Not familiar with this controversy? Get up to speed here. Here is a taste of Will’s Washington Post column: “In the sandbox also known as academic, it’s the golden age of the grovel“: Today, many academic historians, writing history “that […]
Way of Improvement
Catholic historian Christopher Shannon discusses Catholic and Evangelical historiography
If you have been reading Current this week you may have noticed that we featured an interview with historian Christopher Shannon and a review of his new book American Pilgrimage: A Historical Journey Through Catholic Life in a New World. […]
Why did conservative publisher Regnery pull Dinesh D’Souza’s “2,000 Mules” book?
Perhaps the title of this post should have been, “When you lose Regnery….” Here is Tom Dreisbach at NPR: For months, the conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza teased that the book version of his widely debunked film “2,000 Mules” would provide compelling new […]
“Nine in 10 living humans were born after Elizabeth II became queen”
70 years is a long time. Here is Philip Bump at The Washington Post: Queen Elizabeth II’s death Thursday afternoon brings an end to one of the longest leadership tenures in world history. For parts of eight decades, Elizabeth served as […]
Professor: “May [Queen Elizabeth’s] pain be excruciating”
Recently someone criticized me for suggesting that there are those on the political left whose rhetoric is just as damaging as those on the right. In response to this critic I offer the case of Uju Anya, a professor of […]
Andrew Sullivan reacts to the death of Queen Elizabeth
It’s really interesting to hear from a conservative like Sullivan who clearly loves his home country. Sullivan’s tweet about Elizabeth’s character is particularly poignant. I am sure he will write something longer on the queen’s death, but for now here […]
Oberlin College pays more than $36 million to a local bakery to settle a racial profiling case
Here is Anemona Hartocollis of The New York Times: Oberlin College, known as a bastion of progressive politics, said on Thursday that it would pay $36.59 million to a local bakery that said it had been defamed and falsely accused […]
Eugene Robinson remembers Queen Elizabeth II
The Washington Post columnist calls the queen “the last of her kind.” Here is a taste: I was The Post’s London bureau chief in the early 1990s, when Charles’s marriage to Princess Diana was falling apart in the worst possible […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: John Fea, “How to Be an Activist Historian“ Timothy Larsen, “REVIEW: How’s that Post-Christian Thing Goin’ for Ya?“ Nadya Williams, “Gorbachev’s Legacy: Moscow (Still) Doesn’t Believe in Tears“ John Fea, […]
Evangelical roundup for September 8, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Creation care and Georgia evangelicals. Racism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center continues to promote this guy: Evangelicals want more Christians in America. Latino evangelicals Anne Kennedy of The […]
Critical race theory opponents at Grove City College are still not satisfied
As the new academic year begins, the anti-CRT crowd at Grove City College is still not happy. Get up to speed on this story here. Here is the latest post at the “Save GCC from CRT” website: On May 13, […]
Chris Lehmann remembers Barbara Ehrenreich
We lost a great cultural critic and writer last week. I have benefited immensely over the years from Barbara Ehrenreich‘s work on social class in America. She is well-known for her 2001 book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By […]
Can the GOP be saved?
No. Or at least that’s what longtime Republican insider and former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol believes. The guy who tried to tap David French to run against Donald Trump in 2016 is now organizing to defeat pro-Trump candidates in […]
Eugene Debs: “We never hear of Capital Day, not because Capital has no day, but because every day is Capital Day.”
OK–I realize I am a day late here, but if you read Eugene Debs‘s 1903 Labor Day message you will understand why that is OK. According to Debs, “The struggle in which we are now engaged will end only when […]
How the populist tables have turned
Over Labor Day weekend I reread Michael Kazin‘s 1998 book The Populist Persuasion: An American History and was once again reminded that throughout the course of our nation’s history populism has appeared on both the right and the left. (For […]
GOP success in November rests on the votes of women
Republican women voters are skeptical about the direction their party is moving and there is a good chance they will voice their skepticism in the November 2022 Senate races. Here is Natalie Allison at Politico: Republicans this election cycle thought […]
The Author’s Corner with Jane Hooper
Jane Hooper is Associate Professor of History and Director of Undergraduate History Programs at George Mason University. This interview is based on her new book, Yankees in the Indian Ocean: American Commerce and Whaling, 1786–1860 (Ohio University Press, 2022). JF: […]
The Author’s Corner with Zach Fredman
Zach Fredman is Assistant Professor of History at Duke Kunshan University. This interview is based on his new book, The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941–1949 (University of North Carolina Press, 2022). JF: What led you […]
Evangelical roundup for September 5, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Should Labor Day be a Christian holiday? Lisa Sharon Harper on Biden’s Philadelphia speech (thread) Fox News covers Michael Gerson’s scathing anti-Trump column. Tim Keller being Tim Keller: Evangelical leaders respond to the Matt […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Barbara Ehrenreich, RIP Historian Michael Kazin on Labor Day The difference between economists and historians “When in this story does Michael Corleone really become an American?” Oliver Cromwell in America […]