Reviews and News:
The University of Wisconsin offers a course on “The Problem of Whiteness”: “The course is part of ‘Critical Whiteness Studies,’ and will attempt to offer solutions to the ‘problem of whiteness’…’Critical Whiteness Studies aims to understand how whiteness is socially constructed and experienced in order to help dismantle white supremacy,’ the course description reads. ‘Our class will break away from the standard US-centric frame, and consider how whiteness is constructed globally, with particular attention to paradigmatic cases like South Africa.'”
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Evelyn Waugh’s gift: “Novelist, travel writer, essayist, and biographer Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), the 50th anniversary of whose death rolled around this year, celebrated by those survivors who had the misfortune of knowing him at all well, was as wretched and ornery a human being as anyone could be who was not actually moved to suicide or murder. He also happened to be funny as hell when the mood struck him, or when he was writing his classic comic novels.”
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New research on Anne Frank’s arrest: “A new study published Friday by the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam says despite decades of research there is no conclusive evidence the Jewish diarist and her family were betrayed to the Netherlands’ German occupiers during the second world war, leading to their arrest and deportation…One possible theory is that the 4 August, 1944 raid that led to Anne’s arrest could have been part of an investigation into illegal labor or falsified ration coupons at the canal-side house where she and other Jews hid for just over two years.”
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When Europe came together: “The Pursuit of Power, a volume in the Penguin History of Europe series, unpacks the fascinatingly complex and interconnected range of historical forces at work between 1815 and 1914, showing how Europeans shared broadly similar experiences, but with strong local variations in form, intensity and timing.”
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In Case You Missed It:
Matthew J. Franck’s daily plan to read all of Shakespeare’s works in a year.
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Walter Laqueur on evenings in Poland riding a motorcycle with a friend before WWII and the life of his friend following the war
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Bird identification app: “Bird identification can be a challenge, especially for beginning birders. While solving these challenges can be a compelling part of the fun of birding, at times it can also be frustrating… Last week, the Merlin team released Photo ID—a new feature in the free Merlin app that provides real-time, offline, bird identification. Of course, you should still double-check the results from the app, but we’ve found the computer to be unnervingly accurate.”
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Jeffrey E. Stern revisits the death of Alexander Perepilichny in London
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Classic Essay: Herbert J. Storing, “The Case Against Civil Disobedience”
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Interview: Ben Domenech talks to David White about the history of Champagne, wine policy, wine fraud, and how amateur wine enthusiasts can learn to order something they will enjoy.
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