Here is the veteran journalist’s recent piece at The Atlantic: The new fatalism has its own historical causes, and they’re not hard to see: the failures of the War on Terror and the neoliberal economy, stubborn inequality, the disappointments of […]
Search Results for: What can you do with a history major
Everything in season: why you will love and likely sometimes hate your alma mater
College is an interesting time. You get constant social approval for Chili’s and Taco Bell. Staying up all night to read Beowulf isn’t all that weird. You worry about “printer money” and parking and what you’re doing for spring break. […]
Mintz: History should be relevant, but not at the expense of nuance and complexity.
Check out Steven Mintz’s piece at Inside Higher Ed. Anyone who reads this blog will know that I agree with him. I’ve staked a lot on Mintz’s claim in the title of this post A taste: I understand that at […]
REVIEW: What Hath Law to Do with Democracy?
In de Dijn’s history of freedom, the relationship is not entirely clear
Historians Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer on the state of the Republican Party
The Princeton University historians are the editors of Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About our Past. Here is a taste of their recent interview with Vanity Fair: I know both of you are particularly public-facing […]
Why Everyone Is Watching Yellowstone. And Why You Should Too.
Can anything disarm our ignorance of the people we think we know?Â
Rep. Scott Perry references Frederick Douglass from the House floor. Historian David Blight is having none of it.
I have never voted for Scott Perry, but he does represent me in the United States House of Representatives. Perry is the chairman of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. He refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating January 6th […]
History in crisis
Historian Jon Lauck‘s editorial at Middle West Review has been making the rounds on social media. The piece is behind a paywall, but here are the first couple of paragraphs: You can see it in the empty chairs. History conferences […]
Heather Cox Richardson on writing history’s first draft
The Boston College history professor’s Letters from an American is the most read newsletter on Substack. Here is a taste of John Wolfson’s interview with Richardson at Boston College Magazine: How did Letters from an American get its start?I had a Facebook […]
REVIEW: A Winner’s History of the Catholic Church
John McGreevy’s story calls into question the future of the Church itself
“I think we have yet to find the limits, or the bottom, of who and what White evangelicals might justify in their allegiance to Trump and the Republican Party.”
The quote in the title is from Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. It comes from an interview with Jennifer Rubin […]
What do Americans think about Confederate flags and monuments?
Public Religion Research Institute just released a very revealing study about Confederate flag and Confederate monuments in America. You can read the entire report here. Here are a few of the findings that caught my attention: 72% of Americans believe […]
Advanced Placement African American Studies: a progress report
Back in August we brought your attention to Advanced Placement African American Studies. Sixty high schools around the country are piloting this new course during the 2022-2023 academic year. Over at CNN, Brandon Tensley reports on how things are going […]
White supremacy in American history textbooks
Over at Esquire, Abigail Covington interviews Harvard historian Donald Yacovone on his recent book, Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity. Here is taste: ESQUIRE: You make it very clear from the start that […]
Eric Foner: “We can’t accept the principle that the way to judge a course of study is by how much money you will make.”
Eric Foner reflects on his life as a historian in this interview with Nawal Arjini at New York Review of Books. A taste: Nawal Arjini: How did you come to specialize in Civil War history? Eric Foner: When I was in college in […]
LONG FORM: A Wrinkle in Journalism History
The recently resigned editor-in-chief of World has a story to tell—and a warning to offer
Gorbachev’s Legacy: Moscow (Still) Doesn’t Believe in Tears
Over three decades after his resignation ended the USSR, how much has changed?
Post-Dobbs America: Federalism Revived, Transformed
How useful are historical analogies in our new political era?
Annette Gordon-Reed on race in America
Chris Lehmann interviews the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian at Forum. Here is a taste: Chris Lehmann: In your recent book, On Juneteenth, you wrote very powerfully about the kind of stories that need to be told with regard to your experience growing […]
The Author’s Corner with Andrea McDowell
Andrea McDowell is Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law. This interview is based on her new book, We the Miners: Self-Government in the California Gold Rush (Harvard University Press, 2022). JF: What led you to write […]