One of the bittersweet parts of my dissertation research is that I’m continuously reminded of or encountering things that remind me of my childhood homeland: Northwestern Pennsylvania, namely Cook Forest State Park and the forests of the region. I stumbled on this video today. Ignoring the narrator, I closed my eyes and took in the …
Tag Archives: western pennsylvania
Social Media Comments as Sources: How?
As an accidental social media guru, I’ve grown increasingly interested in how to use social media to assist with my research. Not just to connect with other academics and to propagate my opinions and ideas to the wider public, but as a source–a place from which to garner public opinion on historical topics and contemporary …
Do Not Look Into the Manly Void: Horsbrugh, Pittsburgh, and Point State Park
Sometimes a source just clicks. Sometimes the writer just jumps from the page and one begins to feel like they know the individual personally. This is how I feel about ol’ Patrick Horsbrugh–or Patty, as I like to call him– an architect and urban planner who, in 1963, published the report, Pittsburgh Perceived: A Critical Review of …
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Hagiographically-Induced Cringing: A Snippet on The Cook Family and Cook Forest State Park
I just began reading Eastern Old-Growth Forest: Prospects for Rediscovery and Recovery (1996); just began is not an overstatement, I just finished the Foreward. Nonetheless, a passage in the Foreward by John Davis demands a brief comment: “Even as it underscores the importance of whole communities and ecosystems, old growth assures us quietly yet grandiosely that individuals …
Jessica M. DeWitt: Editing and Consulting 