#a.a. knopf

[ruknowhere]

SHORE BIRDS

While I think of them they are growing rare

after the distances they have followed

all the way to the end for the first time

tracing a memory they did not have

until they set out to remember it

at an hour when all at once it was late

and newly silent and the white had turned

white around them then they rose in their choir

on a single note each of them alone

between the pull of the moon and the hummed

undertone of the earth below them

the glass curtains kept falling around them

as they flew in search of their place before

they were anywhere and storms winnowed them

they flew among the places with towers

and passed the tower lights where some vanished

with their long legs for wading in shadow

others were caught and stayed in the countries

of the nets and in the lands of lime twigs

some fastened and after the countries of

guns at first light fewer of them than I

remember would be here to recognize

the light of late summer when they found it

playing with darkness along the wet sand

—W.S. Merwin, from The River Sound (A.A. Knopf, 1999)

[ged103-blog-capulong]

"Understanding History using Primary and Secondary Sources"

First of all, to understand the true meaning of history, history is a set of natural phenomena or events that happened in the past (Gottschalk, 1969). Understanding history is important since it contains information about the things that happened in the past, and there are many lessons that we can get from it. There are two types of sources where a person or where people can understand what happened in the past, also known as history: the primary source and the secondary source. A primary source is where a person can get information about an event from the time of that event or during the event. Some examples of primary sources are letters, videos, photos or photographs, speech, etc. A secondary source is most likely a second-hand source since it is mostly about what is in the primary source, and a secondary source is from the time after the event or after the event happened. Some examples of secondary sources are books or textbooks about history, newspapers or magazines, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.

History may be boring, but in reality, we need history since it is a way where we can learn from the mistakes that happened and understand the things that have happened. In history, sources are information from the past, and they exist as remains to give information or knowledge on what happened in the past (Howell, 2001). These two types of sources, the primary and secondary sources, are similar to each other since a person can get almost the same kind of information about history, or they both give essential information about history. Still, there are some differences between these two sources, such as "how" they get the information and "when" they get the information about the event. To understand a primary source better, it is a type of source that comes from the present time and place where the event happened or even information that comes directly from the person. In contrast, secondary sources are contained after the event occurred, so it is a source that focuses more on the summary, synthesis, and analysis of the information.

There are many things that I have learned about understanding history using primary and secondary sources, and considering that I have been studying about history since I was in grade school, I have gained more essential knowledge about this topic and, most significantly, about history. I can also tell the differences and similarities between these two types of sources: the primary and the secondary sources. The one question I would like to ask about the topic discussion, "Understanding History using Primary Sources and Secondary Sources," is: Are there still different ways to get information and understand history without using a primary and a secondary source?

References:

Gottschalk, L. (1969). Understanding history: a primer of historical method. New York: A.A. Knopf.

Howell, Martha, & Prevenier W. (2001). From reliable sources: an introduction to historical methods. New York: Cornell University Press.

Redmon, R. (2013). Primary vs Secondary Sources. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bTPnw

Sam Houston State University, (N.D.). Primary Vs. Secondary Sources. Newton Gresham Library. https://shsulibraryguides.org/c.php?g=86883&p=637550#:~:text=Primary%20sources%20convey%20first%2Dhand,a%20collection%20of%20primary%20sources.

August 29, 2023 4:21pm

[onetwofeb]

WAVES IN AUGUST

WAVES IN AUGUST

There is a war in the distance with the distance growing smaller the field glasses lying at hand are for keeping it far away

I thought I was getting better about that returning childish wish to be living somewhere else that I knew was impossible and now I find myself wishing to be here to be alive here it is impossible enough to still be the wish of a child

in youth I hid a boat under the bushes beside the water knowing I would want it later and come back and would find it there someone else took it and left me instead the sound of the water with its whisper of vertigo

terror reassurance an old old sadness it would seem we knew enough always about parting but we have to go on learning as long as there is anything

W.S. Merwin, from The River Sound (A.A. Knopf, 1999)

[victorianbelovedanimals]

Extended Bibliography

Dennisoff, Dennis, Decadent Ecology in British Literature and Art, 1860-1910 (CUP, 2021)

Ehnenn, Jill R., ‘“Drag(ging) at memory’s fetter”: Michael Field’s personal elegies, Victorian mourning, and the problem of Whym Chow’, The Michaelian, n.s., 1 (2009)

Feuerstein, A, The political lives of Victorian animals: Liberal creatures in literature and culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Field, Michael, Whym Chow: Flame of Love (London: Eragny Press, 1914).

