“Being woke is like a magic moral time machine where you judge everybody against what you would have done in 1066 and you always win.”–Bill Maher Yes, of course the past informs the present. But that is only part of […]
historical thinking
Bernard Bailyn: “Historians know how it all came out, but the people of the time didn’t”
In this 2010 lecture, the late Harvard historian Bernardo Bailyn says: Historians know how it all came out, but the people of the time didn’t. The most important things in their lives was the uncertainty. We haven’t got a clue […]
Joan Scott and David Bell debate history, presentism and power
In the wake of AHA president’s James Sweet’s “controversial” column in Historical Perspectives, David Bell of Princeton and Joan Scott of the Institute of Advanced Study have responded at The Chronicle of Higher Education. (See our coverage here and here […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Why history matters
Over at Inside Higher Ed, historian Steven Mintz reflects on Richard Cohen’s Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped the Past. The entire piece is definitely worth your time. Here is a taste: In 1879, Albion W. TourgĂ©e anonymously published a […]
Bad history has consequences
Yesterday in my Historical Methods and Age of Hamilton classes I took some to talk about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In my Historical Methods class I could not pass up the chance to take our conversations about public history, […]
Why did the chicken cross the road? Historians respond.
University of Chicago historian Kathleen Belew is teaching her students how different kinds of historians might respond to this age old question: Here are some the answers she has received:
The latest Christian Right critique of the 1619 Project is full of problems. Let’s break it down.
Jerry Newcombe is a writer and local Florida radio host who comes out of the D. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church of Ft. Lauderdale) wing of conservative evangelicals. He is also the president of a Christian nationalist historical organization […]
Pope Francis says “cancel culture” is a form of “one-track thinking”
On Monday, the Pope had some interesting things to say about cancel culture and tried to offer a lesson in historical thinking. Here is the relevant part of his address to the Vatican’s Diplomatic Corps: The diminished effectiveness of many […]
David Barton’s son talks slavery and Black history with sportswriter Jason Whitlock. It is a train wreck.
Tim Barton, the son of David Barton, appeared on sports writer Jason Whitlock‘s show “Fearless.” The show is part of Glenn Beck’s “Blaze Media.” Whitlock joined Blaze Media because he “wanted to partner with people who wouldn’t look at me […]
The “Umbrella Man” is back
Tonight is the first night of content in my “Introduction to History” course. I love using this video to teach historical thinking, especially causality, complexity, and contingency: I discuss how I use this video on page 10-11 in Why Study […]
History teachers: The “skills-versus-content” debate rests on a false dichotomy
Over the last few decades, history educators and the scholars who shape the field of history education have stressed the teaching of historical thinking skills as essential to good pedagogy. This emphasis, I would argue, emerged as a response to […]
Matthew Karp critiques the “stamped from the beginning” approach to history
Princeton historian Matthew Karp offers a stinging criticism of the “stamped from the beginning” view of American history. Here is a taste of his Harper’s piece “History as End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past.” Whatever birthday it […]
Historian Steven Mintz reimagines the U.S. survey
There is a lot in this piece at Inside Higher Ed. Here is a small taste: What should we do? The first step is to clarify, in our own minds, what students ought to get out of these survey courses. […]
The Tampa Bay Times rejects “just the facts” history
History teaching begins with facts. But history teaching that stops with “just the facts” is not history teaching. Historians think about “what happened” in context. They think about facts in relations to other facts, leading them to tell complex stories […]
“No, getting vaccinated isn’t like being forced to wear a yellow star”
When it comes to understanding the present, historical analogies can only do so much. For a nice introduction to the use of historical analogies check out Current Managing Editor Jay Green’s essay “Public Reasoning by Historical Analogy: Some Christian Reflections” […]
What the heck is Rick Santorum talking about?
Please do not get your American history from my former U.S. Senator. Here is part of a recent lecture to the Young America’s Foundation: Let’s just get some facts straight: Some, but not all, Europeans came to North America to […]