2011 Cliopatria Award Nominations

25 Thoughts on this Post

1. Since I blog pseudonymously, I believe my blog would be ineligible (plus it isn’t all that). But I am going to the AHA. Do they announce these awards at a session, or just publish it in the program? Is there a gathering of these history bloggers planned, so that I could see some of these people in real life? I know their online voices pretty well, but don’t know that I could pick ’em out of a crowd. But that may be mutual, and that’s okay with me.

2. LD: I’m new to judging, so I’m not sure how it works. But most of us who blog here at USIH will be at the AHA, attending the Thursday THATCamp. You should really stop by and introduce yourself–that is, if you’re willing to step out of the shadows! 🙂

3. I had better stick to the shadows; I wouldn’t want to startle anyone.

   Presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn
   Indicative that suns go down;
   The notice to the startled grass
   That darkness is about to pass.

   So you won’t catch me coming or going. But you might catch my shadow.

4. Alas, my unalterable travel arrangements were made before I knew about THATcamp, so I will not be able to make that session. And I am a very recalcitrant digital humanist in any case, as you know from my blog screeds.

   However, if the S-USIH bloggers / THATcampers have any plans to adjourn to a restaurant or bar after their digital day, or at some other point during the conference, I could probably make an appearence.

5. I’d be happy to adjourn, around THATCamp or AHA (provided I’m there for the later stuff), to an eating establishment or bar to b.s./discuss further/enjoy each other’s company. Count me in. – TL

6. Libations are the best part of conferences–I’m in for either Thursday or Friday night, or both.

7. I’m heading home first thing on Friday morning (much as I applaud the MLA’s decision to stop ruining the week between Xmas and New Year’s for those in the literary professions, their change of dates has created a new, annual childcare crisis for my family). So let me put in a plug for Thursday night!

8. Thursday will do, though maybe there’s a more efficient way to plan this than via blog comments. Maybe when you guys sort out the details on time / place / venue, you could post it here? Unless, that is, the soiree is by invitation only — in which case, I have apparently invited, but not yet outed, myself.

9. Tim Knows Chicago best. I trust his judgment. Tim, do you mind choosing an establishment ad we’ll post here that we’ll have a S-USIH meet-and-greet Thursday from, say 6, on? Cheers.

10. I’m happy to make some suggestions. Let’s see—Thursday, Jan. 6, near these hotels: Chicago Marriott Downtown, the Sheraton Chicago, and the Westin Chicago River North. We’ll be looking for a table (or at least an open space) for 6-8ish (?). Here are our options among prominent spots (as I see them today):

    1. Rock Bottom Brewery at State and Grand
    2. Fado Irish Pub at Grand and Clark
    3. Harry Caray’s at Kinzie and Dearborn

    I can do some asking around for less prominent, quieter places with character. Though I lived in Chicago for 13 years, the River North neighborhood was not my primary stomping ground. – TL

11. Update: I’ve written a long-time Chicago friend—a life-long resident—asking him for suggestions about a quieter, quirkier, and probably dirtier bar/tavern in the area with Chicago character. I’ll let everyone know what he says. – TL

12. My Chicago friend made several solid suggestions (a few of which were new to me, but most were reminders of places I’ve already been—yet worthy):

    1. Billy Goat Tavern (right under Michigan near the Wrigley Building): This could work. I once met Alex Beam there.
    2. Clark Street Ale House (Clark Street just south of Chicago Avenue): This is a few blocks north of the 4 hotel AHA quadrangle. I’ve been here several times, most recently with Colin Church (a USIH fan) when he was in town conducting research at U of C.
    3. Celtic crossings (right across the street from the Clark Street Ale House): Fine establishment. Been there many times. A non-chain alternative to Fado’s.
    4. Monk’s Pub (205 La Salle Street). I’ve not been here, but my friend says it has Chicago character. Here’s a review.
    5. Here was the most intriguing suggestion, word-for-word: “If you want something freaky Chicago post-modern world is all immigration, there’s a place called Bistro Crepe or Crepe Bistro [me: I think he meant here] on the west side of Wells just south of Lake Street, where they play Russian MTV all the time (Russian MTV has very different rules regarding nudity, but the heavy metal and rap styles are remarkably similar), and the clientele is half Loop workers and half Russian gangsters of some kind (a fat old Russky sits watching over the room like someone in a Hemingway novel, and all of the waitresses are hot Slavic variety).” …I think this one might close too early for our tastes.

