… as it was about a year ago when Points posted our first pieces of “short and insightful writing on the long and complex history” of alcohol and drugs. And certainly, as the song says, we’re all “older and shorter of breath…closer to death.” But if you can quit staring at the lava lamp for awhile, there are actually a few interesting things to note about Points‘ first year of life. Yes, this is an anniversary post.
My Co-Managing Editor Joe Spillane has observed some of the past year’s high points in recent posts of his own, so let me speculate a little about the future. As you know if you’ve looked recently at the Contributing Editors and Guest Bloggers pages, we’re starting our second year with a great roster of contributors: some old, some new, all certain to be interesting. One of our chief goals this year is to break out of the 20th-century U.S. rut that it’s easy for alcohol and drugs scholarship to fall into (and the Managing Editors are allowed to call it a “rut,” as we’re both trained as 20th-century Americanists!). So look for more writing on early modern drugs and alcohol– both medicinal and recreational–as well as expanded coverage of drugs, drinking, and temperance in the 18th and 19th centuries. With the help of our expanding roster of contributors, I do believe that in the next year Points will cover every continent except Antarctica– and we’ll try to remedy that deficit with cross-postings like this one.
Our big new gang of contributors will also make it easier for us to offer “ripped from the headlines” content like our current “Points Towards the Presidency.” Our goal there is not to compete with the MSM (we can’t– we’re academics who run a blog on the side, let’s not forget), but to take seriously Frederic Jameson’s famous injunction “Always historicize!”