Recently posted around the history blogosphere:
• What (at least a few of) the Founding Fathers thought about abortion. And read on to see the spirited discussion in the Comments section. (H/T John Fea)
• The short-lived Dalai Lamas of the early 19th century, victims of political intrigue involving Chinese imperial officials, Tibetan aristocrats, and rival monasteries.
• Tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a centennial that’s inspiring lots of historical reflection: e.g., Steven Cromack on the Titanic as a “master story”; a selected list of books about the disaster; an overview of commemorative events around the world, from Belfast (where the ship was built) to Halifax (where victims were buried) to the North Atlantic itself, where a memorial cruise is recreating the voyage.
• Earlier this week we posted a couple of pieces on how history majors can think about framing their skills for a turbulent job market. Here’s another idea, from AHA Today: “As we develop more ways to generate data, and as we get better at programming machines to sift through this data, human analysis becomes more important, not less” — in particular the historian’s ability to organize events on a timeline. Add in some new digital mapping possibilities, and history majors can suddenly find themselves on the cutting edge.
• Also from AHA Today: how users of the new social media site Quora are asking and answering questions about history and historiography.
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