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My Work And Foucault's Genius: Foucault, Barthes, Said, Paul J. Rich Dec 2009

My Work And Foucault's Genius: Foucault, Barthes, Said, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

Recent comparison of some of my work to that of Foucault is really a huge exaggeration of its importance but does point to a point that Foucault made, which is that research into small or obscure topics can have a high yield in terms of insight. Critics for example are interested in the role I have explored of Freemasonry in education.


Robert Burns, Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, And The Mystery Of The Master’S Apron, Paul J. Rich Apr 2009

Robert Burns, Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, And The Mystery Of The Master’S Apron, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

No abstract provided.


Rivals At War Over Burns's Apron, Paul J. Rich Apr 2009

Rivals At War Over Burns's Apron, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

No abstract provided.


The Merits Of Secrecy, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

The Merits Of Secrecy, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This is one of the talks which I give on occasion to a lodge, and often it is delivered after an initiation. It addresses the problem of secrecy, which in a free society is both a right and a difficulty. Undoubtedly one of the public relations hurtles for Freemasonry is its perception as a covert group.


Masonic Vocabulary, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

Masonic Vocabulary, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This is another of my talks that I frequently give to a lodge. Since the aim is participation, I generally start with a short little potted history of Masonic dictionaries and vocabulary, and then invite the audience to put forward words from the ritual for discussion -- "cowan" is one that always can launch things.


Eugenia Perez, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

Eugenia Perez, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

Eugenia Perez is a supremely gifted Mexican artist. I have had the privilege of providing the introductions to some works about her. She has had several marked periods, including a remarkable one where her work to me suggested that of the very distinctive early Peruvian Viceregal school and a later phase when her experiments with color have been startling.


More About The Apron That Wasn't, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

More About The Apron That Wasn't, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The Times, both in Scotland and London, had a real field day with the story of how I along with others felt the Masonic apron of Robert Burns wasn't the Bard's. It isn't often that an academic paper gets on the front page of the Times, so I certainly relished the whole incident.


The Lost Secret, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

The Lost Secret, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This is taken from my study of Freemasonry viz Dan Brown's The Lost Secret


The Mexican Viceroy's French Cooks: Masonic Mysteries In The Palace Kitchens, Paul J. Rich Dec 2008

The Mexican Viceroy's French Cooks: Masonic Mysteries In The Palace Kitchens, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The hitherto obscure eighteenth-century history of Freemasonry in Mexico is illuminated by the records of the Roman Catholic Inquisition, whose courts were active in torturing, trying, and punishing anyone suspected of Masonic activity. The Viceroy himself was not exempt from inquiry, and on a couple of occasions his French employees in his palace in Mexico City fell prey to the tribunal.


Bibliotecas, Paul J. Rich Dec 2007

Bibliotecas, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

Over the years I have donated items to Dartmouth, the Essex institute, Eton College, Harvard, Tonbridge School, the Grand Lodge of Denmark, the Grand Lodge of California, and elsewhere.


American Grand Lodge Proceedings, Paul J. Rich Dec 2006

American Grand Lodge Proceedings, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This presentation at the international conference on Freemasonry hosted by the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh was later reproduced by the Library of the United Grand Lodge of England. It calls attention to the most dull looking but actually valuable resources for secret society scholarship.


The Lost Symbol And Dan Brown: Masonic Secrets Of Washington, Paul J. Rich Dec 2006

The Lost Symbol And Dan Brown: Masonic Secrets Of Washington, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This was originally a talk given in British Columbia in 2007, then in Geneva, and a revised portion of it appears in the Scottish Rite publication Plumbline, also found on this site. The Inquisition records are a great source for Masonic activities...a sort of early Roman Catholic rebuttal to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code and The Lost Symbol, if a rebuttal can precede an accusation. The article is a suggestion -- by presenting research based on actual Masonic activity I thought I might show that despite the enjoyment we get out of Brown's books, there is a more scholarly side to …


