I do think and write quite a lot about what could be broadly described as American culture, so anything really specific I'll collect or link to from here.
On Reading Robinson
With a brief spurt of experimental energy in 2019, I put together an edited collection of blog posts; made mostly during 2018-19, with some subsequent thoughts added, coming out of my reading of Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead” trilogy.
Compiled in LaTeX and available here (in PDF format) for download.
The Civil War and Reconstruction
During 2020, and with time on my hands (well who could have thunk it!), my attention turned to the American Civil War; aware as I was of my relative ignorance, and in seeking a better understanding of the continuum from slavery through to the persistence of racism in the United States today.
As part of this endeavour, Eric Foner’s edX series came to my attention. I assiduously made notes (here in PDF format) as I worked through the programme; they are both extensive and informal, and probably only make sense in terms of the video lectures – and maybe even then, alone to me!
I have taken every liberty to check, and THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION course series is specified as: Copyright © 2014, Eric Foner and the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. And further, Professor Foner’s course lecture videos in the series are licensed with the Creative Commons license BY-NC-SA 4.0, which allows for a good degree of freedom in sharing and adaptation, but I have deleted some maps and images from my original notes (which may explain some unintelligible references).
So, however raw they may be, these notes may be helpful when read in conjunction with the three unit course, and which, again, I can not highly enough recommend (and which appears to have fairly regular reruns) for anyone who doesn’t know much about the Civil War – or even those who just think they do.
The Battle of Gettysburg (1863), lithograph by Currier & Ives. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZC4-2088)