Although a surprising number of people think I'm a historian, I'm in an English department. Really. (Dad the Historian of Graeco-Roman Egypt: "Most of your book sounds like a historian wrote it." Me: "I'm a literary critic! A literary critic, I tell you! Aaarrggh!") And so I'm delighted to be a part of The Valve, which currently features an interesting manifesto on academic publishing by John Holbo.
(But, yes, I'll continue to confuse people about my professional identity by retaining my status as a Clio(m)atriarch.)
You complicate things about as well as anyone I know. We do use "complicate" in a positive sense these days, don't we? Anyway, I hope that "Cliopatria" isn't too male-centric sounding. I thought that the Cleopatra allusion compensated for the male-alluding "patria" -- which was meant, in any case, to summon ideas of homeland rather than paternalism. Best wishes to everyone at The Valve.
Posted by: Ralph Luker | March 31, 2005 at 04:52 PM