News & Events 2010-2011

Blair Review Revived

“The Blair Review is back in business!” So states Dr. Martin Miller, history teacher, director of the Society of Skeptics and editor of the Review. He writes, “From 1985-2000, an annual edition showcased the writing of various Blair community members: current teachers and former students, alumni and visiting lecturers. Simply stated, the aim was to share ideas with a wider audience. So much of the Blair intellectual experience cannot be instantaneously translated into a thoughtfully conceived, accessible package for those off campus; hence the rationale for this journal. Quoting from the 2000 introduction: “What is heard in, say, a relatively small lecture forum has limited impact; what is produced in a classroom for a particular course is invariably lost to the community. Papers are filed away without much thought, and speeches are given and fade from memory. Well, the Review represents one small effort to reverse this situation.”

Marty added, “After a hiatus of fully a decade, the organizing principle of a resurrected Review will be a bit more focused than that of the past. The potential pool of contributors were the Tuesday evening Society of Skeptics speakers (2009-2010) and the members of the June 5, 2010 Alumni Day panel on American Foreign Policy Challenge: The War in Afghanistan. Their general writing and pieces directly related to the Blair programs were considered fair game. The Review writers of 2010 include: former faculty member Elliott Trommald (H’65) on John I. Blair (part of a series first published in the 80s); Robert Textor ’40 discussing his experience as an post-World War II administrator in occupied Japan; former New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman on the decline of the moderate Republican center; Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens analyzing American policy in Afghanistan; political writer Doug Bandow shedding light on an enigmatic North Korea; an excerpt from Jean Korelitz’s novel Admission; and business titan David Sokol musing on subjects ranging from fatherhood to integrity. The goal is to project discrete lectures and panel discussions into a wider arena. May it be received as a worthwhile project.”

The latest Blair Review also owes its existence to Ann Williams, director of Timken Library, who created the layout, as well as David Miller ’88 (Marty’s son), who executed many of the drawings within its pages.

A pdf version of the Review can be accessed online by clicking here.

Posted 10/20/10

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