Iraq And Hubris, Paul J. Rich Dec 2006

Iraq And Hubris, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This review is perhaps too glib, but it reflects my concern about the need for more information about the Middle East and the way policy makers in Washington sometimes show an extraordinary lack of information about the region. Otherwise informed individuals look blankly at me when I mention the part played by Lord Curzon or Gertrude Bell. Part of the problem is that a good many books about the Middle East don't get reviewed at all, which means they fall (along with their insights) like a stone. My support over the years of the Digest of Middle East Studies is …


Residential Colleges, Paul J. Rich Dec 2005

Residential Colleges, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

Starting as an undergraduate in one of Harvard's residential colleges, Dunster House, and reinforced by being a life governor of an Oxford college (Harris Manchester) as well as a sometime resident in Mitchell Hall of Makerere University in Uganda and St. George's College in the University of Western Australia, I have long been an advocate of the residential college as an important part of tertiary education. While this is a somewhat pidgin translation, it commemorates an association with one such college in Mexico.


Walter Beach, Paul J. Rich Dec 2005

Walter Beach, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

A variation of these remarks was part of the memorial service I led for Walter at the Southern Political Science and American Political Science Associations after his death, and was published in the Policy Studies Journal and Review of Policy Research. He was my predecessor as President of the Policy Studies Organization and he also was a friend and mentor. We miss him dearly but fortunately he lived long enough to see the PSO move to Washington, only a couple blocks from his office.


Bowling Alone Revisited, Paul J. Rich Dec 2004

Bowling Alone Revisited, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The controversy over American social capital that was fueled by Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" work seems unlikely to abate any time soon. Whether civility and trust are as frayed and diminished as contended is surely an open question. But whatever one's position, the discussion has been good for political science and good for policy studies.


Is There A North American History And Culture?, Paul J. Rich Dec 2003

Is There A North American History And Culture?, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

No abstract provided.


52 Weekly Thoughts About Phi Beta Delta, Paul J. Rich Dec 2003

52 Weekly Thoughts About Phi Beta Delta, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The little book of weekly thoughts which I wrote for Phi Beta Delta fulfills a need for readings at chapter meetings and initiations. in the nineteenth century, a great deal was produced for fraternal use -- notably by the great ritualist Albert Pike. Certainly there were others, but since one aspect of rituals was a supposed antiquity, anonymity was often the way to give legitimacy. Authoring pieces for ritual is definitely a backwater of literature!


Brotherly Love In Philadelphia: Reports Of Its Demise Are Exaggerated, Paul J. Rich Apr 2003

Brotherly Love In Philadelphia: Reports Of Its Demise Are Exaggerated, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

While concentrating on Philadelphia, the paper by inference supports the idea that the study of associationalism, social capital and fraternalism can profitably be done on a city by city basis, and that the view that society affiliations have succumbed to television-induced aloneness may be overstated.


Latin American Education's Computing Crisis, Paul J. Rich Dec 2002

Latin American Education's Computing Crisis, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

For a number of years I went around the world beating the drum for the role of computing in education. That has become a too familiar tune and now the focus is on aspects of computing in schools and universities rather than the general need to introduce the topic. However, we are just at the start of a revolution...


Masons And Greeks: A Brief Lodge Address, Paul J. Rich Dec 2002

Masons And Greeks: A Brief Lodge Address, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

In any large city there are dozens of lodges, and they often are looking for a speaker. i think my popularity has been based more on my brevity than my eloquence, but in any event this tlak on Greeks and Masons always elicits a discussion because there will be individuals in the audience who joined a fraternity in college and subsequently became Freemasons, so they can appreciate the comparison.


