Michael Javen Fortner (Drexel): Rediscovering the Tocquevillian Impulse: Local Politics and American Democratic Practice. Pauline Grosjean (UNSW): A History of Violence: The Culture of Honor as a Determinant of Homicide in the US South. A review of After the Dream: Black and White Southerners since 1965 by Timothy J. Minchin and John A. Salmond. How the air conditioner made modern America: Air conditioning hasn't just cooled our rooms — it's changed where we live, what our houses look like, and what we do on a hot summer night. From New Geography, Joel Kotkin on how Los Angeles lost its mojo. Aaron M. Renn on the shifting geography of black America. Nary a “philosopher king”: The long road from Plato to American politics. The Secret History of Guns: The Ku Klux Klan worked to control guns; the Black Panthers pioneered the pro-gun movement — in the battle over gun rights, both sides have distorted history. New York City goes 0-3 with its new stadiums — why can't Americans build arenas anymore? More and more on The Idea of America by Gordon S. Wood. Who, and where, are America’s composers? The real lives of most composers don't reflect the decades-old stereotypes about their music, craft or who they are. On biking, why can’t the US learn lessons from Europe? How we became a nation of warriors: Over the last century, militarism has warped our foreign policy and our soul — can the budget crisis save them? A look at how more Hispanics in the US are calling themselves Indian. A review of The Real State of America Atlas: Mapping the Myths and Truths of the United States by Cynthia Enloe and Joni Seager. Signs out of time: US historical markers are typically nonconfrontational — except for the fake ones put up by Norm Magnusson along U.S. Interstate 75.
