I have to start this post with a sincere apology for the radio silence over the last few months. If you've kept up with social media, you know that we ran into a big snare with our immigration status in Germany and chose to head back rather than allow our savings to dry up completely … Continue reading The State of the ‘Spin, January 2023
Rhode Island History
A Little Bit o’ Barstow, All Night Long
Cast iron isn't the majority of my existence as it was about a year ago, but I'm still at it, only I'm more concerned with contribution over collection.
Istanbul was Constantinople Now it’s…
In this post I unpack the deep lyrical analogy that is the song Istanbul.
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 the northern United States. What started with the grave of Adjua D’Wolf being in pitiful condition grew into the desire to try and flesh out a bit about her life. I’d read in a few sources … Continue reading History has a Life of Its Own.
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 of the view that all history is local, and that local history is global. However, also as an anthropologist, I’m also well aware that the history we celebrate is a choice, and often one that wasn’t … Continue reading The Histories We Choose
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 documentary on it that I really began to grasp the extent of it. I say “accidentally” because well, I kinda didn’t mean to. I’m not an industrial historian. Truth be told, I’m not even the biggest … Continue reading A Bit of the Industrial Revolution in the 21st Century
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 and Snowtown are old Providence neighborhoods that have fallen off the map. In 1824, Hardscrabble was a poor enclave of houses owned or rented mainly by free African-Americans along Olney’s Lane (now Olney Street) and North […] … Continue reading Providence riots, 1824, 1831 — Architecture Here and There
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 in the town of Providence. Blacks and others along Olney Lane (now Olney Street) lived cheek by jowl, however, with prostitutes, gamblers and others of low repute on the edges of society. On Oct. 18, an […] … Continue reading Hardscrabble and Snowtown — Architecture Here and There
Everyday Anthropology 