Meet the Historian! James D. Rice and Bacon's Rebellion
Annette and Dr. Jim Rice invite you to pop in for their marathon conversation (established 1998) (because historians never shut up) as they talk Bacon's Rebellion, angry old historians, and more
Dear Nonnie Friend,
Thrilled to introduce you today to historian Dr. James D. Rice, whom I have known for far too bloody long. Wait, that’s not a great intro, is it? I don’t mean I want to get rid of him, I just mean it’s ridiculous we have known each other more than a quarter century, when neither of us is over 35. Ahem.
But let me talk of my learned friend and fellow Californian with proper respect.
Dr. Rice just retired as chair of the history department at Tufts University in Boston, where he continues to teach and research as the Walter S. Dickson Professor of English and American History.
Most recently, I introduced you to Jim via my Non-Boring History riff on his terrific book about Bacon’s Rebellion, Tales From a Revolution. You can read my post here:
Virginia Scrambled, with a Side of Bacon (twice)
This post first went out in October 2021, in the early days of Non-Boring History, and in the throes of COVID and all the discontent and upheaval of three years ago, which still wasn’t done, and (arguably) still isn’t, although I’m an optimist. At the time, I pretty much realized why I was drawn to the subject.
Today, I’m delighted to hand the stage to the man himself, my old pal Jim Rice. We talk about how and why a lad from the Sacramento area became an early American historian, how he got into Native history and Bacon’s Rebellion, how listening to a grumpy old historian rant at a seminar made a big impact on him, and the very best dog in Washington DC. Plus more, as we take turns monopolizing the convo, because Jim’s even chattier than I am, and I let him get away with it because we’re friends, and because I’m supposed to be interviewing him. Yeah.