Tom Isern, NDSU

The students of the senior seminar did themselves proud on Monday evening, December 10, when they made their final paper presentations at the Sons of Norway. Well done, everyone. You made History.

I like to get my news in deliberate doses without the stridency of the popular media, which is why I read the Christian Science Monitor. And it's remarkable how much of the news, once you strip away the hoopla, is fundamentally historical. The news from Russia, the news from Australia, the news, today, from China, it's all about history. The Monitor reports on the reopening of the refurbished Nanjing Massacre Compatriot Victims Memorial Museum, which commemorates--well, what you call it depends on your point of view, historically. At the time it was called the Rape of Nanking. Now the Japanese government calls it the Nanjing Incident, whereas the Chinese call it the Nanjing Massacre. A Chinese historian named Bu Ping calls this disagreement over history "the key problem in our relations." The Chinese memorial is rather graphic, including the in situ remains of victims in a mass grave. On the other hand, the Chinese government now would like to play down historical outrage over the matter, in the interest of improving relations with Japan. Historian Bu says the historical commission he leads, charged with arriving at a consensus view about Nanjing, has agreed on the "historical facts" but is unable to agree on interpretation. Go figure. The only certainty is that history is pervasive. This, I fear, is what we generally fail to convey in freshman history courses.

There's a reason they call it WINTER commencement. Cold as the dickens outside, but another festive commencement inside the FargoDome. It's remarkable how well the dome works as a commencement venue; people seem to like coming there for the event. This time around I caught up with several of our fine History graduates, with family. Here we have Kelly Hansen, Matt Boe, and Erin Neal.

The presentation of senior seminar papers will begin at 6pm Monday, December 10, at Kringen Lodge of the Sons of Norway. Snacks to be served, and nine papers on tap, all dealing with historical monuments and collective memory on the northern plains. All welcome! Poster, including line-up of papers