As far as reading blogs goes, I have a relatively small committed reading list. I read random blog posts when I get linked to them, but beyond that I’ve been reading Angus Johnson’s Student Activism for like a year. Over the summer I read Bill Schabas’ daily account of the ICC Review Conference, which turned me on to his (and his students’) Human Rights Blog. And in recent months I’ve begun following Zungu Zungu both on Twitter and WordPress. Beyond that, it’s been friends’ blogs for the most part.

A week ago I ran across another random blog post. Like a glance at AidWatch (a great blog on development) or a peek at Reclaim UC or Those Who Use It (both activist blogs about the crisis in the UC), it was nothing out of the usual. It was a blog post in defense of the humanities – something with which I whole-heartedly agree and advocate.

Today, I spent an estimated eight hours reading blog posts on PhD Octopus from today back to the end of 2010. It’s a blog made for me, essentially. It’s about contemporary issues in politics and academia, and its contributors are all History PhD candidates. Just this year they’ve touched on contemporary topics like the protests in MENA and the string of union-busting as well as made historical connections including Lincoln’s views on labor and the history of marriage. Go have a look! And when you’re done, here are a couple of other blogs I’ve read occasionally but not enough.

U.S. Intellectual History is a blog with a pretty self-explanatory name. The contributors have even begun to set up a society and host an annual conference on the fascinating subject.

Just last week AidWatch came to a close. It was a blog run by William Easterly (the economist and NYU professor) and Laura Freschi. I have enjoyed a lot of posts and plan to peruse the archives regularly.