Today I received a very thoughtful gift from one of my students. She is a rising senior who took my AP course in American history this past year. This individual is one of the most incredibly interesting students that I’ve come across in recent years. She is both intelligent and curious; more importantly, she is very comfortable with herself which is a rarity for high school girls. Anyway, I thought I would share just a little of the inscription which she included in this gift.
Mr. Levin,
I know you would much rather have a gift certificate and your second option would be to return this book, but I’m writing in it so that you can’t! But I don’t think you will want to return this because it is right along your line of research. I haven’t actually read it, but it is about how the South remembers history and that reminded me of [David] Blight. So, I hope you enjoy it.
The title of the book is The South Lives in History by Wendell H. Stephenson. The book is essentially Stephenson’s Fleming Lectures which are published by the LSU Press. This one I believe has been out-of-print for awhile so it is really nice to have a copy. The opening chapter traces the historiography of the South up to this book’s publication in 1955. Additional chapters cover the careers of both William E. Dodd and Ulrich B. Phillips. I will get a great deal of use out of this one.
What a great gift from a wonderful student — made my year.