WHY, after all those years in graduate school, and the scholarships granted by my more hopeful advisors, did I turn out so many cartoons, and so few contributions to social science research?

ANSWER: If you show someone your serious research, you will get back pages and pages of advice as to how you could and should revise it. This will happen even if that someone likes what you have produced. In contrast, if you show someone a cartoon, and he/she likes it, you will get a laugh. And if the recipient thinks the cartoon is pointless crap, you will never know. The psychological advantages are obvious.

WHAT are the cartoons good for?

ANSWER: with luck, comic relief. And, as in the case of the first collection, they can be used to lighten the mood of a committee meeting, focus a discussion, or make a textbook more appealing. For those who have some such purpose in mind, the cartoons have been arranged in specific categories. (See "A Quick Guide to the Cartoons".)

WHO should get credit for inspiring these cartoons?

ANSWER: almost everybody I’ve ever called a friend, but especially William B. Hixson, Jr., Professor of History at Michigan State University, my husband/partner for many, many years. Thank you all!

Vivian Scott Hixson