Week 4

of History of an Absolutely Fascinating Thing to Academics

Academe (where a weathered historian shares)

We left off last week with the question of which question to tackle next and the only thing that became certain is that more tea is needed. And perhaps a double margarita.

How about, How to read? In other words, what are you reading for? To what purpose are you engaged in the act of reading?

Something I repeat in all classes is the fact that historians always make an argument. You read an article by a historian, a monograph, a chapter assigned from a book, or a textbook by a historian, and you are reading an interpretation, a.k.a., argument, a.k.a., thesis. Once you accept this fact, I believe your reading comprehension is going to “level up.”

Reading for information is probably the first purpose toward which you are working when reading about the History of an Absolutely Fascinating Thing to Academics (HAFTA). Learning some new names and dates and vocabulary as well as establishing some common themes are the main goals of reading for information. And it’s good reading, particularly when reading about an AFTA for the first time. It also shows trust and that you want to learn, which cannot be overestimated in this day and age.

This is now Week 4. We have already spent about two weeks gathering information about the first part of HAFTA, mainly from the textbook (the tertiary source) and now we are trying to see and identify more nuance about the “H” of HAFTA. We are reading an excerpt from a history by a different historian of AFTA in order to “level up” our reading skills. Because, without a doubt, we are reading a second historian not primarily in order to gather more information about AFTA but to gather more information about H.

This second historian has chosen how to approach AFTA, has chosen a question to answer about AFTA, and has chosen the information relevant to her/his approach. All these choices mean history is an interpretation. So as we read this second historian’s interpretation, read for more than just the information. Read for the argument. Much of the information should be sounding familiar anyway because it is going to repeat somewhat from what we have read thus far. The argument is going to be different. The information is being made to serve a line of reasoning, a line of argumentation — what is it? What is this historian trying to persuade you of?

If you can read for both information and for argumentation, you are definitely making progress.

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With Critters, It’s Personal

Ande surveys the trail ahead

It’s been cold. Really cold. When it’s been bearable, I’ve taken Ande for a walk, but boots are required to protect her toes.

So I share a half-minute video of her in her boots.

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