Historically Thinking

When the Greek general Pyrrhus encountered the Roman Republic for the first time, he was deeply confused. Having served with Alexander the Great, and used to the ways of the Eastern Mediterranean, he had never seen anything like Rome. Confused, he legendarily said,”I do not know what barbarians these are.” Far from being the “primitive […]

When the Greek general Pyrrhus encountered the Roman Republic for the first time, he was deeply confused. Having served with Alexander the Great, and used to the ways of the Eastern Mediterranean, he had never seen anything like Rome. Confused, he legendarily said,"I do not know what barbarians these are." Far from being the "primitive society" that Pyrrhus expected, the Roman Republic was resilient, and implacable in its resistance to external attack—either on the battlefield or from Pyrrhus' attempts at bribery.

My guest today is Edward J. Watts, Professor & Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Endowed Chair in Byzantine Greek History at the University of California San Diego. The author of numerous books, his most recent is Mortal Republic: How Rome Fell Into Tyranny. We discuss the origins of the republic, and I spend a lot of time trying to get my head around its complex structure. Then we sweep through the wars with Carthage, and end with the attempts of the Gracchi brothers to introduce change through violence. We also discuss Watts' important thesis: that republics last as long as their citizens want them to last; that decline is therefore a choice, or the choice not to make a choice.

For Further Investigation

Episode 11: Barry Strauss on the Death of Caesar

Episode 63: Julius Caesar, Historian

Klaus Bringmann, A History of the Roman Republic (Polity, 2007)

David M. Gwynn, The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2012)

 

 

Conversations about historical knowledge and how we achieve it

In 1960, a poet and journalist named Lin Zhao was arrested by the Communist Party of China and sent to prison for re-education. Years before, she had –at approximately the same time– converted to both Christianity and to Maoism. In prison she lost the second faith but clung to the first. She is, judges […]

In 1960, a poet and journalist named Lin Zhao was arrested by the Communist Party of China and sent to prison for re-education. Years before, she had –at approximately the same time– converted to both Christianity and to Maoism. In prison she lost the second faith but clung to the first.

She is, judges her biographer Lian Xi, the only Chinese citizen to have openly and steadfastly opposed Mao and his regime–denouncing lies such as those conveyed in the "Great Leap Forward" poster, reproduced above. From her cell, Lin wrote long poems and essays, some written in her own blood, denouncing those who had brought China into such a condition of misery and oppression.

Eventually she was judged incapable of re-education and executed. Her family was billed (as was typical) for the cost of the bullet that ended her life.

But Lin Zhao's writings survived: Totalitarian societies are also bureaucratic ones, strangely loath to destroy even the evidence of their own tyranny. When Lin Zhao's sentence was commuted during the rule of Deng Xiaoping, her family gained access to her work.

In 21st century China, these writings have made her a prophet of change and a voice denouncing oppression. They have also made her as much an opponent of the current government as she was of Mao's dictatorship.

This may be the most important, and also the most moving, conversation I've have had the privilege of hosting. Recorded in Lian Xi's office at Duke Divinity School, he and I discuss Lin Zhao's life and times, the survival of her writings, and her growing influence in modern China. Please listen, and share with others interested in history, China, human rights, and the triumph of the human person over tyranny.

For Further Investigation

* Lian Xi, Blood Letters: The Untold Story of Lin Zhao, a Martyr in Mao's China (Basic Books, 2018)

* Xi Lian, bio at Duke Divinity School website

* Review of Blood Letters in the South China Morning Post

* Xi Lian gives a short presentation on Lin Zhao 

This Commonplace Book, and the ideas behind it and for that matter the entire Historically Thinking enterprise, were first written down by Dr. Lendol Calder at Augustana College as part of our "degree specification profile", a document answering the question "What does it mean to have a B.A. Degree in History from Augustana College? Here are the "Purpose" and "Characteristics" sections:

PURPOSE

A Bachelor of Arts in History prepares students for:

* Employability in meaningful vocations

* Public life as responsible citizens

* A life well-lived, enjoyable to self and in service to others.

We intend the History B.A. degree to make the inside of your head an interesting and principled place to live the rest of your life, and valued by others.

CHARACTERISTICS

Does it matter if an Augustana history graduate knows the birthdates of all the presidents? Not to us. Because there’s a lot more to history than knowing facts and stories.

At Augustana, historical training is “brain training.” Every course reinforces a disciplined way of making sense of the world. Brain scientists call it “historical thinking.”

The mental habits and skill sets cultivated at Augustana include:

* a lively, infectious passion for the study of the past.

* knowing how to solve difficult, ill-structured problems that resist recipe-book analysis. Or, if not solving them, at least reducing the negative effects of the problem.

* a knack for recognizing nonsense

* evidence-based thinking, self-criticism, and intellectual humility.

* the ability to digest, analyze, and synthesize large data sets and quantities of information.

* awareness of how historical contexts and processes matter for understanding our own time.

* a capacity for working effectively in collaborative, team efforts.

* Clear, effective communication, orally and in writing

* awareness of the development of differing values, systems, traditions, and societies

* discerning yet tolerant personal attitudes

This Commonplace Book, and the ideas behind it and for that matter the entire Historically Thinking enterprise, were first written down by Dr. Lendol Calder at Augustana College as part of our “degree specification profile”, a document answering the question “What does it mean to have a B.A. Degree in History from Augustana College? Here are […]

On Christmas Eve, 1911, John Wanamaker stood in the middle of his elaborately decorated department store building in Philadelphia as shoppers milled around him picking up last minute Christmas presents. On that night, as for years to come, the store was filled with the sound of Christmas carols sung by thousands of shoppers, accompanied by […]