Tag Archives: history

Posts on Greek Drama and History

A bit of blog housekeeping is coming up – 500 a day hasn’t been hit yet, but I’m in shooting distance. Part of the strategy has to be to post a bit more, and get more links built to my older posts. Without further ado, here are some posts on Greek tragedy and history. I …

July 19, 2010 – 3:44 am | By ashok | Posted in blogging | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The Noble Life: On Plutarch’s “Pericles”

Quotes are from John Dryden’s translation, published by Modern Library but available online for free. The biography is about 30 pages long. It seems strange to call Pericles noble, given that to become the leading man in Athens, he displaced the aristocracy and bullied the oligarchy that remained. Pericles’ legacy is undoubtedly one of unleashing …

March 1, 2009 – 12:33 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged | Comments (1)

Questions regarding the Lincoln Memorial

Following up on the last post about my time with Collegium, Christine and Bill in DC. Again, many thanks for their observations and thoughts, which are reflected below. The Lincoln Memorial stands tall, as if out of reach. Wikipedia notes that the columns are Doric but doesn’t talk about the frontal access to the temple …

June 7, 2008 – 2:00 am | By ashok | Posted in lincoln, politics | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Thoughts on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Shout-outs to begin: I was in the DC area this weekend with Collegium Cantorum and my friends Christine and Bill. We sang at St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill at the 10:30 am Mass (6/1), and also at a Holy Hour on 5/30 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale, VA. A few of us went …

June 2, 2008 – 2:11 pm | By ashok | Posted in personal, politics | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

How Does One Determine Whether Old Books About Politics Are Applicable Today?

Politics seems to be too closely related to circumstance for any political decision to be grounded in something timeless. A commitment to a principle such as “our roads should be safe” has obvious practical overtones. When other decisions such as alliances with dictators are made, the practical overtones are plain and disturbing, but even a …

September 20, 2007 – 5:20 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Is This Stuff Really Scholarship? This Can’t Be Real

Please assess this, and tell me it’s some sort of joke It would seem to me that the “economic-historical” thesis that the Industrial Revolution occurred because of a change in human evolution could be defeated merely by arguing that a change in ideas occurred earlier. “The Wealth of Nations” was published in 1776; a certain …

August 9, 2007 – 8:11 am | By ashok | Posted in academia | Tagged , | Comments (4)

Five Questions for Henry Midgley of Westminster Wisdom

Henry Midgley of Westminster Wisdom fame was kind enough to answer a few questions recently about himself and his blog that would only be asked by incredibly nosy people like myself. I hope you get the same enjoyment I do out of hearing people talk about what they love and hope for: thanks so much …

July 2, 2007 – 1:09 pm | By ashok | Posted in academia, education | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

The Relevance of Thucydides: History as Personal

Christopher Bruell’s essay “Thucydides’ view of Athenian Imperialism” is what is quoted repeatedly and responded to below. Bruell begins by saying that a historian could be thought “concerned above all with what belongs to the past.” Is Thucydides, who wrote about the past, to be considered an historian? Thucydides is not properly classified as an …

May 18, 2007 – 10:41 am | By ashok | Posted in academia, politics | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

5 Things Every American Should Have Before Discussing Politics

I hate lists of this sort: the numeration is arbitrary, and the idea of a “top 5″ list has a particular notoriety. I enjoyed High Fidelity, but still, I felt like a girl for watching it, and the only scene I really enjoyed is when Tim Robbins gets beat up mercilessly.But I want to get …

May 10, 2007 – 3:33 am | By ashok | Posted in education, politics | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

On Reason, Populism and History

My observations begin with these thoughts by Michael Crichton. His brief history of eugenics is what I want to focus on: he argues that the concepts it used were too vague, supplied by populist notions of what-had-to-be-the-case. From there, the scientists fell in line: populism affects the media, affects the government, and thus affects the …

March 9, 2007 – 9:58 pm | By ashok | Posted in politics | Tagged | Comments (0)