Our Relationship to Reading:
Introduction to Quinn, Hypothes.is,
and Schlabach bonus opportunity
IDS 103-02 and 491-11
Sept. 2, 2026
Agenda and announcements
• For inspiration: SUNY Polytechnic Institute Convocation, Thurs Sept. 2, 2026, 12:30pm,
Wildcat Field House: Speaker, Dr. Megan DeSchiavo (Biology, College of Arts and Sciences,
Recipient of 2026 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching)—pay attention, if we can
figure out a way to turn this into a source or extra credit mechanism for this class, we will.
• And if you haven’t had enough after today: DREAM Center Symposium on Creativity and
the Arts in the Age of AI: various sessions, Friday Sept. 4, 9am-4pm, Student Center
Multipurpose Room (contact me for the schedule and link to sign up for attendance if you
want to be counted for lunch).
• Today’s class:
• Think about reading strategies and experiences—Journal #1
• Begin to think about some ideas from Quinn’s introduction in relation to Gerald Schlabach’s “A Sense of
History: Some Components”
• Explanation of Hypothes.is bonus assignment (first part due Wed. Sept. 9, 12pm)
Journal #1, part 1 (a) and (b)
• (a) Try this and make some observations—whether reading or re-reading,
pick one of these pages: Quinn p. 6, p. 7, p. 12, or p. 13 (on handout or in
your book). Time yourself—honestly, how long did it take you to read the
page? Write that down, and look up when you’re done.
• (b) Now, re-read the passage, but this time make some notes as you go.
You can write on the handout, but make some ntoes in your journal too.
How long does it take you to read the page this time?—what do you think
the details on this page have to do with Quinn’s thesis (p. 5) that:
• The history that should be told is of “the relationships that built what is now called
the West from the Bronze Age to the Age of Exploration, as societies met, tangled,
and sometimes grew apart” AND
• “it is connections, not civilizations, that drive historical change.”
What can we learn from this?
• Surprisingly good resource: Joey Schweitzer, “How to Read When You
Hate Reading: 5 Tips and Tricks,” Better Ideas (2018),
https://youtu.be/ShdRyZDFx4U?si=l3W2XnMpzJYcVnGh
• Set realistic standards by establishing your baseline reading speed and working
with it
• He estimates 60 seconds to read a page; how did your experience compare?
• Recommended: start with more than one page per day for this class, but also, consider: if I
need to read 20 pages attentively/taking some notes, how long will that take me? Should I
divide it into several sessions?
• Read before going on the internet (for concentration, also for verifiable
information)
• Bunch your habits (e.g. link assignment reading with something else you do
regularly a/o that you enjoy)
• Try audiobooks (though: for citations, probably best if this complements having
access to a print/digital copy of Quinn)
• Change your attitude (try being positive rather than negative about reading 1-2
chapters, or more)
• Also good for working with your baseline and establishing strong habits:
A good resource: Daniel Pink, “Can’t Focus? Watch This Before You Sit
Down to Work,” (29 May 2026),
https://youtu.be/fj3GaX1VSJ0?si=eb8zzp6ItjdOqI-5
• I downloaded his PDF outline from the video so you don’t have to—it’s in “Basics”
Can’t I just use AI to summarize?
• We’ve been exposed to some heavy advertising about the uses of generative AI/Large Language
Models to rephrase difficult texts, summarize, find the “most important*” ideas, and so on—so
why try other methods, especially if they take longer?
• For a bit of neuroscience and the way that slowing down and using paper (appropriate to ability) can be
a benefit: BBC World Service, “How Reading Changes the Way Your Brain Works,” BBC World Service
(2025) https://youtu.be/X1L1Hd3xfrU?si=D-oFdobhx-pB0_iw
• And some suggestions for writing notes as you go: Vicky Zhao, “How to Take Smart Notes” (2022),
https://youtu.be/5O46Rqh5zHE?si=zcRs0yawzdC0H8o6
• Avoid being an ultraprocessed reader (and preferably avoid it altogether): errors, and other kinds of
plagiarism and integrity violations
• Term used by Dr. Dana Suskind—just because we enjoy added sweeteners and other
ingredients sometimes does not mean we should eat them all the time or in all foods (even
when they are so convenient and fast!), so with slow processes and taking time and effort to
find and work with details without mechanical assists.
• Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity, and Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI
(Dutton, 2026). Quoted in Caitlin McGarry, “A Child-Development Expert on How to Raise Kids
with AI,” New York Times Wirecutter, 18 Aug. 2026, URL
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/does-ai-affect-child-development/
• Tokenminning—a valuable job skill we can practice here! Eli Tan, “Tech Workers Maxed Out
Their AI Use. Now They’re Trying to Minimize It,” New York Times, 18 Jun. 2026, URL
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/technology/ai-token-minimizing.html
• AI tokens are EXPENSIVE, so showing you can minimize use or complete processes as well or better
without them will be a professional plus.
Now, back to content:
• On the next slides, we’ll familiarize ourselves with ideas from Gerald
Schlabach’s “A Sense of History, some Components”
• Starting with the page(s) of Quinn you have just read closely—how do you
think the components he mentions relate to Quinn’s identification of
problems in historical understanding, and intentions and methods to
remedy them, stated in the introduction?
• Instructions for your Hypothesis annotation, due by 12pm Sept. 9 – work with at
least TWO of Schlabach’s components, and use information/quotes from Quinn to
explain how her identification of problems in historical understanding, and intentions
and methods to remedy them in her introduction relate to the component. Why is
this important for writing and understanding history, of the Mediterranean and more
broadly?
History’s (and annotation #5) foundation: Gerald Schlabach’s components
(©1996-2025): what else helps us decide what is important and what to
include/focus on?
• 1. Some things happened before other things.
• 2. Some things only happened in certain places.
• 3. Meanings and definitions of words change.
• 4. Where there is no record there is no history.
• 5. Texts that powerful educated people have written are not the only kind of
record, however.
• 6. History is almost always complex: events have multiple causes; societies
involve a mix of good and bad; change depends on continuity [KAB addition: and
vice-versa]. Therefore, conflicting explanations of historical events and
developments are almost always possible.
• Also relevant: The 5 C’s: change over time, causality, context, complexity, and
contingency (see Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke, “What Does it Mean to Think
Historically?,” Perspectives on History (Jan. 2007),
https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/january2007/what-does-it-mean-to-think-historically
• 7. God may indeed intervene in human history, but this is hard to document and
historians require footnotes.
Schlabach’s components, continued: 14. Return to point 1 and start
over, again and again.
All students who expect to make the most of their liberal arts education should also be able to
explain statements such as the following:
• 8. To attempt to live without a memory is to attempt to lose one’s humanity.
• 9. Our memories fail us, however, and so we must continually work to recover and test our
collective memory.
• 10. Historical study has at least as much to do with interpreting the past as with gathering
“the facts.”
All “A” students can show they can handle historical evidence with care thus:
• 11. Nothing is more important for historians than to chart cause and effect—even though
nothing is harder to prove.
• 12. Intriguing coincidences sometimes point to relationships of cause and effect, but never
are enough to prove cause and effect.
• 13. Human history sometimes seems to involve themes that are common to many cultures
and continuous through many ages—but historians do not have the right to assert them
until they have paid long and close attention to particular differences of time and space,
SO… (see slide title/component #14)
Next class
• NO CLASS MON. SEPT. 7—LABOR DAY—ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!
• Quinn, Introduction, pp. 3-14 review, AND
• Quinn, ch. 1 A Single Sail (Byblos), 15-25
• Gerald Schlabach, “A Sense of History: Some Components” ( © 2026), [use Hypothesis link
on Brightspace to read the details, and try the bonus annotations by 12pm]