Theory of the DailyThe domestic and the everyday in literature, history, philosophy, and science.Lighting Out- May 23, 2005 At the recommendation of my husband, I've just finished reading Caroline Gordon's Green Centuries, a well-written and interesting work that has a nice eye for the details of the daily. If you're familiar with Elizabeth Madox Roberts' The Great Meadow, you can place this book in that genre; otherwise I'll have to situate it more broadly in that vast territory between Laura Ingalls Wilder and William Faulkner. It's a pioneer story, with lots of gory pioneer violence (so be warned), but it's also..http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/at_the_recommen.html (Untitled)- May 22, 2005 Home ec is now family and consumer science--and men as well as women are taking it. See also the Family and Consumer Sciences Resources Online (am I the only one who is slightly creeped out by the easy equivalence between "family" and "consumer").http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/home_ec_is_now.html Bad Fences- May 21, 2005 When I saw the link for this article, entitled "The Paradox of the Hedge," I just knew that it would contain a reference to Robert Frost's "Mending Wall.". I feel strongly that most people, and the author of this article is no exception, miss some salient facts about the poem: one, that the famous line "good fences make good neighbors" is not uttered by the persona in the poem most identifiable with the author himself (and is instead spoken by a character who is being gently mocked); and two,...http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/bad_fences.html (Untitled)- May 17, 2005 Whilst looking for something else, I came across Neva Goodwin, an "ecological economist" who sounds worth investigating. In this interview in Grist Magazine, she explains some of her key ideas: standard economics textbooks all repeat that there are essentially three kinds of economic activity: production, exchange (or distribution), and consumption. In the textbooks on which I'm the lead author, we make the point that this leaves out an essential fourth activity: resource maintenance. How...http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/whilst_looking.html Happy Mother's Day!- May 8, 2005 A few selected Mother's Day stories: Behind every good chef is a mom: "Like many chefs, Susi says his work as a culinary professional is inextricably linked to his childhood and his mother's influence." Via rebecca's pocket, "M is For the Many Meals She Made." . . . And the latest update from the unfortunately-named Mommy Wars, "Battle of the Moms":"If our grandmothers knew we'd sit and watch entire channels on homemaking they'd think we lost our mind," says a laughing Ann Douglas, author of...http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/mothers_day_sto.html (Untitled)- May 2, 2005 Two new books (as reviewed here) that look worth adding to one's reading list: Four Tenths of an Acre : Reflections on a Gardening Life, by Laurie Lisle: "Lisle's range, wider than her long and narrow garden, takes in a world of horticulturists (both growers and fanciers) from well-known literary figures like Hawthorne and Wharton to those revered for their gardening-centric works, such as Gertrude Jekyll. Having recently moved north from Manhattan, Lisle immerses herself not only in her new...http://web.utk.edu/~hwallac2/weblog/2005/05/two_new_books_a.html |