Istanbul was Constantinople Now it’s…
In this post I unpack the deep lyrical analogy that is the song Istanbul.
Category: Rhode Island History
The State of Rhode Island
In this post I talk about the ways my research has impacted my views on some local political topics
So Why Cemeteries?
A brief overview of my growing interest in Rhode Island’s myriad historical cemeteries and how it marries my research to critically needed volunteer work
History has a Life of Its Own.
So as you may know, I’ve been researching the institution of slavery in Rhode Island, and more broadly in theContinue Reading
The Histories We Choose
It probably surprises few people besides myself that I’m fairly involved with local history. As an anthropologist, I’m perpetually ofContinue Reading
A Bit of the Industrial Revolution in the 21st Century
Rhode Islanders…like the Industrial Revolution. I’ve always known this, but it wasn’t until I kinda sorta accidentally produced a documentaryContinue Reading
Providence riots, 1824, 1831 — Architecture Here and There
Here is my Feb. 24, 2005, column in the Providence Journal, headlined “Hardscrabble and Snowtown of yore”: *** HARDSCRABBLE andContinue Reading
Hardscrabble and Snowtown — Architecture Here and There
Hardscrabble in 1824 was a poor hamlet of respectable families headed mostly by free black tradesmen, craftsmen and servants inContinue Reading
One Person’s Trash is Another Person’s…Afternoon Research Project
A Noxzema jar was found in the sands of a tiny island in Narragansett Bay. This is its story.
Everyone’s a Victim of Their Time!
The idea of people being “victims of their time,” and why I think that’s both limited and fallacious, as well as why I think it could also be very well suited to anthropological thought…when taken literally.
