One week down

Six (or five and a half) to go. Hang in there.
Posted by kungfuzi at 5:18 pm | 0 comments

  Publications I subscribe to

These are the journals and magazines that I subscribe to and get delivered to both my real and virtual mailboxes.

Journal of Modern History -- Published quarterly, the JMH covers European history from the early modern period to the present and helps me stay in touch (barely) with trends and developments in historical scholarship.

Newsweek -- Mostly read by my dad. We used to subscribe to Time, but found Newsweek to be meatier. Fareed Zakaria is always worth a read.

The American Scholar -- To be honest, I preferred the Scholar under Anne Fadiman, who kept the journal out of partisan politics and focused on publishing essays. The new man at the helm, Robert Wilson, has expanded its focus to include political pieces resembling those in the Atlantic and New Republic. Most of these pieces are very good, but I can get them elsewhere.

The Atlantic Monthly -- I love its unpredictability and eclecticism: Vatican politics, Iraq, computer games, food. Christopher Hitchens and James Fallows are superb.

The Economist -- Unmatched in breadth, it helps me keep abreast of political affairs throughout the world. I don't read the stuff on business and finance though.

The New Criterion -- Conservative cultural review whose format hasn't changed at all since its founding. Though predictably dogmatic on a number of issues (like postmodernism), its authors write superbly and aren't afraid to flaunt their erudition. I also get this for free.

The New Republic -- The publication whose political position I agree with the most at the present time. Although more political than the Atlantic, its cultural and literary sections are equally as good.
Posted by kungfuzi at 6:19 pm | 2 comments

  Just a quick note about a website you shouldn't take seriously

Commenting on something I scribbled in January, Dr Dee (who sterling contributions to this thread are to be applauded) asks me for my views on the Jews and the origins of the Second World War. Unfortunately, the article on Kristallnacht he links to, and from which he derives his question, comes from the Institute of Historical Review, which automatically makes it useless. (I know, I'm guilty of the genetic fallacy.) The IHR (not to be confused with the Institute for Historical Research) is the world's leading Holocaust denial organisation, frequented by the world's leading anti-Semitic crackpots masquerading as "scholars" in search of "real history."

Richard Evans, the historian whose history of the Third Reich I mentioned in the earlier post, has in fact written a book demolishing the claims of the IHR's foremost contributor, David Irving, who shot to fame in 2000 following a hugely publicised libel case in Britain. For those of you not familiar with the Irving trial, let me summarise: Irving, a writer with no academic credentials but plenty of books to his name, sued academic historian Deborah Lipstadt for calling him a Holocaust denier in one of her books. Since the case was heard in Britain, where libel laws favour the plaintiff, the burden of proof was on Lipstadt, who had to show that her accusation was accurate. Evans, a professor of History at Cambridge and a leading historian of 19th and 20th century Germany, became one of Lipstadt's expert witnesses; he was tasked with assembling the evidence required to prove Lipstadt's accusation. His involvement in the trial is detailed in Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial, which is a superb, meticulously argued piece of work. Oh, and needless to say, Irving lost.

Let's glance at the article Dr Dee mentioned. Don't be fooled by the footnotes. Look closer, and you'll notice that the author of the piece gets just about everything wrong. She cites almost no secondary literature whatsoever; even if you're going to say something radically different from what everyone else is saying, you've still got to respect everyone else. That's why real scholarly articles almost always begin with a literature review. The IHR article is equally lacking in primary sources to substantiate the author's claim that "I found many facts which do not agree with the generally accepted thesis" -- which, by the way, is the sort of statement that you'll never catch respectable historians saying. Facts? As the late US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, you're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts. Ingrid Weckert is both making up her own "facts" and ignoring established ones. For instance, she writes that the Final Solution "did not mean physical extermination -- it meant only emigration of the Jews from Germany," but supplies no evidence for this ridiculous claim. I could go on, but I won't. I don't like reading dishonest, ideologically-motivated, anti-Semitic claptrap, even if it does show you the way history shouldn't be written.

By the way, Dr Dee, I'm not blaming you for citing the piece. I'm pretty sure you're not an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier, just someone who's fallen for the IHR's dishonesty. It's easy to fall prey to internet hoaxes, as I myself will personally testify.
Posted by kungfuzi at 10:02 pm | 1 comments

  Nota Bene

I said it before and I'll say it again, now that the A-Level results have been released: think really hard about why you want that government scholarship. If you go for one, make sure that your reasons are clear and honest, and that you've considered all possible consequences. This last bit I emphasise because a lot happens in university that can change the way you see yourself and your country. I speak from experience here. If you need more details, find out what happened to Elia Diodati, or AcidFlask.

You may also want to check out this post at Fearfully Opinionated, which links to several articles on scholarships, including the one I wrote a few months ago. See also the tireless Aaron Ng, here.
Posted by kungfuzi at 4:41 pm | 0 comments

  Here we go

Nine weeks. Nineteen periods and ten lesson plans per week. Classes spanning Sec 1 to 4, Express to Normal (Technical). Social Studies. A trashy feelgood kid's book.

But great colleagues and fellow teacher trainees. Banana chocolate smoothies in the canteen. Animal Farm, Macbeth. Some promising students as well.
Posted by kungfuzi at 10:20 pm | 0 comments