reading

The Year of Rereading Is Slightly Sidetracked

By Mary | by Mary

My year of rereading continues, although I keep getting (or letting myself get) sidetracked from the rereading. So far, the books I’ve reread include: “Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives” by Nicholas Christakis “Charley” or “The Girl Who Ran Away” by Joan Robinson “A Wrinkle in Time”, “A Wind in the Door” and “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” by Madeline L’Engle “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett…

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history pragmatic historian

The Personal Historians Inside You

By Mary | by Mary

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a personal historian assigned to you, someone to capture the significant details of your life? As it turns out, we each have several personal historians hitching a ride within our bodies. One of these personal historians is memory, the neurological mechanism that allows us to remember what has happened over time. The constancy of memory helps to shape our personalities, keeps us from entering dangerous situations, and encourages us…

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history pragmatic historian

The History Enterprise Is More Than Just Museums

By Mary | by Mary

A good friend of mine, fellow historian, and colleague in the museum field, David Grabitske, uses a term that encompasses the entire history field: History Enterprise. David is currently the Site Manager for the Texas Historical Commission, but he previously served for almost a decade as the State History Services Manager for the Minnesota Historical Society. As the History Services Manager (we in Minnesota knew his department better as Field Services), David traveled all over…

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