courses here and here.
Some of my favorite professors will be back. Historian Matthew Herbst will be teaching Making of the Modern World 4 (feed), which covers world history from 1200 to 1750. And political science [...]

The truth about the Roman gladiator

Are you fascinated by gladiator, that killer-for-hire who entertained thousands back in ancient Rome’s heyday?
Whether you love them or loathe them, you’ll enjoy Pennsylvania State University historian Garrett Fagan’s talk Myths and Realities about the Roman Gladiator (iTunes).
With his Irish brogue and mordant sense of humor, Fagan separates the historical facts from the fanciful fictions [...]

History of the Early Christian Church lives on

Here’s some good news for ancient history fans. David Miano, teacher of UCSD’s The History of the Early Christian Church has made the lectures available on his own website, giving a second chance for those of you who failed to grab the course before UCSD removed the lectures from its website at the [...]

Allons enfants de la Patrie

I’m a bit late for Bastille Day, but surely it’s never too late for a great bit of history. The story of La Marseillaise, the stirring and bloody-minded French national anthem is the backdrop to the Feb. 28 lecture of historian Margaret Anderson’s excellent survey course The Making of Modern Europe, 1453 to the Present [...]

Independence Daze: A History of July Fourth

Before you head out to the beach for your Fourth of July picnic, take a few minutes to listen to Independence Daze: A History of July Fourth (website, iTunes), the latest episode of BackStory (website, iTunes).
There’s a lot of food for thought for your Independence Day picnic.
Early in the show, host Peter Onuf interviews MIT [...]

Back from the (American) Alps

I’m back from a lovely vacation in Glacier National Park, an area once advertised to potential tourists as “the American Alps.” I’ve never been to the Alps, but my husband assures me that the comparison is apt — snow capped peaks, meadows full of wildflowers and an abundance of waterfalls.

A highlight of our visit [...]