Comments on: Linda Gordon on Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits

By: Historiann

Historiann — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:48:52 +0000

KC–thanks for the review of Gordon’s book! And for the reminder on Patti Smith’s new book. I should get that on my summer list, for sure.

By: Knitting Clio

Knitting Clio — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:05:19 +0000

As a recent U.S. historian I felt obligated to read Gordon’s new book — and was not disappointed. It’s beautifully written and compelling.

As to other suggestions, I’m currently reading Patti Smith’s _Just Kids_. It’s both an autobiography of her early years in New York City and a biography/homage to Robert Mapplethorpe. I’m really enjoying it.

By: Matt L

Matt L — Sat, 01 May 2010 21:40:11 +0000

RE: History Through Biography

Historiann, for sure, drop me an email. I’ll see who will share syllabi. I’ve even toyed with the idea of doing western civ through biography, although thats going to take more thought.

By: sbk

sbk — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:30:12 +0000

Somewhat off-topic, but I wanted to share: I think the Princeton University Press Mother’s Day gifts page is magnificently inexplicable and awesome:

http://press.princeton.edu/momday10.html

Whose mother would not love books about Mithridates and Tristan Tzara? And bugs?

By: Leslie

Leslie — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:12:23 +0000

I am one of those poor saps who MUST have some sort of pleasure reading at hand at all times – remnants of a childhood spent hiding books under the covers and between Trapper Keepers in class. Biographies are great pleasure reads for me because the book-learnin’ mitigates some of the guilt. I have picked up Lori Ginzburg’s new-ish Elizabeth Cady Stanton biography and set it on a “summer read” stack, and will now add the Lange bio and Eden’s Outcasts. I have American Eve at the ready, as well (the NYT review sold me). The book I am looking forward to most is Tomorrow to Be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers – a great review and an interview of the author’s collaborator convinced me (WWII life-or-death, some heartbreak, and lots of stiff upper lips) – sooo out of my field, but irresistible.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 01:19:41 +0000

I often use biographies as secondary reading for courses — students tend to find them more accessible, and you can get at “social history” questions really easily. And good ones are clearly offering an argument…

By: Historiann

Historiann — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:48:32 +0000

I’d love to teach a course like that, Matt–maybe I’ll contact you off-blog to share ideas.

truffula, that’s such an interesting comment about the differences between scientists and humanities/reporter types. It’s also perhaps the opposite of what I would expect, since we humanities types are pretty scared of science and (I would think) therefore might not have the confidence to sketch out the various possibilities. Maybe it’s a question of being invested in a *one right answer* to a problem (as scientists might be), rather than in a “show your work” approach (more journalistic I think than humanistic, perhaps.)

By: Matt L

Matt L — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:43:48 +0000

I am a big Dorothea Lange fan and really interested in the Linda Gordon biography. I am going to try and wriggle it onto my summer reading list in the name of professional improvement.

Historiann, I agree, the great biographies have both narrative and an argument to make. Getting the undergraduate students to find the argument in any kind of history book has been my greatest teaching challenge. Sometimes they can kind of get it in the form of a personal story.

We have a class at WSU called history through biography. Its one of those parts of the curriculum that kind of ‘belongs’ to another colleague, but I bet if I asked nicely, I could get a crack at teaching it. The closest I’ve come to teaching a biography class was when I did the history of Antarctica. We read some monographs, and a lot of memoirs.

By: truffula

truffula — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:23:41 +0000

Thinking about the teaching side of things, I’ve moved to using popular books in a science course for non-majors. Students actually read them! There is challenge, though, in finding books that are well sourced. My experience is that popularizations written by folks trained in the humanities and by newspaper reporters are in general better than books written by physical scientists. The scientist science-writers write as if knowledge was delivered to them from the divine while reporters and others cite their sources.

By: Historiann

Historiann — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:58:54 +0000

Matt–given your interest in photographic evidence, the Gordon bio of Lange seems a natural for you!

I agree with you that biographies work well in teaching. I think this is perhaps because skillfully written ones make effective and interesting arguments, but they’re wrapped into the biography of an individual so the story has more of a natural narrative arc and movement than most history monographs. I taught a research seminar on early American history and biography 9 years ago–I’m thinking of doing it again next spring when I teach another undergrad research seminar.