The Christian Right gets George W. Bush another term. Episode 45: “Election Day: 2004” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is a teaser: If you like what you […]
Way of Improvement
What I love about James Sweet’s piece on presentism
I wanted to get these tweets on record here at the blog. Also, some readers of the blog are not Twitter. I’m not going to go into background, but I encourage you to get up to speed here. Again, I […]
Doug Mastriano’s connection to the dominionist New Apostolic Reformation movement
Good reporting here from Jennifer Cohn of the Bucks County (PA) Beacon on 7 Mountain Dominionism, the “Watchman’s Decree,” and Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. Here is a taste: In Pennsylvania, N[ew] A[Apostolic] R[eformation]. apostle Jacobs’ prayer network is led […]
Evangelical roundup for August 22, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Anabaptist World remembers Ron Sider. Greg Williams reviews Katelyn Beaty, Celebrities for Jesus. A celebrity for Jesus endorses Celebrities for Jesus: Beth Moore, the “queen of evangelicalism“ 31 North Carolina United Methodist congregations want […]
Sunday night odds and ends
A few things online that caught my attention this week: Dwight Garner reviews Jared Kushner’s “soulless” memoir. But is it a “hit piece?” One of the North Andover middle schoolers on her work in “ending witchcraft” in Salem. David Brooks […]
The James Sweet/AHA blowup
I commented on Sweet’s piece here and here (including a long comment below the post). I thought it was well-done and a necessary reminder that the American Historical Association is made up of many historians, including those who are not […]
More on Doug Mastriano’s Christian nationalism
I was glad to help WITF’s Sam Dunklau with this story. Listen here: Or read the longer piece here. A taste: As state budget talks went into overtime last month, a dozen or so Republican lawmakers gathered in front of […]
The Author’s Corner with Jeroen Dewulf
Jeroen Dewulf is Queen Beatrix Professor in the Department of German & Dutch Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. This interview is based on his new book, Afro-Atlantic Catholics: America’s First Black Christians (University of Notre Dame Press, 2022). […]
Response to Malcolm Foley
Malcolm Foley directs the Black Church Studies Program at Truett Seminary in Waco. Today at the Anxious Bench he responded to my post on AHA president James Sweet’s article on presentism. I responded to the piece in the comments section […]
When Eugene Debs eulogized John Brown
While he was campaigning for president in 1908, the candidate of the Socialist Party of America stopped in Harper’s Ferry and eulogized John Brown. Jacobin has published Debs’s remarks. Here is a taste: As I stand here on this spot […]
On the death of the Aspen Times
I have always loved newspapers. I was an editor on my high school paper and subscribed to Columbia Journalism Review when I was sixteen or seventeen years old. I also love reading stories about newspapers and support efforts to strengthen […]
CNN cancels “Reliable Sources.” Brian Stelter is out
Too bad. Reliable Sources was one of my favorite CNN shows. I tried to watch it every week because host Brian Stelter often had thoughtful guests, including scholars, on the show. I especially enjoyed his critiques of Fox News during […]
What is popular this week at Current?
Here are the most popular features of the week at Current: Michial Farmer: “Treasure of the Broken Land“ Thomas Hibbs, “Last Call“ Christina Bieber Lake, “Top Gun: The Joys We Can Imagine. The Joys We (Still) Can’t.” John Fea, “How to […]
What Liz Cheney forgot to mention on Tuesday night about U.S. Grant and the end of the Civil War
On Tuesday night, Liz Cheney referenced General Ulysses S. Grant’s leadership of the Union army in 1864: In May of 1864, after years of war, and a string of reluctant Union generals, Ulysses S. Grant met General Lee’s forces at […]
The president of the American Historical Association on presentism
James H. Sweet is correct. Historians these days seem more interested in interpreting the past through the lens of the present. Here is a taste of his piece at Perspectives: Twenty years ago, in these pages, Lynn Hunt argued “against […]
Evangelical roundup for August 18, 2022
What is happening in Evangelical land? Scot McKnight reviews Katlyn Beaty’s Celebrities for Jesus. Tim Keller on the differences between pastors in big and small churches: An evangelical woman reflects on her pursuit of a Masters of Divinity. More on […]
Tom Nichols: “The United States now faces a different kind of violence, from people who believe in nothing…”
Political scientist Tom Nichols largely rejects the comparison between our current age and the United States Civil War. As he puts it, “at least the Civil war…was about something.” Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic: The […]
National Endowment for the Humanities funds 226 projects
Read the press release here. These funded projects caught my eye: Northern Arizona University Outright: $189,860[Landmarks of American History and Culture]Project Director: Richardo GuthrieProject Title: Racialized Spaces on Route 66Project Description: A combined virtual and residential program for 72 K–12 […]
“Capture the schools”
University of Pennsylvania education historian Jonathan Zimmerman reflects on the wars over history in schools. A taste: Last year, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon likewise called on right-wing Americans to capture the schools. “The path to save the nation is […]
In sixty years American society has moved from “we shall overcome” to “you will not replace us”
Over at Zocalo Public Square, writer David Ulin offers some reflections on Joan Didion’s 1967 essay “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” and how her words continue to resonate. Here is a taste: What we’re seeing is not a matter of disagreement or […]