History Carnival XXXV

Well, here it is, my first attempt at carnival hosting: History Carnival XXXV. I'm sorry I didn't include every nomination, but I wanted to keep this edition relatively concise as I know that I'm not the only person reading these with a short attention span. I've also taken a bricolage approach as not only do I think Carnivals should be messy, but it prevents anyone from jumping straight to their subject. Explore the history blogosphere, read about new topics. I hope you enjoy it!

First off, kae at Taking Place offers a brief history of Hip Hop firsts. While the facts are interesting, the real gems are the tracks at the end of the post that showcase major influences in today's music.

At Siris, Brandon explains Arthur Conan Doyle's belief in the authenticity of a photograph of fairies.

Michael Gilleland discovers a use for Michael Jackson in showing how the contemporary use of the umbrella differs from that of the ancients.

Utilizing a controversal Torah passage, AHistoricality warns that the historical divide between modernists and literalists in Judaism may only become more entrenched.

It's appropriate that the WWII "Project Habakkuk" is described at Interesting Thing of the Day as it involves the building of warships out of ice!

PZ Myers gives us samples of an aquatic obsessive in "The Eternal Fishmonger." Don't miss these images.

Following this set of parental advice today would probably get child services on your case. But J.L. Bell informs us that barefeet in the snow apparently built character in early America.

Jennie W. invites a discussion on monetary portraiture. I find it very interesting, as she notes, that Martha Washington is the only woman to have appeared on a US currency note.

At The Elfin Ethicist, we find some good ol' snark in Wilson's instructions on "How to write tendentious history." It's a lesson every first year graduate student should hear.

The time period for this carnival included the 4th of July, so it's appropriate that we have Elementary History Teacher to discuss the Imagi-Holiday of Independence Day.

Miland, at World History Blog, delivers the history of Oliver Law, "who may have been the first black man to lead white American combat troops."

Sometimes I find yet another reason to distrust psychiatry. This time Penny L. Richards has done it for me. Click the link and read the stories of patients forced to live their lives in a psychiatric institute for decades.

The Oxford University Press blog presents an e-mail discussion between Mark Tushnet and Saul Cornell on the meaning of the Second Amendment. The discussion is based on Cornell's new book, A Well Regulated Militia, but unfamiliarity with the book in no way detracts from the discussion. Part 1 is here and be sure to read the entire series.

Jumping off from a discussion of Voltaire's positioning during an actors' strike in Old Regime France, Jason Kuznicki calls for a history unafraid of complication and nuance.

I'm a huge fan of history that uses personal experiences, which explains why one of my favorite history books is Caroline Steedman's Landscape For a Good Woman. It also explains why I was so drawn to Amanda's post on the history of biliary atresia [BA], written for her niece, and told with her family's experience in mind.

I'm sure many History Carnival readers read Natalie Bennet's Philobiblon, as I do. Those who do have probably run into Frances Williams Wynn either there or at Natalie's retroblogging home, Diaries of a Lady of Quality. Natalie just completed a research trip regarding Miss Wynn and she reports on her findings here.

I'm glad we can read some of the history of the City of London, before I go back in August, at Diamond Geezer. Here's part 2 on the Guildhall and Leadenhall Market.

All carnivals should be a little sexy. Fortunately, Michael Allen at Grumpy Old Bookman is there to help us locate some Victorian Pornography.

Mills Kelly discusses an innovative way of teaching history using "think alouds" and he provides links to essays on the technique.

Should America have gone the way of Revolution? July 4th brings out the Anglophile in Matt Yglesias. Tyler Cowan seems conflicted. Dan Drezner defers to Jefferson. Jane Galt finds her answer in hindsight. Finally, Brandon Watson defers to George Campbell.

I'm not an American historian, but one thing I remembered way back in high school American history class was laughing at President Ulysses S. Grant. Nathan Newman makes the case for rehabilitating Grant's reputation.

Alun Salt reviews Valerie Shrimplin's Sun Symbolism and Cosmology in 'Michaelangelo's Last Judgment' which complicates the stereotypical and simplistic view of pre-Copernicus cosmology.

At TalkLeft, we discover "What Barack Obama Needs to Learn From Richard Hofstadter, Abraham Lincoln, and FDR."

Don't forget me! I've posted some thoughts on members of oppressed groups who do "minority history."

Marc Comtois, in "Historical Consumerism," discusses how historians can make history relevant to a larger public. In particular, he argues that we should "appeal to the personal" and uses geneology as an example.

Hiram Hover compares and contrasts Radical Republicans during the Civil War and now and concludes with thoughts on how we will remember both groups. It's not a comparison I'd thought of previously and I highly recommend you check it out.

Attempting to explain why the Qinghai-Tibet railway was built, Nick comes to an interesting conclusion regarding the way that authoritarian regimes will treat the environment.

Finally, in this edition of America's racist past, Mutantfrog brings us "How to Spot a Jap."

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Just a few more links:

For those of you haven't yet seen it, there's a relatively new carnival on the blogging block that just had its new edition. The Carnival of Bent Attractions is for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer blogging. I encourage everyone to read and participate in it; it's been an excellent community building tool for me.

Hiram Hover is hosting the next Carnival of Bad History. Submit your examples of bad history here.

Finally, the next edition of the History Carnival will be at CLEWS: The Historic True Crime Blog on August 1st. Submit those posts here.