Finch-Hatton, Harold, Advance Australia! An account of Eight Years’ Work, Wandering, and Amusement in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria (London: W.H. Allen, 1885).

Kean H. ‘Human and animal space in historic ‘pet’ cemeteries in London, New York and Paris.’, in Animal death, ed. by J Johnston & F Probyn-Rapsey (Sydney: Sydney University Press, 2013).

Knobe, Bertha Damaris ‘A Cemetery for Dogs’ The Puritan volume IX Scollard, Clinton. “Grimalkin: An Elegy on Peter, Aged 12.” The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Vol. XLVI. May. 1893.

Mazzeno, L. W., & Morrison, R. D. Animals in Victorian Literature and Culture: Contexts for Criticism (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017).

Moine, Fabienne, Women Poets in the Victorian Era: Cultural Practices and Nature Poetry (n.p: Routledge, 2016).

Rossetti, William Michael, Dante Gabriel Rossetti: His Family-Letters with a Memoir (Volume One) (n.p.: Ellis, 1895).

----------, Rossetti Papers 1862-1870 (London: Sands, 1903).

Simons, John, Rossetti’s Wombat: Pre-Raphaelites and Australian Animals in Victorian London (n.p.: Middlesex University Press, 2008).

Tague, Ingrid H. “Dead Pets: Satire and Sentiment in British Elegies and Epitaphs for Animals.” Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 41, no. 3, 2008, pp. 289–306.

Turner, J, Reckoning with the beast: Animals, pain, and humanity in the Victorian mind. Baltimore, Md (London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980).

Van Vechten, Carl, ‘The Cat and the Poet’, in The Tiger in the House (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1922).

Waugh, Evelyn, Rossetti: His Life and Works (London: Penguin Classics, 2022).

Winslow, Helen M., Concerning Cats : My Own and Some Others (Lothrop publishing Company, 1900).

[wellesleybooks]

SUMMER READING SUGGESTIONS

Love Harper Lee? Author Casey Cep’s well researched book FURIOUS HOURS is a fascinating combination of true crime, Southern courtroom drama and an neat overview of Lee’s life. You may want to read IN COLD BLOOD and Harper Lee’s novels afterward for total immersion.

#summer reading #casey cep #harper lee #furious hours #a.a. knopf #true crime #truman capote #in cold blood

[worklabournewsresearch]

Tackling Burnout: How to Deal with Stress and Safety in the Workplace

"In 2019, the World Health Organization identified a syndrome it labelled 'burnout' resulting from chronic workplace stress. Now people who report feeling depleted of energy or exhausted, mentally distanced from or cynical about their jobs and experiencing problems getting their work done can be diagnosed with a workplace injury. Burnout as the result of workplace stress carries significant implications for employers. Canadian occupational health and safety standards require employers to protect the physical and mental health of their workers. If people are meeting the criteria for burnout, organizations may be neglecting their legislated duty to ensure psychologically safe workplaces."

"The good news is something can be done. While it will require genuine organizational commitment, prevention and mitigation are key. But to get at the heart of the problem, we must first ask if employers are even tracking psychological safety in the workplace. Of those that do, most merely encourage staff to exercise more, meditate, sleep better and eat a more balanced diet. This is, quite simply, passing the buck onto an already depleted workforce and does nothing to address the core of the problem. The answer is not to recommend Band-Aid solutions, suggesting employees try even harder in their downtime to compensate for organizational neglect."

"For meaningful change, organizations must first implement clear policies reflecting their commitment to workplace mental health and psychological safety, and appoint a wellness champion and leaders who model these values. The next step is identifying workplace hazards through employee engagement surveys, workplace risk assessments, incident investigations, exit interviews and disability claim data if available. Identifying controls to prevent psychological harm is also necessary."

