Author archives

Sharon M. Leon is Director of Public Projects at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and Associate Professor of History at George Mason University. Her research interests include the history of religion in the U.S., especially Roman Catholicism, history of science and twentieth century cultural history. She received her bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and her doctorate in American Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2004. Her first book, An Image of God: the Catholic Struggle with Eugenics, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2013.

Title: Why [Bracket]?

IMing with Sheila Brennan, who also has a rocking blog, it became apparent that [Bracket] might not mean a blessed thing to anyone. So, why [Bracket]? There are a couple of reasons. First, I really wanted this space to be a place for the random stuff that wanders around my brain — a little place …

beginnings and endings

If you’re looking for something to read, you might want to consider Marilynne Robinson’s novel, Gilead. It’s a wonderful little book about an Iowa minister who, since he is close to the end of his life, is writing a letter to his young son. In the course of the letter, John Ames wanders off on …

Shiny and new….

In the category of things that I sometimes want, but really can’t afford, here is the new Pentax *ist DL, a digital SLR. All of the reviews I’ve read of this new gadget suggest that it’s a really good combination of features for not a lot of money. Just what I’m looking for…. I’ve been …

Here we go

Well, in the area of “everybody’s doing it,” I’m wading into the world of blogging. Not that I’m certain that I have anything useful to say, but I’m one of those people who isn’t as vigilant about keeping in touch as I should be. And, like most academic-types, I read and write on a regular …