Note: The History Carnival is still looking for a May 1st host, as well as hosts for the summer and beyond. Contact Sharon Howard (sharon$@$earlymodernweb$.$org$.$uk) to volunteer.
This is not a timed test, but you will be required to account for your periodization afterwards. This is not a graded exercise, as the answers are usually blatantly obvious or impossibly indeterminate. Whether this is a professional or recreational exercise is entirely between you, your cooler students, and your tenure committee.
True or False: A Dutch-trained painter revolutionized British portraiture in the early 17th century.
Multiple Choice: The use of history as justification for political decisions is
a. common
b. often hypocritical
c. frustrating
d. all of the above.
Multiple Choice: According to A.I. Ross, the Archives nationales de France at le Caran
a. have complicated lockers
b. permit cameras, but not pens
c. have fancy red chairs for people accesing fragile documents
d. all of the above
Multiple Choice: The coolest military history submitted to this carnival was
a. a WWI US infantry sargeant’s letter home from France
b. comparative discussion of US Revolutionary War memoirs
c. Errol Morris’ investigation of a Civil War photograph
d.a study of the origins and practice of stormtrooper tactics
e. why choose?
Multiple Choice: Taking an historical perspective on our current economic troubles shows that
a. We’re not in that deep trouble yet
b. People take stuff out of context.
c. Some people want to take credit for the successes of the other side.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above: this is a non-partisan disaster of epic proportions about which history teachs us nothing. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
True or false: Darwin’s Origin of Species starts with an extensive discussion of fancy pigeons.
Essay Question: The tomb under Hatshepsut’s is typical of her close noblemen by virtue of the lack of other usually-present female figures in their drawings. Discuss.
Essay Question: Choose one of the following notable female scholars and discuss why the term “mensch” applies: Judith Bennett, Wendy Doniger.
Multiple Choice: In the course of discussing Rousseau with James Boswell, Voltaire
a. laughed at death
b. feigned fainting
c. explained his objections vigorously
d. all of the above.
Multiple Choice: Which is more likely to captivate your World History students:
a. erroneous Martian cartography
b. the discovery of wooly mammoths in Siberia
c. animated historical statistics
d. criticisms of postmodern epistemology
e. wartime rumors and urban legends
f. anti-journalistic screeds
g. police naming and organization practices
Explain your answer in five hundred words or less.
Homework: John Hope Franklin and George Totten III have died and the Cologne Municipal archives have collapsed. Your assignment is to advance historical scholarship in their absence and generally live up to their example.
Extra Credit Opportunity: Dr. Vanke has created a set of proposed graduate study fields for World History. Some of them may be suboptimal. Can you propose alternatives?
Many thanks to Sharon Howard, Ralph Luker and all the folks who submitted their own or other people’s articles for this carnival! You can keep up with the whole History Carnival community at the History Carnival Aggregator and you can submit blog posts to future history carnivals here.
interesting angle and great work!
Like the quiz format….clever.
Great carnival!
Obviously I’m grateful that you picked my entry, but a genuinely good idea for the format and very enjoyable. Thanks for the hard work.