My name is Amanda Allard Cline. I am a part-time historian, full-time nerd. At one point an overwhelming amount of third graders thought I should run for president. I am a new-ish knitter and still insubordiknit. Wayward comic collector and book worm. Somedays I make whiskey, some I spin, dye, weave wool, some days I farm. I have hand made a nail and cooked an apple pie over a fire. I'm a spinner, a hiker, a biker, a would-be camper, and recreational disc golfer.
I currently teach multiple sections of Western Civilization I and II at Northern Virginia Community College, in Annandale, Virginia. Other times are spent at George Washington's Mount Vernon--I talk to folks about history.
It feels like it's been a really long time since I graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) with a Master's in History. I studied the History of Science, and more particularly the early modern period--Copernicus to Newton--under Dr. Robert A. Hatch. But I really looked at most intellectual and scientific achievements from the early Greeks to the 1800s, and then the science and math got too hard. I left academia for academia of a different sort.
I taught Social Studies at a local, public charter school for three years. It was wonderful. I got to share the joy and the need for history in everyday life with elementary and middle school students. We did so many crafty projects! And I didn't need to know about breakthrough research in the history of science. Double bonus!!
It was very difficult for me to leave Gainesville, Florida. I was leaving home, however it was a move that my husband and I needed to make. My little school in Gainesville didn't seem too far away, because I saw many similar face in my community college survey course. I still feel like I haven't gotten back into the swing of collegiate academia though. I teach as many courses as I can each semester, but my off time is spent at Mount Vernon, doing random editing and research, and leading the occasional cycle class at the gym.
In January 2013 I enrolled in HIS 295: Topics in Digital History with Dr. Charles Evans. This course rekindled an interest that I had started a year before--a nerdy, crafty history blog. I wanted to use the blog to flex my rusty writing and research muscles. I had already posted a few topical pieces--things that come up in my day-to-day and make me wonder. People wonder all the time; there are only a few that will spend the needed hour-or-so to research what they wonder. This website is a synopsis of that hour-or-so research. These are topics I like, that are random, and that are only briefly researched. And now I am being graded for some, so I write more! Those will be a little bit harder to read, because you don't know the assignment. Atopical is for you! Those are my stand alone ramblings.
Dr. Evans also requires a final assignment. You can check out mine at My So-Called Scientific Revolution. I do not know exactly what shape it will take. However, part of the project will be taking the reader through each iteration of the site. This is simply a crafty ploy to get myself back into the habit of looking at recent research, analyzing new historigraphic approaches, and engaging with the academic community.
You have questions? I have answers! And they may even be the answers to your questions. You can email me at amandorka@gmail.com!