The Conversation, June 14, 2021: "Tackling burnout: How to deal with stress and safety in the workplace," by Kristen Deuzeman

Harvard Business Review, August 24, 2017: "High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It," by Laura Delizonna

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

Maté, G. (2003). When the body says no : the cost of hidden stress (1st ed.). Toronto: A.A. Knopf Canada. (Available for curbside pickup to the U of T community here)

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), November 22, 2018: Mental Health - Recognizing Psychological Health and Safety Hazards

International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10)-2014: Chapter XXI Factors influencing health status and contact with health services

Photo Source: Erfurt, C. (2018). Man covering face with both hands [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/sxQz2VfoFBE

#health and safety #worker health #mental health #workplace health #burnout #workplace burnout #worker burnout

[hinchley]

Letter to a friend, Camus

Albert Camus breaking a friendship with a German during the war who argued patriotism and love of country were grounds for his allegiance. July 1943

“And I say that your nation, on the other hand,  has received the love from its sons only the love it deserved, which was blind. A nation is not justified by such love. That will be your undoing. And you who were already conquered in your greatest victories, what will you be in the approaching defeat?”

Camus, Albert. Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. Translated by Justin OBrien, A.A. Knopf, 1961.

#patriotism #camus #ww2 #wwii

[deadlydoo0]

History As Seen Through Two Eyes

Figuratively of course, and maybe a bit literally? The eyes I refer to of course, would be the sources of which you can look at the history of people, and beyond even being applicable to our history. How I would, or rather, would have looked into it before doing more research, would be in quite a general sense. Anything with a story that tells of what happened in days past you might say, and that quite much applies to many things you might associate with actual history, some examples being artifacts or old artworks. It’s what I knew as the sort of “footprints” left behind after certain activities or events had occurred, caused by people or otherwise. As I knew it, my vision of how history could be “recalled” was broad, albeit by these sources virtually anything might be considered historical sources, until I looked into it a little bit more. Reading into anything is bound to cause a change in perspective, big or small. In this case, studying offered me some realizations on the topic of historical sources, enlightening me with certain details I found particularly interesting; I will explain two of them. First of all, since my view of how history worked was broad, I had never realized there was a way to categorize them other than the ways I had already known, such as physical history or non-physical. Instead, I came to know the Primary and Secondary sources of history. Primary, meaning sources that came straight from their respective time periods, are things like artifacts, photographs, or writings that are the effect of an action that happened in the past, and can tell their story. On the other hand, Secondary sources are history sources and materials that are taken during a time period after the ones they are based off of, recalling the historical events that had happened without being in the actual fray. These can be things like plays or books that retell what occurred during a historical event, however were not put together until later. It’s surprising to learn at first, but is simple when you figure it out. Second of all, I came upon the concrete understanding that history is not something one remembers, unless actually having been a part of it. Like my previous realization, complicated that one understands somewhat in an abstract and subconscious way, but clearly interpreted once put into words and studied, at least in my case. History is not a part of our memories, rather a sort of recollection based off of what we can imagine. Historical sources as we know it, help us to understand what happened in the past, however we can not recall it as if we were actually there, unless we were actually there, saw, and experienced things with our own two eyes. It is enlightening to me in the way that helps me analyze how I myself view history in a more critical way. All in all, even if I do not usually research about historical events, the topic has proved to be helpful to me in ways I hadn’t really known of before. Being more aware of how historical sources function and teach us about events, and being aware as well of how we ourselves will perceive history is sure to guide me as I continue studying this subject in college. I am sure that making more realizations such as these will steer me in the right path when I do research in the future, therefore I had come up with a few questions to try and find answers to so I can learn more. How will one know what historical sources to believe? Is there a way to figure out credibility? Where does the line end when it comes to things being considered as historical sources? A few, maybe irrelevant, but questions about historical sources that kind of continue to confound me until I do more research, but until then, I am happy with what I have learned Sources (Perhaps historically????): Gottschalk, L. (1969). Understanding history: a primer of historical method. New York: A.A Knopf. Redmon, R. (2013, December 2). Primary vs secondary sources. YouTube. Retrieved January 7, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bTPnw&t=1s 

[lemon-b1og]

Historical Sources: Primary or Secondary?

Observation

Based on the provided reading materials, as time went by, history was regarded as something that happened or in the past. In order for the events to still be remembered and kept relevant for the future generations, historians spend time researching about their artifacts to determine whether this is of credible and authentic source.

According to Gottschalk (1969), history cannot be reconstructed. Despite it being a historian’s goal to rewrite the past, it is beyond attainable as these events already happened. Thus, they try to make do with what they have (e.g., artifacts such as old manuscripts) and analyze it, hence history. They usually base on primary sources as these are considered eye witnesses as they hold the “original” information in a sense of, like in modern times, it’s something pre-beta read; an earlier version that’s still meant to be polished. With secondary sources, the instances of its usage is when the historian cannot find a primary witness. Still, they don’t fully rely on this fully as their source as the secondary witness’s source might have some inaccuracies on their end.

