Hollis Robbins on 19th Century Life and Literature

Hollis Robbins on 19th Century Life and Literature

As a graduate student, Hollis Robbins helped Henry Louis Gates, Jr. unravel a mystery about the provenance of a mid-19th century book. Robbins helped date the book by discovering allusions to popular literature of that period — her focus at the time. The realization that this perspective would bring valuable insight to other 19th century African American literature prompted her to make that her specialty.

Now a dean at Sonoma Sate University, Robbins joined Tyler to discuss 19th-century life and literature and more, including why the 1840s were a turning point in US history, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Calvinism, whether 12 Years a Slave and Django Unchained are appropriate portraits of slavery, the best argument for reparations, how prepaid postage changed America, the second best Herman Melville book, why Ayn Rand and Margaret Mitchell are ignored by English departments, growing up the daughter of a tech entrepreneur, and why teachers should be like quarterbacks.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded June 21st, 2019

Other ways to connect

Episoder(283)

Ben Thompson on Business and Tech

Ben Thompson on Business and Tech

Not only is Ben Thompson's Stratechery frequently mentioned on MR, but such is Tyler's fandom that the newsletter even made its way onto the reading list for one of his PhD courses. Ben's based in Tai...

24 Okt 20181h

Rob Wiblin interviews Tyler on *Stubborn Attachments*

Rob Wiblin interviews Tyler on *Stubborn Attachments*

In this special episode, Rob Wiblin of 80,000 Hours has the super-sized conversation he wants to have with Tyler about Stubborn Attachments. In addition to a deep examination of the ideas in the book,...

16 Okt 20182h 30min

Paul Krugman on Politics, Inequality, and Following Your Curiosity

Paul Krugman on Politics, Inequality, and Following Your Curiosity

After winning the Nobel, Paul Krugman found himself at the "end of ambition," with no more achievements left to unlock. That could be a depressing place, but Krugman avoids complacency by doing what h...

10 Okt 201852min

Bruno Maçães on the Spirit of Adventure

Bruno Maçães on the Spirit of Adventure

Political scientist Bruno Maçães has built a career out of crossing the globe teaching, advising, writing, and talking to people. His recent book, born out of a six-month journey across Eurasia, is on...

26 Sep 201857min

Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Cultures

Michele Gelfand on Tight and Loose Cultures

Michele Gelfand is professor of psychology at the University of Maryland and author of the just-released Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. In her conversation wi...

12 Sep 201856min

Claire Lehmann on Speaking Freely

Claire Lehmann on Speaking Freely

Claire Lehmann is the founding editor of Quillette, an online magazine dedicated to free thought and open inquiry. Founded in 2015, the magazine has already developed a large and growing readership th...

29 Aug 201847min

Michael Pollan on the Science and Sublimity of Psychedelics

Michael Pollan on the Science and Sublimity of Psychedelics

Michael Pollan has long been fascinated by nature and the ways we connect and clash with it, with decades of writing covering food, farming, cooking, and architecture. Pollan's latest fascination? Our...

15 Aug 201859min

Michelle Dawson on Autism and Atypicality

Michelle Dawson on Autism and Atypicality

Perhaps no one else in the world more appreciates the challenges facing a better understanding of autism than Michelle Dawson. An autistic herself, she began researching her condition after experienci...

1 Aug 201853min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
treningspodden
foreldreradet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-sunn-okonomi
jakt-og-fiskepodden
sinnsyn
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
rss-kunsten-a-leve
gravid-uke-for-uke
merry-quizmas
hverdagspsyken
hagespiren-podcast
smart-forklart
rss-kull
fryktlos
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse
hr-podden-2