Summery of History, 2022
NOTE FROM NON-BORING HOUSE Nope, not a typo. Talking All Kinds of Summer History Times
How Long Is This Post? Just 1700 words or so, plus lovely pictures. About 8 minutes.
Dear Nonnies,
The Nonnie Relations Gnomes at Non-Boring House have reminded me to wish you a Happy Summer, and to point out that . . .
Even More Real Historians Agree That Non-Boring History Doesn’t Suck!
I know that NBH must feel terribly cheaty at times. How is this history? you may wonder. Where are the presidents? Well, I did talk about President James Garfield recently, so there’s that.
But NBH isn’t clickbait, here to endlessly repeat to you some variation of the stuff from high school while flattering you that you’re becoming informed. Nor am I here to shove "“fun trivia” up your nose. Nope.
While NBH might look to the untrained eye like meandering drivel, those of you who have spent time in AnnetteWorld know I’m up to something serious (or I wouldn’t waste my time or yours). And I’m in collusion with other academic historians and museum professionals to accomplish my evil purposes of getting you all excited about genuinely important history you never knew was a thing, and to encourage thinking historically. So, to show you I’m not (just) starting a weird cult, here are two new endorsements from actual historians!
I was delighted to hear from Dr. Tom Guiler, Director of Museum Affairs at Oneida Community Mansion, whom I interviewed for my two-parter on the Oneida Community. He writes:
I loved your pieces here! They are terrific! I especially liked the end where you really "got" the whole community vibe today! It is really what we are going for. As a historian, I think you did a tremendous job of really getting at the nuances of the community and the company in a way that was not too over people's heads nor too watered down for people.
And that’s exactly what I’m going for in my posts at NBH, so yay!
I’m writing the second part of American Tourists in Europe Become American, and you should (hopefully) get that this weekend. I’m hoping to lure you into reading about one of the ways in which Americans started to ask, even before the Revolution, what being American means.
Dr. Daniel Kilbride is author of Being American in Europe, 1750-1860, on which these Annette Tells Tales posts are based. He’s Professor of History and Director of the John Carroll University Honors Program in Cleveland, Ohio. He has this to say about Part 1:
Thanks Annette -- you are doing a very useful service for civilians in these posts -- in particular in this one deconstructing what historians really mean by words like "surely." I don't have any criticisms of what you're doing, which is God's work, making historians' work accessible to the public. Keep it up.
So there you have it, folks! More endorsements from my learned historian colleagues. If I do keep this up, I might try to get NBH accredited, and issue you all Masters’ degrees. Hey, no joke. They might be more valid than what’s coming out of Mickey Mouse for-profit diploma mills . . .
It definitely feels like summer here in Wisconsin: We have emerged blinking from our snowcaves, clutching our beach chairs.
And summer means it’s time for . . .
2022 NBH Summer Museum Bingo!
The Gnomes and I are very excited to hear from you about playing 2022 NBH Museum Bingo!
Everyone is warmly invited to play for fun, so tell a friend. However, the prize drawing for players ($50/Your equivalent gift certificate for the bookstore of your choice!) is open only to Nonnies, paid subscribers to Non-Boring History.