Over at Inside Higher Ed, historian Steven Mintz writes: “In a world increasingly shaped by secularism and scientific empiricism, a paradox emerges: the enduring belief that history has direction, meaning and purposeâa secularized form of providentialism. Once the realm of […]
Steven Mintz
Reviving intellectual life in the university is “more than simply promoting the humanities or encouraging interdisciplinary study”
Earlier today I posted on Steven Mintz’s categorization of university professors. Read it here and figure out where you fall in Mintz’s taxonomy. Mintz’s categorized professors as part of his larger thoughts on how to make universities less anti-intellectual. Here […]
What kind of professor are you?
Here’s a post for the academics who read this blog. Over at his Inside Higher Ed blog, historian Steve Mintz writes: “As an academic, Iâve encountered a complicated taxonomy of professors that goes beyond these stereotypes.” He suggests ten categories […]
Do assassinations “alter the course of history?”
Historian Steven Mintz offers some context: Do assassinsâ bullets hit their marks? Do these acts of violence redirect historical trajectories? In todayâs volatile political climate, questions like these are not merely of academic interest. Letâs take a look at the […]
“How is it…that work became culturally ascendant, and the pursuit of a career achieved a kind of centrality in the American psyche?”
It is strange to ask people, upon first meeting them, about their religion, political views, or leisure activities. But it is perfectly acceptable to ask them about their work. Over at Inside Higher Ed, historian Steven Mintz asks: Why do […]
Have we reached the end of U.S. history?
Here is historian Steven Mintz at Inside Higher Ed: Recently, a leading editor at a major academic press said bluntly that she wasnât aware of any breakthrough scholars in U.S. history under the age of 50. In response, IÂ mentioned several […]
Steven Mintz asks: “Can you be an activist and a serious scholar?”
Here is a taste of his piece at Insider Higher Ed: There is an important space where academia and activism intersect. “Public scholarship” and “engaged scholarshipâ can be invaluable in addressing social, political, and environmental issues. These works can provide rigorous […]
Mintz: “A hard rain is about to fall” on higher education
Here is the University of Houston historian at Inside Higher Ed. He is talking about higher education in the wake of this and this and the first paragraph of this. The events of the past few days will, I think, […]
Steven Mintz on ethics education in American universities
I am a regular reader of University of Houston historian Steven Mintz’s blog at Insider Higher Ed. In his most recent post, he responds to Ezekiel Emanuel’s New York Times op-ed on ethics education in American universities. We wrote about […]
Steven Mintz: “I find it stunning that the World Socialist Web Site remains the place to turn if one truly wants to understand…the controversies surrounding ‘The 1619 Project.'”
At his blog at Insider Higher Ed, University of Texas American historian Steven Mintz offers a brief review of both the AP African American Studies course and the American Historical Review‘s forum on the 1619 Project. His take on AP […]
Steven Mintz: A liberal education is a “distinctively American article of faith”
Here is the University of Houston historian at his Insider Higher Ed blog: No longer does the âsimple advice to high schoolers to âgo to collegeââ suffice. What one studies and where one studies matter greatly in terms of return […]
Steven Mintz on popular history
A thoughtful piece from a veteran American historian. Here is the University of Houston’s Steven Mintz at Inside Higher Ed: No one owns history. The key question in evaluating any historical work, whether by a professional or a nonspecialist, is quality and […]
What should a college graduate know about slavery?
Historian Steven Mintz offers twenty-three things any college graduate should know about slavery. I like the idea of this post, but I would be happy if my general education (non-majors) students knew a handful of these facts. Here is a […]
Are humanities scholars shirking their professional responsibilities?
Steven Mintz, a historian at the University of Houston, thinks so. Here is a taste of his recent blog post at Inside Higher Ed: Editors, Iâve discovered, are desperate to find scholars willing to review articles, prospectuses and book manuscripts. […]
“We need more nuance and respect for complexity in our public debates”
Over at Inside Higher Ed, historian Steven Mintz writes about bringing critical thinking to public life. Here is a taste: As Malcolm Gladwell observed in his 2005 best seller, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, intuition and snap judgments can […]
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 […]
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. […]