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business history

What happened to Kodak?

John Fea   |  June 25, 2021

The once great photography company is now in the pharmaceuticals business. Here is a taste of Kaitlyn Tiffany’s piece at The Atlantic: In 1993, the year I was born, the blood was in the water. Kodak replaced Whitmore—who had not been...

Episode 55: The History of “Free Enterprise”

  |  October 6, 2019

In conservative political circles, the idea of “free enterprise” is revered with a religious zeal. This is especially interesting as these political ideals are often held by evangelical Christians. Host John Fea explores American religious history’s “business turn.” They are joined...

Slavery Was America’s First Big Business

John Fea   |  August 17, 2019

Cornell University history professor Ed Baptist talks with Vox‘s P.R. Lockhart about his 2014 book The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.  Here is a taste: P.R. Lockhart When you talk about the sort...

The Author’s Corner with Caitlin Rosenthal

John Fea   |  August 23, 2018

Caitlin Rosenthal is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley.  This interview is based on her new book Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management (Harvard University Press, 2018). JF: What led you to write Accounting for Slavery? CR: Right out...

Can a Cake Business Personify Christian Values?

John Fea   |  June 8, 2018

Lawrence B. Glickman teaches American history at Cornell University.  In this very interesting piece at Boston Review, he wonders why the Supreme Court continues to treat businesses as people.  And why does the Court continue to favor the rights of businesses...

The Author’s Corner with Amanda Porterfield

John Fea   |  March 29, 2018

Amanda Porterfield is Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion at Florida State University. This interview is based on her new book, Corporate Spirit: Religion and the Rise of the Modern Corporation (Oxford University Press, 2018).  JF: What led you to write Corporate Spirit?...

Do Business Schools Belong in Universities?

John Fea   |  February 20, 2018

For Miami (OH) University historian professor Steven Conn, the answer is clearly “no.” Over at The Chronicle of Higher Education, Conn makes his case. Here is a taste: It is hard to shake the conclusion that business schools have largely failed —...

The Author's Corner with Edward Gray

  |  May 3, 2016

Edward Gray is Professor of History at Florida State University. This interview is based on his new book, Tom Paine’s Iron Bridge: Building a United States (W. W. Norton & Company, 2016). JF: What led you to write Tom Paine’s...

The Author’s Corner with Calvin Schermerhorn

John Fea   |  May 18, 2015

Calvin Schermerhorn is Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University. This interview is based on his new book The Business of Slavery and the Rise of American Capitalism, 1815-1860 (Yale University Press, April 2015). JF: What led you to write The Business...

The Explosive Growth of Walmart

John Fea   |  August 30, 2012

A very cool graphic can be found here....

A Chick-fil-A Primer

John Fea   |  August 2, 2012 2 Comments

Whether you bought a Chick-fil-A sandwich yesterday or decided to boycott the chain, you might find Darren Grem’s post at Religion in American History to be informative.  Grem, who teaches southern U.S. history at the University of Mississippi, is writing […]

Kazin: “No Successful Businessman Has Ever Been A Successful President”

John Fea   |  July 18, 2012

Michael Kazin of Georgetown explains why at The New Republic: A taste: This might seem odd, given Americans’ long romance with wealthy entrepreneurs and the enterprises they build. But a talent for developing private companies and making big profits seldom...

Darren Grem Receives Woodward Prize

John Fea   |  October 27, 2011

Congratulations to Darren Grem, the 2011 recipient of the C. Vann Woodward Dissertation Prize from The Southern Historical Association.  Grem recieved his Ph.D at the University of Georgia in 2010 and is currently doing a post-doc at Emory University. Paul...

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Episode 51: “The Politics of Tinky Winky”

January 27, 2023 By John Fea

He was Florida’s professor of the year in 2006. Today his courses would be illegal.

January 27, 2023 By John Fea

Zakaria: The nation’s policy on classified documents and “secrecy” is “out-of-control”

January 27, 2023 By John Fea

Teaching John Henry Newman’s “What is a University”

January 27, 2023 By John Fea

What is popular this week at Current?

January 27, 2023 By John Fea

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