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Archives for October 2023

Current contributing editor Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn receives a “notable mention” in the 2023 edition of Best American Essays

John Fea   |  October 24, 2023

Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn‘s essay, “Pastlessness,” was published in the Summer 2022 issue of The Hedgehog Review. See her published work at Current here, including her most recent piece, “Remembering the University’s Mission.” She is an original member of the Current board […]

More on that David French piece on the “moral collapse” at Liberty University

John Fea   |  October 24, 2023

In case you don’t know what I am talking about in the title of this post, get up to speed here. I am sure that Liberty University and its supporters will dismiss French’s piece as yet another hit job by […]

The curse of Ted Cruz

John Fea   |  October 24, 2023

In case you missed it, last night the Texas Rangers won game seven of the American League Championship Series over the Houston Astros and are headed to the World Series against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Arizona Diamondback (they […]

REVIEW: The Two-Parent Privilege

Ivana Greco   |  October 24, 2023

When it comes to childhood poverty, marriage makes a difference

“Living As Humans in A Machine Age:” reflections on this year’s Front Porch Republic conference

Dixie Dillon Lane   |  October 24, 2023

What unites the Front Porch Republic folk? Reflections from this year’s conference.

The CURRENT store is open!

John Fea   |  October 23, 2023

I know you have all wanted to get your hands on Current merchandise! 🙂 Check out our ETSY Store here. We are starting small, but hope to add more items over the coming months. The purchase of a shirt or […]

What “really happened” when the 16th-century explorers to America returned to Spain

John Fea   |  October 23, 2023

Here is Saturday Night Live:

When was America great?

John Fea   |  October 23, 2023

Donald Trump wants to “make America great again.” But when was America great? Was it 1776? The Gilded Age? The 1950s? The 1980s? “Greatness” is not a historical category of analysis. We can certainly report on people in the past […]

How big is Africa?

John Fea   |  October 23, 2023

As this map shows, the continental United States, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, most of Eastern Europe, Greece, India, Japan, and China can all fit inside the continent of Africa. HT: Sam Wineburg

Evangelical roundup for October 23, 2023

John Fea   |  October 23, 2023

What is happening in Evangelical land? If Christianity Today‘s reporting is correct, Argentinian evangelical voters are more concerned about political corruption and the economy than abortion. I appreciate the fact that National Public Radio contacted historian Daniel Hummel for this […]

Friends and Relations, Part II

Elizabeth Stice   |  October 23, 2023

There are times when our desire for moral clarity can lead to us being complicit, or worse, in events far from our ken.

LONG FORM: The Responsibility of Time

Robert Erle Barham   |  October 23, 2023

The son of a Louisiana statesman looks back at the world of Huey P. Long

David French: “The Worst Scandal in American Higher Education Isn’t in the Ivy League.”

John Fea   |  October 22, 2023

When you have a free moment check out the website or twitter feed of Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center. You will find articles with titles like this: “Why Young Evangelicals Are in Danger of Becoming Puppets for Climate Marxism.” […]

Sunday night odds and ends

John Fea   |  October 22, 2023

A few things online that caught my attention this week: Historians tell ghost stories George Will compares Trump to George Wallace. The United Auto Workers strike is still going. Here is a piece comparing Shawn Fain to Walter Reuther. The […]

What do landscaping, vanilla lattes, and Current have in common?

John Fea   |  October 22, 2023

Not much. Except for this:

If you want a revealing glimpse into the MAGA evangelical movement, check out the responses to Russell Moore’s recent tweet.

John Fea   |  October 21, 2023

Sometimes there are small moments that illuminate much larger social and cultural patterns. Historians are always looking for these moments. I thus hope future historians of evangelicalism will find this post. After Joe Biden’s speech to the nation on Thursday […]

Steven Mintz on ethics education in American universities

John Fea   |  October 20, 2023

I am a regular reader of University of Houston historian Steven Mintz’s blog at Insider Higher Ed. In his most recent post, he responds to Ezekiel Emanuel’s New York Times op-ed on ethics education in American universities. We wrote about […]

The “most radical thing” universities “have accomplished in the 21st century is hiking their tuition rates and plunging millions…further into debt”

John Fea   |  October 20, 2023

Here is Bates College environmental studies professor Tyler Austin Harper at The Atlantic: The most popular major at Harvard, Yale, and many other supposedly leftist universities is economics—not exactly the subject of choice for aspiring anti-capitalists. At the University of […]

N.T. Wright on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and vocation

John Fea   |  October 20, 2023

Readers of this blog know that I am a big N.T. Wright fan. His book on the resurrection, The Resurrection of the Son of God, strengthened my Christian faith. Today I want to call your attention to Wright’s new book […]

Jim Jordan takes a third shot at the House speakership. This time he’s invoking the Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong, and 2 Timothy 4:7

John Fea   |  October 20, 2023

As I type, the House of Representatives is about to consider Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s candidacy for Speaker of the House. On the first vote, Jordan was unable to garner the 217 votes he needed. 20 Republicans voted against him. […]

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