Historians try their best to interpret their findings as accurately as they can to create these mental images, so they really review their sources to avoid getting misled by some very convincing documents.

Insight

After skimming through everything, I realized that there is a possibility that the historical facts we read may not be entirely accurate. The testimonies and artifacts left around by the older generations might be interpreted differently by the historians because there are tendencies that there must be more to it but chances are that it got lost through time or someone buried it as a secret. For example, Howell & Walter (2001) mentioned that “a memoir intended to justify the choices its author made during her life may, in fact, inadvertently reveal the uncertainties and untruths that she sought to conceal.” This means that not all sources, primary or secondary, are immediately reliable for historians to use as their basis so, they had to consider a lot of other things such as its historical context and significance to the following events. Forged documents are also a thing too (e.g., Donation of Constantine) so historians are expected to be careful.

Learning

Historians find both primary and secondary sources important to their documentation as they help with the search of particular information needed. They really make sure to study and review their source materials well before publishing their documents as the preservation of history kind of relies on these.

Along with that, it is mentioned by Gottschalk (1969) that “historians may learn more about the author than the author intended that he should”. It made me think if there is some information about, for example, old unsolved mysteries that some historians chose not to make public because there is little proof to support it?

References:

Gottschalk, Louis (1969) Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method. New York: A.A Knopf

Howell, Martha and Walter, Prevenier (2001) From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

#for school #reading history

[banjournals]

Uncovering Historical Sources

    Upon seeing the topic “Historical Sources”, I immediately thought of primary and secondary sources. These topics were already taught to us in our previous school years. Prior to reading the READHIS Module 1, I am aware of sources that may be credible or not, and how to spot them. Since we are in the digital world, where newspapers go online and printed materials are distributed less, everything becomes accessible. In social media platforms, anyone can post about anything, especially today during a pandemic; may it be about a person who breaches quarantine protocols or a medicine shortage. This situation can have advantages and disadvantages. For instance, some Facebook posts could be a primary source of an event, wherein the account talks about a personal experience of COVID-19; or a secondary source, talking about her cousin’s experience in a certain hospital. However, the platform is not trustworthy, as it is not an official news site. Whenever we see those kinds of Facebook posts, we need to be careful and analyze it first before believing in it. Just like historians, we need to have a method in reading or examining the sources we find.

    As I study the readings and PPT, I discovered about historiography and objectivity vs. subjectivity. I was enlightened about the term “historiography”, which is a historical method of recreating stories in the past, and its 4 steps, which are selecting, collecting, examining and extracting. I gained an understanding of how professors or historians could teach history while being influenced by their subjective intuition, thus making the information not 100% accurate. I was shocked that historians actually just recreate events from the past based on little details and future historians may or may not debunk them. Before, I didn’t really think of how they discover events from past, so this information made me want to learn more about it.

    I am glad and excited that I am studying history once again. I got to know about the word “history” originating from a Greek word ἱστορία or historía and the father of history named “Herodotus”. I came upon the term “fortiori” pertaining to the experience of a generation which is impossible to recollect or reconstruct for further studies. I learned the importance of any types of historical sources, like physical objects or subjective testimonies. One is not inferior or superior to another, as every source is necessary to avoid problems or errors in recreating history. I was able to cite more primary and secondary sources as well, compared to last time. I understand the topic well, however I think I would be able to comprehend it more when there are specific examples of how historians study a specific event or object, like dinosaur bones, and the stories behind debunking known parts of a history.

Gottschalk, L. (1969). Understanding history: a primer of historical method.     New York: A.A. Knopf.

Howell, M. & Prevenier, W. (2001). From reliable sources: an introduction to     historical methods: Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

[jamienojaem]

WAVES IN AUGUST There is a war in the distance with the distance growing smaller the field glasses lying at hand are for keeping it far away I thought I was getting better about that returning childish wish to be living somewhere else that I knew was impossible and now I find myself wishing to be here to be alive here it is impossible enough to still be the wish of a child in youth I hid a boat under the bushes beside the water knowing I would want it later and come back and would find it there someone else took it and left me instead the sound of the water with its whisper of vertigo terror reassurance an old old sadness it would seem we knew enough always about parting but we have to go on learning as long as there is anything

W.S. Merwin, The River Sound (A.A. Knopf, 1999), and included in Migration: New & Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2005)

#w.s. merwin #poetry #quotes from what I'm reading today #change

[miss-rosen]

ON OLIVER SACKS BIRTHDAY WE SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT THE CLASSICS | SANNE DE WILDE: ISLAND OF THE COLORBLIND Miss Rosen for Mandatory

More than a thousand years ago, peoples of an unknown origin arrived in Pingelap, one of the 80 atolls scattered through the Pacific Ocean around Pohnpei, in Micronesia. Over a period of eight centuries, the flourished under an elaborate system of hereditary kings, oral culture, and mythology that kept the population of nearly 1,000 thriving.

