history pragmatic historian

History’s Hierarchy of Purpose – An Infographic

By Mary | by Mary

When you’ve been in the history field for 20+ years, you develop ideas about history’s larger context and how it works in both the history field and society. When you get several long-term historians together for discussion (as has happened for 2 years now at the Minnesota History Whatever), those ideas become more cohesive. That’s what bouncing thoughts off of numerous knowledgeable folks does (aside from keeping us super-entertained in a field where we love…

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history pragmatic historian time

Tick Tock – An Assortment of Clocks

By Mary | by Mary

In case it hasn’t become apparent yet, I’m using clocks as the visual theme for The Pragmatic Historian. What better way to illustrate the uses of history than through a practical tool that helps us mark time? When I decided on the clock theme, I ran around the house, looking for and gathering up clocks in order to properly photograph them. I was shocked, absolutely shocked with how many clocks I found: 28 of them!…

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history pragmatic historian

Using History – DNA (with a Twist) to Catch a Killer

By Mary | by Mary

After discussing how history is hardwired into the human body in my last blog post, I wanted to present an example of how body history can be used for a practical purpose. As anyone who has watched crime dramas knows, DNA, the historian in our bodies that links us to our ancestors, can be used to link a criminal to a crime scene if the criminal happens to leave some of that DNA behind. While…

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