Non-Boring History

1 week ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

Annette on the Roadposts at Dr. Annette Laing’s Non-Boring History are Annette’s takes not only as an academic and public historian, but as a historical tourist. She shows how she interprets museums and historic sites on the basis of the information in front of her, plus a little digging on the web, plus what prior knowledge she has, just as you do. That’s why these posts are a little more personal. New to Non-Boring History?

2 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

History gets such a bad rap. But done right, it’s the best subject: No busy work, just listening and reading to enjoyable stories that inspire us to think, and that help all of us understand the world we live in now, even though we all come to different conclusions about it. Many years ago, I learned from teaching an American university student travel group in London that the best place to learn history, to gain a lifelong desire to learn about it, is on the road.

2 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

As May ends, the buzz of lawnmowers outside is the soundtrack on a Midwestern US weekend. Even the most avid environmentalists, having held off through most of May to help out the little bugs that live in the leaves and tall grass, are sighing and firing up their mowers. Why? There’s a law that requires keeping grass trimmed, in oh-so-liberal Madison, Wisconsin, which has been in active denial for years that “No Mow May” is a thing.

3 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

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3 weeks ago | annettelaing.substack.com | Annette Laing

This is an Annette on the Road post at Non-Boring History, in which historian Dr. Annette Laing writes about her travels in tourist mode, learning and sharing as she goes.