Stuart Schwartz

“Still, modern historian Francisco Scarano (1993:199) has argued that by the seventeenth century mestizos “were probably more numerous than the Spaniards themselves.” What may be at stake here is not the definition of “mestizo,” but rather the definition of “Spaniard.” Mestizos, especially those born legitimately and who lived according to accepted colonial norms were being … More Stuart Schwartz

Taxing post

Now that so much is paid by electronic bank transfer it is harder to keep up with receipts and it will be convenient to have a page in this blog for 2013 tax deductions. Right now we have this post. PROFESSIONAL EXPENSES AAUP IAS – STILL PAY – IT IS POLITE ILLI – STILL PAY … More Taxing post

Robert Frost

The Black Cottage We chanced in passing by that afternoon To catch it in a sort of special picture Among tar-banded ancient cherry trees, Set well back from the road in rank lodged grass, The little cottage we were speaking of, A front with just a door between two windows, Fresh painted by the shower … More Robert Frost

Impurity of Blood

On a book by Joshua Good: Although Francisco Franco courted the Nazis as allies during the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s, the Spanish dictator’s racial ideals had little to do with the kind of pure lineage that obsessed the Nazis. Indeed, Franco’s idea of race–that of a National Catholic state as the happy … More Impurity of Blood

September 17, 2005

Looking through files I found this letter I wrote to the MLA in response to their offer of help for Katrina-ridden faculty. Dear Professors Feal and Stanton, I am pleased to see that the MLA is extending material support to faculty displaced by Hurricane Katrina. I write to suggest that the existence of such support … More September 17, 2005