Category Archives: Historical Reflection

The South on the Nation’s Psychiatric Couch, Again

Posted on July 12, 2014 by georgelamplugh

A Review of Tracy Thompson, The New Mind of the South. New York and London: The Free Press, 2013. [NOTE:  I became a historian of the South not by birth, but because a southern grad school to which I’d applied … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, Current Events, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History graduate school, Popular Culture, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Georgia and the American Revolution, I: Colonial Background, 1732-1763 (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 12)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[NOTE: In the winter of 1976, I offered an eight-week course (meeting one evening a week) on “Georgia and the American Revolution, 1763-1783,” to interested members of our parent body. A new book on the subject, combining narrative with primary … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, American Revolution, Colonial Georgia, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Form | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growing Up in Colonial New England (Adventures in Interdisciplinary Land, 6)

Posted on June 15, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[Note: One of the “joys” of teaching in a prep school with a PhD., at least in the state of Georgia, was the state’s assumption, “back in the day,” that folks like me were deficient in “professional education” courses and … Continue reading →

Posted in "Education Courses", American History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, Research, Retirement, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early Blues–Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Everything (Blues Stories, 17)

Posted on June 1, 2014 by georgelamplugh

A Review of R.A. Lawson, Jim Crow’s Counterculture: The Blues and Black Southerners, 1890-1945. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010. [NOTE: As I’ve explained elsewhere, my initial interest in the Blues developed because my older son and I were … Continue reading →

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, Alan Lomax, American History, Big Bill Broonzy, Chicago Blues, Civil Rights Movement, Delta Blues, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History of Rock and Roll, Interdisciplinary Work, Leadbelly, Popular Culture, Robert Johnson, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, Urban Blues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“That’s Why They Paid Me the Big Bucks” (Be True to Your School, I)

Posted on May 15, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[NOTE: What follows is a revised version of an editorial from the final issue I edited of Atlanta’s Finest Prep School’s (AFPS) History Department newsletter, upon the occasion of my retirement. The title phrase was one I used regularly with … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Reflection, History, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

“Famous for Being Famous”: A Kardashian for the Gilded Age

Posted on April 15, 2014 by georgelamplugh

Let’s admit it up front: for a lot of us, there is a definite “cringe factor” when we make our way through the supermarket checkout aisle and glance at magazine covers, or sign in to msn.com or yahoo.com. Whether or … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Books, Current Events, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Mark Twain, Popular Culture, Retirement, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Famous for Being Famous”: A Kardashian for the Gilded Age

The Little Course That Did–Introduction to History, a Semester Elective for 9th and 10th Graders (History Lesson Plans, 4)

Posted on February 14, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[Note:  Over two decades ago, I was asked to create a one-semester elective History course open to 9th and 10th graders.  It didn’t seem to matter what area(s) of History it covered, so long as the course was rigorous, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Retirement, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Reflecting in History’s Mirror (History Lesson Plans, 3)

Posted on January 7, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[NOTE: In a previous post, I introduced the “Lecture-Discussion” conundrum, the pedagogical approach favored by the prep school history department that had hired me. What did “Lecture-Discussion” mean, as a way to impart information to adolescents? I firmly believed, as … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, Civil Rights Movement, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, prep school teaching with a PhD, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

B.B. King, “King of the Blues” (Blues Stories, 12)

Posted on January 1, 2014 by georgelamplugh

[NOTE:  There is a generic career arc for many twentieth-century Blues performers: a poverty-stricken background in the Jim Crow South, especially the Mississippi Delta; “escape” to the “land of opportunity” somewhere in the North or Midwest; early career success, followed … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, B.B. King, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Delta Blues, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, John Lee Hooker, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Urban Blues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lecture-Discussion Conundrum (History Lesson Plans, 2)

Posted on December 16, 2013 by georgelamplugh

By the time I signed on to teach History at a prep school, I had spent five years learning to be a college professor; in my new job, I was expected to be a teacher. I was informed by my … Continue reading →

Posted in "Education Courses", American History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History graduate school, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments