“A fox knows many things, but a hedgehog knows one important thing.” This ancient Greek fragment inspired Isaiah Berlin to write his famous essay, “The Hedgehog and the Fox.” People who think like foxes draw upon a wide variety of experiences to make sense of the world. Those who approach life like hedgehogs view the world through the lens of a single idea. I have nothing but respect for the hedgehogs of the world — that drive, that singular pursuit of a passion — but for me, life’s too short to be a hedgehog.
I wear many hats. I’m a cultural historian, a beer writer, and a university instructor. I’ve worked in museums and work as a translator. My interests span visual culture, urban studies, aesthetics, food studies, and the interconnection between history and memory.
If I write predominantly about beer these days, I’ve also written about memory politics in postwar Germany and Japan, and have an abiding interest in the history of walking and how we think about nature. I hold a Ph.D. in modern German and Japanese history from Cornell. I’m also a certified beer judge (BJCP, national rank). And I’ve managed to bring my disparate interests together at IES-Vienna, where I teach a course on museums and public history, and another on the cultural history of food and drink in Austria.