Then, in 1775, everything changed. Typhoon Lengkiekie swept across Pingelap decimating the island nation. Of the estimated 20 survivors was the king. Of great fortune to the tribe was their extreme fertility. Within a few decades, the population was approaching 100, but with this came the continuation of a genetic condition of the king. He carried the achromatospia-gen; he was colorblind—and soon, so were many people on the tiny atoll.

In Pingelap, an estimated 5% of the population of 700 are colorblind, whereas the figures are closer to an estimated 1 in 30,000 anywhere else on earth. The phenomenon was first documented by neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks, who set up a clinic in a one-room island dispensary, where islanders described their colorless world in terms of light and shadow, pattern and tone, transforming their history into the book The Island of the Colorblind (A.A. Knopf, 1997).

Read the Full Story at Mandatory

Top: Jaynard (achromatope) climbs a tree in the garden, to pick fruits and play. I took the picture while he was climbing back down. The sun comes peeking through the branches; bright light makes him keep his eyes closed. Sadly local people are often not growing their own food. But the trees around them naturally grow coconuts, breadfruit, bananas and leaves used to chew the betelnuts. © Sanne De Wilde.

Bottom: On the way back from a picknick to one of the uninhabited small islands around Pingelap with the colorblind Pingelapese and all the children of the one school of the island. The bay is now protected, islanders are no longer allowed to fish for turtles. Because of the infrared colors the scene looks very romantic, at the same time there’s the visual connotation of the boats full of refugees setting off for a better future. © Sanne De Wilde.

[cascadiacensus]

resident (orb-weaver spider, Araneus spp.) kerns, northeast portland july 4th, 2019

“each night the old web is replaced with a new one, spun in complete darkness by touch alone” (Milne, et al.)

Milne, Lorus Johnson, et al. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. A.A. Knopf, 1980.

#spiders #arachnids #orb-weaver #cascadia census #cascadia bioregional census #cascadia bioregion #cascadia #portland #pdx #pnwonderland #pnw #spiderweb #wildlife photography #urban wildlife

[wellesleybooks]

Kazuo Ishiguro has his prize and we have copies of his Nobel Lecture.

My Twentieth Century Evening and Other Small Breakthroughs: The Nobel Lecture  by Kazou Ishiguro

#nobel prize in literature #kazou ishiguro #lecture #gift book #a.a. knopf

[atmacd-blog1]

Historical Fiction: A Complicated Kindness (2004)

Toews, M. (2004). A complicated kindness: A novel. Toronto: A.A. Knopf Canada.

Plot Summary:

Naomi Nickel is a wry sixteen year old growing up in East Village during the late 1970′s and early 1980′s. Not East Village in New York, unfortunately, but a small Mennonite town in Manitoba. After the disappearances of her mother and older sister, Naomi and her father are left to pick up the pieces under the scrutiny of the religious community and Pastor Hans. Naomi rebels by immersing herself in the fringes, eventually uncovering the reasons her mother and sister left town

Audience or Readership:

Readers looking for a coming of age story that incorporates religious tensions, with a strong sense of time and place, will enjoy this book.

Limitations or Weaknesses:

Some readers may not connect with Naomi’s sardonic narration or the meandering pace of the plot. 

If you like this, check out:

Lives of Girls and Women (1971) by Alice Munro

Overall Assessment:

3.5 Lou Reed Records out of 5

#ya fiction #historical fiction #miriam toews

[writerartistamira]

LoBagola (in progress)

Artistic research prompted by my encounter with the memoir of LoBagola. Born in Baltimore in 1887, LoBagola claimed to have been born in Africa. He worked as a storyteller and entertainer, acted as a cultural informant in scholarly contexts in the US and Europe, and maintained his performative identity in daily life. His memoir, published by New York's A.A. Knopf in 1930, entered academic literature as fact.

#lobagola