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Robin Writes

Finding history in food, art, and pop culture

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Eat eggs like the ancient Romans

Robin January 15, 2021

I can’t say that ancient cuisine sounds particularly exciting, even for someone like me. But I was surprised earlier this week when, after watching this video from the Historical Italian Cooking research group, I felt inspired to make a variation on an ancient Roman frittata.

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  • Robin Reads the Internet

Everything I could say feels trivial

Robin January 8, 2021

The US had an attempted coup on Wednesday.

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  • Personal

2020 Year in Review

Robin December 29, 2020

In 2019, I spent a cumulative three months at home. And I wrote about it here on this blog. It’s a big part of the reason I started writing here. That year was incredibly trying. I was constantly isolated and moving around. I wasn’t able to form new relationships and I was constantly in new places. I was often living in a single room by myself without a real kitchen and I had a very small budget for food. When I wasn’t working, I was binging CosTube and BreadTube, learning to crochet, and playing video games. I could only interact with most of the people I knew, including my infant children, through phone calls and videos. That year, it turned out, was a rehearsal.

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  • Robin Reads the Internet

We need to reconsider our relationship with coffee

Robin December 18, 2020

It probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that coffee sales are down as a result of the pandemic. Like makeup and gasoline, coffee is less in demand when people aren’t leaving their houses, and like the restaurant industry as a whole, coffee shops often rely on foot traffic or at the very least gathering indoors, both of which are currently discouraged. This is a good moment, as coffee is a little less present in our lives, to question why coffee is such a part of particularly American culture and whether it should be.

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  • Robin Speaks

Robin on the ‘gram

Robin December 10, 2020

Not so much writing this week for a variety of reasons, so now is a good time to remind you that you can find me on Instagram (and Facebook). I post shorter thoughts, links to interesting history and science news, and food photos. I just recorded a few short videos on color in medieval art, the first of which is now live on IGTV. Enjoy!

  • Robin Reads the Internet

Can I have a woke Thanksgiving?

Robin November 25, 2020

As a progressive in 2020, you’d have to be willfully ignorant to think that there are no problems with Thanksgiving. But unlike, say, the former Columbus Day, this holiday isn’t just a day off. For a lot of Americans, myself included, this day has been one of the most important yearly events of family gathering for their entire lives. Is there a way to keep that going, or should we let Thanksgiving retire?

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  • Robin Reads the Internet

History is political

Robin November 20, 2020

There is a conflict bubbling between professional and amateur historians over directly addressing current social issues when talking about history. On one side, people who enjoy hearing about topics like the ins and outs of the Roman Empire claim that there is an unbiased way to present history, without judgement from the present. On the other side, people who write the stories of these topics claim that it’s important to understand the complexity of the past and that all history is biased. I’m not going to make any pretense toward a both sides argument here. History is biased and political, and everyone needs to know that.

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  • Personal

How sourdough helped me realize that I needed to leave New York and would probably never move back

Robin November 6, 2020

It’s amazing how big a part of my identity as a New Yorker bread is.

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  • Robin Reads the Internet

What is historical research in the internet age?

Robin October 21, 2020

How the digital age is democratizing history, and spreading misinformation.

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  • Scribi

Dissertation Progress: Week of October 5th

Robin October 9, 2020

I started this week off with a visit to a class on plague. Most of my work time was spent compiling manuscripts into an appendix that no one will ever read. And I’m taking out my mounting anxiety by sewing a coat.

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