News and Notes

The Christmas Truce of 1914 and the Remembrance of War

100 years ago, the guns stopped. After months of bloodshed, soldiers on the Western Front had a moment of peace. They opened packages sent from home. Letters and sweets were passed back and forth.

Not only did hostilities cease, but along sections of the front lines, opposing forces emerged from the trenches to meet each other in no man’s land. Some groups sang carols and decorated trees. Others held religious services. Still others played football together. This was the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, the culmination of many weeks of unofficial ceasefires between opposing camps.

Blog PostsJason KellyDecember 24, 2014#longform, #WPlongform, ceasefire, Christmas, history of war, primary document, soldiers, trench, trenches, truce, warfare, WWIComment

The Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and Antislavery among Manchester Textile Workers

British support for the Union was no guarantee when the U.S. Civil War broke out in 1861. In fact, British neutrality did little to hide the fact that large segments of the population favored an alliance with the Confederacy. The cotton manufacturers of Lancashire, for example, had strong ties to the southern plantocracy and the slave system it had established. After all, cheap American cotton fed their textile mills and made them rich. When the North blockaded southern ports, their cotton supplies were threatened. In turn, they invested in ships and crews to run the blockade….

Blog PostsJason KellyDecember 18, 2014#longform, #WPlongform, Abraham Lincoln, antislavery, blockade, britain, Civil War, Confederacy, freedom, labor, Manchester, Union, United States, workersComment

Early Modern Network Ontologies

Over the past two days (22-23 November 2014), I attended the Early Modern Network Ontologies Workshop in Pittsburgh. The workshop, organized by Drew Armstrong, Alison Langmead, and Christopher Warren, focused on developing a prototype metadata structure for linked open data in projects involving historical research.

Blog Posts, Digital HumanitiesJason KellyNovember 23, 2014digital history, digital humanities, early modern, network ontology, networksComment

The Warburg Library Decision and the Early Warburg Circle

Those who have been anxiously following the court case between the Warburg Library and University of London had some good news this week when the High Court ruled in favor of the library. The case is somewhat complex, but it is summarized here in the press release by the Warburg. The library is not out of the woods just yet however.

Blog Posts, ResearchJason KellyNovember 8, 2014Aby Warburg, art history, networks, refugees, warburg, Warburg InstituteComment

Gating Westfield's Commons: Privatization, the Public, and the Commons in a Small Midwest Exurb

Privatization, the public, and the commons in a small Midwest exurb.

Blog PostsJason KellyAugust 24, 2014commons, enclosure, Grand Junction, indiana, property, WestfieldComment

Practicing History Podcast Episode 4: Correlation

Today's episode is the second of a two-part series on correlation and causation. You can listen to them as standalone episodes, but I think that they do a good job at reinforcing each other.

Blog Posts, Podcasts, TeachingJason KellyAugust 12, 2014argument, causation, correlation, historiography, history, methodology, podcast, Practicing HistoryComment

Making a Palladian Country House: Trafalgar Park and Its First Owners

Trafalgar Park, once known as Standlynch Park (sometimes Standlinch or Standlinck), is a triumph of English Palladianism and neoclassicism. Just southeast of Salisbury on the east side of the Salisbury Avon, its prospect, overlooks both the river and the medieval city. Standlynch's first owner was Sir Peter Vandeput, Bt. (1688-1748), a London merchant of Netherlandish descent. He was a man of fashion and friends with Alexander Pope (1688-1744).