Category Archives: Literature

The Medieval As Genre

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Thomas Mets

The Western is probably one of the best settings in film, due to the storytelling opportunities of a lawless land, the cinematic wide open spaces, and the iconography. It’s become one of the few settings that has become its own … Continue reading →

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Metsfilter January 2 2018

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Thomas Mets

These are just some links I found interesting. Tyler Cowen’s explanation of why he writes for Bloomberg View is a source of good leads on intelligent writing on economic matters. Open Culture has two interesting photo galleries: 1,600 color photos … Continue reading →

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What Would Lincoln Do?

Posted on July 23, 2017 by Thomas Mets

This was a fascinating anecdote about the legend of Abraham Lincoln two generations after his death, as told by Tolstoy. Once while traveling in the Caucasus I happened to be the guest of a Caucasian chief of the Circassians, who, … Continue reading →

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A Story of Monopoly and Regulation From Mark Twain

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Thomas Mets

In his memoir Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain has an interesting anecdote about the emergence of a monopoly. This was when he was a young steamboat pilot. It started with the development of a union, to protect wages at … Continue reading →

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The Four Major Curriculum Styles

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Thomas Mets

This was something I wrote for my class on Multiculturalism in Education in response to an article that summarized the four main curriculum styles: Linear Thinkers, Holists, Laissez-Faire advocates and critical theorists. Author Donna Miller’s takeaway is that teachers should be … Continue reading →

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Reflections on Multiculturalism in Education

Posted on July 6, 2017 by Thomas Mets

This was my final paper for a class on multiculturalism in education. There are currently two conflicting developments within the field of education. On the one hand, policies such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core have demonstrated a … Continue reading →

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A Lifeskills Class for African American Boys

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Thomas Mets

This was something I wrote for a class on multiculturalism in Education, in response to an article on the success of a special program in a California High School aimed at African American male students, with a greater emphasis on … Continue reading →

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What Kalevipoeg Means to Me

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Thomas Mets

After my Kalevipoeg essay for an Estonian Culture class in an English language Baltic Studies program at the University of Tartu,  I was asked about what the story had meant to me. This was my response. As a wannabe writer, … Continue reading →

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A Middle School Social Studies Teacher’s Experiences on Culture and Comic Books

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Thomas Mets

This is based on an interview I did for the class on Multiculturalism in my Education masters program. GT is a Social Studies teacher in Middlesex County, New Jersey. I’ve known him for several years, since before I decided to … Continue reading →

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Petrarch, Boccaccio and the Road to Latin Becoming a Dead Language

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Thomas Mets

An aspect of the Humanist movement is that they emphasized the work of the past, but also favored writing in contemporary languages. Petrarch and Boccaccio get credit for their decision to write in Italian, rather than Latin, among the first … Continue reading →

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