Over at NBC News, Kelly Fields wonders if critical race theory and patriotism can co-exist in classrooms. I would argue that they can co-exist. But the piece also makes a good case for the study of history and civics. Here...
James Grossman
Can we have a history without historians?
The 1776 Commission. The 1619 Project. The renaming of San Francisco schools. I have weighed-in on all three of these cases and in every case I wondered why more historians were not involved. Here is James Grossman, director of the...
When a school board ignores history
The San Francisco Unified School District will change the name of 44 schools that honor historical figures, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere, Winfield Scott, Edward Everett, Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Francis Scott Key, Diane...
What counts as historical scholarship?
I occasionally interact with assistant professors who teach at research universities. They are often worried about meeting the requirements of tenure. They wonder if their articles have been published in journals that were “prestigious” enough. Will their monographs with university...
American Historical Association James Grossman on Research Access and Scholarly Equity
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxgQIAHX8kg&w=560&h=315] Here is Grossman at Perspectives on History: Access to research materials—both print and digital—is crucial for any historian engaged in scholarship and teaching. For historians working outside of well-resourced colleges and universities, gaining access to these materials has become...
AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman Invited Max Boot to the Annual Meeting
Some of you have been following Max Boot’s recent comments about historians and the public. You can get up to speed here and here. Over at the blog of the American Historical Association, Jim Grossman, the Executive Director of the...
Confederate Monuments Get Their Day in Congress
Over at AHA Today, Dane Kennedy reports on a congressional briefing about what to do with Confederate monuments. Here is a taste: A standing-room-only crowd gathered at the Rayburn House Office Building to hear three leading authorities on the subject—David...
A High School Student is Asking About Leopold von Ranke.
Apparently a high school student is sending e-mails to historians asking them about 19th-century German historian Leopold von Ranke. The student is interested in whether or not these historians believe in “objectivity” in the writing of history. As some of...
What Might a Ph.D in History Look Like in 2022?
Jim Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, has a vision. In his recent piece at The Chronicle of Higher Education, he imagines what an orientation for new doctoral students might look like in 2022. Here is a taste:...
Put Some Windex On It
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCIsIJ7nhY?ecver=2] Check out Ernie Smith’s “A Brief History of Window Cleaning” at Atlas Obscura. Indeed, as American Historical Association Executive Director (and guest on Episode 1 of our podcast) Jim Grossman likes to say, #everythinghasahistory. Here is a taste:...
What is Going on at Colonial Williamsburg?
Colonial Williamsburg trying to dig out of large financial hole. “A colonial shooting range” is part of the answer? https://t.co/l6AUEViCuq — Jim Grossman (@JimGrossmanAHA) June 30, 2017 Don’t forget the hatchet-throwing site, Jim! Colonial Williamsburg appears to be in trouble....
African American History on the Mall
Jim Grossman of the American Historian Association talks with Lonnie Bunch, the director of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. Enjoy: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd0n6SRFES4&w=560&h=315]...
From the Archives: Messiah College History Department in *The American Scholar*
This post originally ran at The Way of Improvement Leads Home on December 14, 2014–JF Anthony Grafton (Princeton University) and James Grossman (American Historical Association), the authors of the “No More Plan B” proposal that challenged graduate programs in history to think about training...
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...
Historically Black University Ends Its History Program
Lincoln University, a historically-black university in Jefferson City, Missouri, has decided to temporarily end its history program due to low enrollments. You can read all the details in this piece at Inside Higher Ed, but a couple of paragraphs in caught my...
History Isn't a "Useless Major"
Glad to see Jim Grossman, Executive Director of the American Historical Association, take to the pages of the Los Angeles Times to defend the history major today. Here is a taste of his op-ed: Yes, in the first few years after graduation,...
Why Historical Thinking Matters
If you still need to be convinced why the study of history is absolutely essential to American democracy, check out Mark Oppenheim‘s interview with Jim Grossman. Oppenheim runs m/Oppenheim Associates. He has a 30-year organizational consulting and search track record that...
"Again" is a Historical Claim
“Make American Great Again.” As AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman reminds us in his column in the May issue of Perspectives on History, Donald Trump’s use of the word “again” in this sentence suggests that he is making, whether he realizes...
Are You Listening to The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast?
On Tuesday we will drop Episode 6 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast. It will focus on the ways we narrate the past. Our guest will be Nate DiMeo, the host, chief storyteller, and producer of the wildly popular podcast...
Episode 1 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast Will Drop on Saturday
The moment you have all been waiting for is almost here! January 16, 2016 is the official drop date, on ITunes and at the blog, of Episode 1 of The Way of Improvement Leads Home podcast. Our producer, Drew Dyrli Hermeling,...