The American Scholar

Remembering Abraham Lincoln

Priscilla Long — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:00:55 +0000

My maternal great-grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Erisman, was born in 1862, the child of a foot soldier in the Civil War. He grew up to become a traveling preacher. In 1896, age 34, he died of...

The New Curated Self

Paula Marantz Cohen — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:00:04 +0000

One of my students described how her friends now insist on having their pictures taken before they do anything. She explains: “If we go to a restaurant or to a concert, they first have to pose...

The Ghost in the Machine

William Deresiewicz — Sun, 13 May 2012 06:00:38 +0000

Once, we dreamed of gods and angels. The beasts were below us—that we knew. But we feared becoming beasts ourselves, told tales of metamorphosis, the blurry line between us: Circe’s wand and...

Synonym Toast

Michael Dirda — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:00:36 +0000

Some years back, Oxford University Press decided to bring out a new thesaurus. The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus would be alphabetical (rather than thematic, as Roget’s original had...

Extreme Empathy

Jessica Love — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:00:22 +0000

We can quibble over the merits of being sensitive (touchy), confident (pushy), or thrifty (cheap). We can even speak ill of open-mindedness when taken by some moral relativists to its extreme....

Farmers and Their Farms

Priscilla Long — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:48 +0000

I grew up on a farm, so I’m hyperaware that farming is a matter of one species hoarding and husbanding another for later use as food. It’s a bit more complicated than that, but not much....

Against Educational Reform

Paula Marantz Cohen — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:00:29 +0000

In an earlier column, I mentioned talking to my sister, a professor of education at Smith College, about the progressive educator John Dewey. My sister reveres Dewey’s educational philosophy...

Real Time

William Deresiewicz — Sun, 06 May 2012 06:00:59 +0000

Since its publication in 2004, Thomas Frank’s What’s the Matter with Kansas? has been a touchstone of liberal political belief. Frank’s thesis wasn’t original, and may not even have been...

Hail to Thee, Blithe Spirit!

Michael Dirda — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:00:03 +0000

Last week I was in Manhattan for the Mystery Writers of America awards banquet and, having an afternoon free, dropped by the New York Public Library. I’d already visited the Argosy Bookshop on...

Does Language Change How We Experience Color?

Jessica Love — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:00:52 +0000

According to one accepted view, living a life without language would be a lot like building a house without a tape measure: we can absolutely do it—there’s nothing magical about centimeters or...