The Chronicle of Higher Education talks with Vanderbilt University historian Brandon Byrd about his recent article “The Rise of African American Intellectual History.” Here is a taste of the interview: An old-guard intellectual historian like Perry Miller depended almost exclusively […]
American intellectual history
The Author’s Corner with Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen
Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen is the Merle Curti Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This interview is based on her new book, The Ideas That Made America: A Brief History (Oxford University Press, 2019). JF: What led you to write The Ideas...
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Intellectualism and Anti-Intellectualism in the Age of Trump
Here is a taste of Adam Water‘s and E.J. Dionne‘s recent piece at Dissent: “Is Anti-Intellectualism Ever Good for Democracy?” Intellectuals are not entitled to special privileges, and “intellectualism” should not be seen as a superior way of life. But the...
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The Author’s Corner with Adriaan Neele
Adriaan Neele is the Director of the Doctoral Program and Professor of Historical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. This interview is based on his new book, Before Jonathan Edwards: Sources of New England Theology (Oxford University Press, 2019). JF: What inspired...
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The Author’s Corner with Daniel Rodgers
Daniel Rodgers is Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University. This interview is based on his new book As a City on a Hill: The Story of America’s Most Famous Lay Sermon (Princeton University Press, 2018). JF: What led you to...
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Was America Born Capitalist?
We are working hard to get Princeton University historian Daniel Rodgers on the podcast. He is the author of As a City Upon a Hill: The Story of America’s Most Famous Lay Sermon. (He will be featured on the Author’s...
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American Lonesome
I just learned about Gavin Cologne-Brookes new study of Bruce Springsteen’s music, American Lonesome: The Work of Bruce Springsteen. LSU Press will publish it in November. Here is a description from the LSU Press website: American Lonesome: The Work of Bruce...
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Marx in America
The U.S. Intellectual History blog is running a fascinating interview with historian Andrew Hartman about his current research on Karl Marx’s influence on the United States. The interview was conducted by Slagmark, a Danish intellectual history journal. Here is a small...
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Missionaries in the “Era of Good Feelings”
On Tuesday, we called your attention to Sara Georgini’s series on the “Era of Good Feelings” at the U.S. Intellectual History Blog. The series continues with a piece by Emily Conroy-Krutz of Michigan State University. Some of you may recall...
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The Society for U.S. Intellectual History Releases 2017 Conference Schedule
As usual, it’s a great lineup. The meeting will take place October 26-29, 2017 in Dallas. Good to see so many friends of The Way of Improvement Leads Home on the program. Here are the plenaries: Opening Plenary: “Public History...
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The Author’s Corner with Kevin J. Hayes
Kevin J. Hayes, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma, now lives and writes in Toledo, Ohio. This interview is based on his new book, George Washington, A Life in Books (Oxford University Press, 2017). JF: What...
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The Mind of George Washington
Historian Kevin Hayes has a new book out on the reading habits of George Washington. (Kevin, if you are out there I would love to interview for the Author’s Corner. I can’t seem to find an e-mail address. Thanks). He...
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Plenary Sessions Announced for the 2017 Conference of the Society for U.S. Intellectual History in Dallas
The folks at the Society for U.S. Intellectual History have been putting together some great annual conferences of late. The 2017 meeting in Dallas is shaping up to be a real intellectual history-fest. I was recently asked to participate in...
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Obama the Historian
Check out Jennifer Schuessler’s New York Times piece on Barack Obama’s use of history during his presidency. Here is a taste: True, Mr. Obama may be unlikely to emulate Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and follow his years in the...
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Vernon L. Parrington and Oklahoma Football
If you’re like me, you know the name Vernon L. Parrington from your graduate-level course in American historiography. Parrington won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1928 for his book Main Currents of American Thought. Post-war students of intellectual history got...
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New Perspectives on the Black Intellectual Tradition
This looks like a great conference. Here is a taste: The upcoming year promises to be an exciting one for the African American Intellectual History Society. Not only is the organization undergoing a period of tremendous growth, it is also...
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Tim Lacy Weighs-In On Mark Noll’s *Scandal of the Evangelical Mind*
Tim Lacy, one of the catalysts behind the revival of American intellectual history in the United States, has finally had a chance to read The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark Noll’s love letter to his fellow evangelicals urging them...
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What is a Public Intellectual?
I wish I was at the Annual Meeting of the United States Intellectual History (USIH) Society going on right now in Washington D.C. Thanks to some great tweeters–especially Jonathan Wilson–I have been able to get a decent sense of what...
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Society for U.S. Intellectual History Conference
This conference is loaded. Here is the press release from Andrew Hartman:Judging by the number of alarmist recent articles about the decline of the humanities, it seems apparent that the humanities—history, philosophy, languages—are embattled disciplines in American higher education. But […]
The Author’s Corner with Kevin Schultz
Kevin Schultz is Associate Professor of History, Catholic Studies, and Religious Studies and Associate Chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois-Chicago. This interview is based on his latest book Buckley and Mailer: The Difficult Friendship That...
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