Do all historians require a detailed knowledge of the price fluctuationas
of tobacco in
>17th and 18th century Virginia in order to say something meaningful about
>Virginian history in those time periods?
 
No.  But the ones who do have that knowledge are the one's to ask about
that subject.  The curious mind is one of the hallmarks of the true
scholar, and if there is a question, there must be a search for an answer.
If the scholar can find the answer from the locals who know about the
funeral debris on the top of headstones, then I hope he or she is humble
enough to take that information seriously.  But if the answer lies hidden
somewhere in the dank recesses of the Academy, then I hope he or she will
be skilled enough to find it there, as well.  But to return our discussion
to its original question, I still assert that none of this is related to
race (or gender for that matter, let's get it all out on the table),
because race and gender have no affect on a person's ability to be curious,
find answers to questions that intrigue, and then write about those
answers.  This assumes, of course that the scholar's agenda is honest, that
there are no PC axes being ground loudly in the background in support of
racial or gender issues, where those are inappropriate.
 
William M. Reger IV
(217)352-6930
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Department of History           Voc. & Tech. Ed.
309 Gregory Hall, UIUC          345 Education Bldg., UIUC
(217) 333-1155                  (217) 333-0807