    How’s #5 for my finale—or my friend’s finale? 🙂

    So we have 8 total suggestions, both near and nearby the AHA hotels. – TL

13. Confirmed on the location of #5. He says 1/2 of the establishment is a small bar, and the other generic food tables (for the Crepes). And more description: “The bathrooms are down a Hechtian stairway. Just a strange place. And lots of crazy Slavic music.”

14. The Russian gangster place sounds like it’d be too loud to have any conversations. I hate places like that. Of course, I won’t be there (99.99%), so you are free to ignore my input.

15. Varad: It was the least serious, if most fun, of my suggestions. – TL

16. Given the fact that the S-USIH blog was recently lit up like a Festivus Pole over the question of why women aren’t more visible on the blog / in the field, it seems to me that gathering at a bar that has (semi) nude music videos running on the TVs might not be the best idea. It would be one thing if we decided to meet there not knowing what to expect in the way of video entertainment. But since your friend has seen fit to give you a heads up on the (possible) nudity, I say we go somewhere else. A clean, well-lighted place would do, and — as Varad suggests — something on the quieter side.

17. I’m not advocating for the Crepe Bistro and Martini Bar as our meeting place (far from it). But I also don’t think one should assume that my friend meant female nudity exclusively. I can see, however, how one might infer that particular form of “gender imbalance” based on his subsequent comment about the server staff. – TL

18. Sigh. I didn’t assume that your friend meant female nudity exclusively. I assumed that videos portraying nudity, male or female, might make women feel uncomfortable in a casual social gathering of professional historians. Indeed, I assume that such videos might make men feel uncomfortable too. Then again, I have never been to a casual social gathering of professional historians, much less to the AHA, so I don’t know what you people like to do when you’re off the clock and on the town. Guess I will find out.

19. @LD: I’m trying to exasperate now you before any potential in-person meeting—trying to get it out of the way. 🙂 …Have you read any of Tenured Radical‘s posts on cultural atmosphere (e.g. hook ups, what to wear, drinking too much, etc.) of the Berkeshire Conference of Women’s Historians? Here are her posts for June 8, June 10, and June 12, 2011. I assume there’s some literary license in operation here, but there are clearly untamed moments. They apparently get a little more crazy at the Berks than attending measly bars with a little nudity and Russian gangsters. …That said, I’d still rather go to one of the other 7 options. – TL

20. The Russian gangster joint is where you go after you’ve spent a few hours at one of the other places talking highfalutin brain stuff. Also, I suspect it wouldn’t have the greatest beer selection in the world. That would displease me as much as the noise, if not more. I’m not sure Andrew would approve of a bar where he can’t get Guinness on tap.

21. Tim: Choose a place, and announce a S-USIH gathering that Thursday. A sort of open house. I really don’t care which joint you choose. Good beer and not too loud are key components. I trust your judgment. AH

22. Okay. Here’s how I think we should do it:

    1. Billy Goat Tavern (right under Michigan near the Wrigley Building), meet at 6 pm.

    If that doesn’t work out (i.e. crowded or insufficient seating), we’ll go down the list in this order:

    2. Rock Bottom Brewery at State and Grand (west of Billy Goat)
    3. Fado Irish Pub at Grand and Clark (west of Rock Bottom)
    4. Clark Street Ale House (Clark Street just south of Chicago Avenue, 4 or so blocks north of Fado’s).

    I put them in this order for orderly walking considerations (East to West, then North).

    Food can be ordered at all 4 places.

    I’m happy to serve as the central planner and organizer. We can communicate via text message if one of these contingencies needs to be implemented. Write me if you don’t have my cell phone number (and to give me yours).

    – TL

23. Sorry, but I’m not signing on for a peripatetic pub crawl in Chicago in January. Pick a place, name a time, stick to it, and chances are I’ll be there. If it’s crowded, we’ll deal. If it’s noisy, we’ll deal. But if I haul my rear in from the Chicago cold and manage to find standing room in a warm, lively bar, I’ll be danged if I’m going to head back out into the wind tunnel and try to meet up with a bunch of people who wouldn’t know me from Adam, and vice versa, following the breadcrumb trail left by a series of cell-phone text messages.

    /edgy rant

24. I didn’t mean to suggest a pub crawl. This is just me being off-the-cuff thorough. I expect the Billy Goat Tavern will work. But I’m willing to go one more step if it doesn’t. – TL

25. You know, I am sorry to be so frickin’ difficult and demanding. I can’t go another step this semester anyhow, so what do I care if you want to take a convivial stroll in Chicago in January. God, I can be a pain in the ass. Not very good company.

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