Christen Mucher is Associate Professor of American Studies at Smith College. This interview is based on her new book, Before American History: Nationalist Mythmaking and Indigenous Dispossession (University of Virginia Press, 2022). JF: What led you to write Before American...
nationalism
The Author’s Corner with Maurizio Valsania
Maurizio Valsania is Professor of American History at the University of Turin. This interview is based on his new book, First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). JF: What led you...
Critics of liberalism; critics of national conservativism
I missed this when it appeared last month. Several intellectuals, many from the world of religion and theology, published “An Open Letter Responding to the NatCon ‘Statement of Principles.’” Signers include Paul Griffiths, David Bentley Hart, Eugene McCarraher, John Milbank,...
The Author’s Corner with John Bodnar
John Bodnar is Emeritus Professor of History at Indiana University Bloomington. This interview is based on his new book, Divided by Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11 (The University of North Carolina Press, 2021). JF: What led you to write Divided...
Why do conservatives love Hungary so much?
I’ve been reading-up on this lately and hope to write something intelligent soon. In the meantime, I found Damon Linker’s piece at The Week helpful. Here is a taste: Trump’s big win was thrilling for many on the American right,...
Why are some conservatives going to Hungary?
Tucker Carlson is broadcasting this week from Budapest. Why? Damon Linker explains at The Week. Here is a taste: Fans of Carlson’s top-rated prime time show on Fox News learned Monday that he would be broadcasting all week from Budapest, where he would...
What is patriotism?
George Will uses his syndicated column this week to review Steven B. Smith’s book Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. Here is a taste: Some on the right mistake their compound of grievances and resentments for patriotism. This mentality...
Will America survive without religion?
This is such a great essay by Shadi Hamid. He suggests that American democracy requires a common creed. Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic: The notion that all deeply felt conviction is sublimated religion is not new....
Teaching Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
This is a revised and updated version of a post originally published on March 6, 2020: After a couple weeks focusing on “creation” in my Created Called for Community (CCC) course at Messiah University, we have shifted gears slightly to focus on the...
Webinar: “Understanding Religion and Populism”
I am happy to join journalist Kalpana Jain of The Conversation and Ann Peters of The Pulitzer Center for this conversation at Georgetown’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. The webinar is open to the public. March 5,...
The United States: A nation of ideals
Over Zocalo, author Colin Woodard endorses civic nationalism over ethno-nationalism. Here is a taste: The civic nationalist story of America that [Charles] Bancroft envisioned still has the potential to unify the country. Its essential covenant is to ensure freedom and...
Episode 83: Celebrity in the Early American Republic
In this episode we talk with Carolyn Eastman, author of The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity. Eastman chronicles the life of James Ogilvie, an itinerant orator who became one of the most...