Column: Introducing 'Anna's Thinking Cap'

Anna Barker
·2 min read
Anna's Thinking Cap is a new, monthly column series from University of Iowa adjunct assistant professor Anna Barker, who has taught several English and Russian Literature courses at the university.
Anna's Thinking Cap is a new, monthly column series from University of Iowa adjunct assistant professor Anna Barker, who has taught several English and Russian Literature courses at the university.
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Welcome to my inaugural monthly column aptly titled "Anna's Thinking Cap.”

After the positive and encouraging reaction to my articles on Ridley Scott's film Napoleon and the Cedar Rapids Opera production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, the Iowa City Press-Citizen presented me with an opportunity I could not refuse − a monthly column to be published on the first Saturday of the month exploring the topic I have been hyperventilating about for decades − the intersection of history, culture, literature, art, and music.

Now, I get to hyperventilate about it in print − with an overarching annual topic that will loosely connect the 12 columns thematically and purposefully. And since the first two articles I published in the ICPC were dedicated to Napoleon and Iowa City's and Iowa's Napoleonic history, the 2024 theme suggested itself − every first Saturday starting in February I will share my musings on why the controversial and iconic figure of Napoleon is still so culturally and historically relevant today.

Naturally, since Iowa City evolved out of a settlement named Napoleon and since between 1800 and 1803, First Consul Bonaparte was the de jure and de facto leader of what today constitutes the state of Iowa − Iowa's Napoleonic past will be a focal point of several of my upcoming articles.

A repeat visit to Marengo, Iowa, may be in order − and field trips to other Napoleon-related Iowa locations, such as Bonaparte and Waterloo, are in the planning stages. Plus, knowing my enthusiasm for 19th-century literature, a few articles dedicated to authors and literary works exploring Napoleonic themes are inevitable.

Anna Barker received her Ph. D. in Comparative Literature in 2002 with a dissertation in translation studies. At the University of Iowa she has taught courses in the English Department, in Comparative Literature, in Russian Literature, and in the Honors Program.
Anna Barker received her Ph. D. in Comparative Literature in 2002 with a dissertation in translation studies. At the University of Iowa she has taught courses in the English Department, in Comparative Literature, in Russian Literature, and in the Honors Program.

And so, it is with deep humility and boundless appreciation that I will don my proverbial thinking cap once a month and share with you my thoughts on why the political map of Europe looks the way it does today, how the independence of Greece was birthed in the early 19th century, why a book published 250 years ago still informs the alienated and rudderless elements of today's pop culture, and what the heck does any of this have to do with Napoleon.

In Saturday’s article, I will revisit the Napoleonic past of Marengo, Iowa, and explore the fascinating and sizzling history of the world's most Napoleonic dish − chicken Marengo − with a tried-and-true recipe, naturally.

Please look for it on Saturday, Feb. 3 in the one and only Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Anna Barker is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Iowa. She received her Ph. D. in Comparative Literature in 2002 with a dissertation in translation studies. She has taught University of Iowa courses in the English Department, in Comparative Literature, in Russian Literature, and in the Honors Program.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Column: Introducing 'Anna's Thinking Cap'