Voluntarismo En Estados Unidos Y El Debate De Robert Putnam, Paul J. Rich Dec 2002

Voluntarismo En Estados Unidos Y El Debate De Robert Putnam, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

El debate en tomo a "bolear solo" (Bowling Alone) que inicio Robert Putnam respecto a la salud del voluntarismo estadunidense presen­ ta como muy novedosas algunas caracteristicas del desarrollo de la sociedad civil y la cultura politica que en realidad habian sido sefiala­ das con anterioridad por Seymour Martin Upset y otras. Para comprender Estados Unidos, es necesario entender el signifi­ cado de la sociedad civil y de la fructifera presencia del volunta­ rismo que es su savia vital.' Las asociaciones estadunidenses -inclu­yendo a las Iglesias, organizaciones civiles, los consejos escolares, fraternidades y grupos filantr6picos-- son campos de entrenamiento vitalicios …


The American Academy Of Political And Social Science In The Twenty-First Century, Paul J. Rich Dec 2002

The American Academy Of Political And Social Science In The Twenty-First Century, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

One of the fixtures in academic publishing for decades was the familiar and stark orange cover of the Annals of the American Academy, with no mitigating photo or illustration. The first departure from this august tradition was occasioned by a volume that David Merchant and I produced, and was accompanied by some thoughts on the future that not only appeared in the Annals but were featured for a long time on the Academy web site. The shocked reacton among some of the fellows that the new cover produced would make a movie.


The Shriners, Paul J. Rich Jun 2002

The Shriners, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This interview i gave to the Vancouver Sun bring up some of the controversies surrounding the Shriner, a Masonic organization that is widely known for its hospitals for children and its sponsorship of circuses and parades. Although I "walked the hot sands", i.e. am a Shriner, I cannot say oi have been enthusiastic about some of its nuances. The article perhaps reflects that.


Freemasonry And Phi Beta Kappa, Paul J. Rich May 2002

Freemasonry And Phi Beta Kappa, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

In Washington my offices actually permit a glimpse of the offices of Phi Beta Kappa across the street. i would have to climb on the roof to see one of the Masonic temples in the city, but they are also close. So too both the Greek honor societies and Greek social fraternities are linked historically with Freemasonry, a connection little understood and little explored, and which this article helps to explain.


Social Change And Freemasonry: The Scottish Rite's Primacy Rite, Paul J. Rich Apr 2002

Social Change And Freemasonry: The Scottish Rite's Primacy Rite, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The rural or urban setting helped to determine the Masonic rite which grew and prospered in the area, and this is illustrated with the growth of American cities. Jane Jacobs can be related to the Scottish Rite, surprising as the notion seems.


Introduction To The Middle East: Syllabus, Paul J. Rich Dec 2001

Introduction To The Middle East: Syllabus, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

This is a syllabus for Mexican undergraduate students, some of whom had real hurtles with English. In addition to the listed reading, Spanish translations of the Koran (technically the Holy Koran cannot be translated) were distributed so each had a copy. This was referenced during the lectures. Map work was one of the core demands.


Cliometrics Of Freemasonry, Paul J. Rich Dec 2001

Cliometrics Of Freemasonry, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

Attention to the membership statistics of fraternal groups has been given much importance because of the use of such figures by Robert Putnam and others in their contributions to the so-called Bowling Alone debate over the alleged delcine of American associationalism. The subject is much more obtuse and complex than has been appreciated, and this paper touches on what could be the focus of many doctoral theses.


National Differences In Freemasonry: The Gap Between America And Mexico, Paul J. Rich Dec 2001

National Differences In Freemasonry: The Gap Between America And Mexico, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The Columbia book Freemasonry on Both Sides of the Atlantic included a number of papers which are found in Selected Works, suitably -- one hopes -- aged and vetted and amended. This is one on the national differences in Masonic practice, which led me to remark that we should talk not about Freemasonry but about Freemasonries.


The Medallion, Phi Beta Delta, Paul J. Rich Dec 2001

The Medallion, Phi Beta Delta, Paul J. Rich

Paul J. Rich

The Fall 2002 issue of The Medallion of Phi Beta Delta include several articles about me and by me which throw some light on the activities of Greek honor societies. Phi Beta Kappa, whose national offices are located almost across from the Policy Studies Organization home in Washington, has never been willing to have chapters outside of the United States. That of course is an opportunity for Phi Beta Delta, as it is resolutely international and has managed to start chapters in several countries.