Historians/History

Was Philip Foner Guilty of Plagiarism?

On May 23, 2003 Melvyn Dubofsky revealed on H-Labor, a scholarly discussion group, that his dissertation had been plagiarized by the late Philip Foner, author of more than forty books on the history of American labor. Mr. Dubofysky' s post prompted a vigorous exchange over the next few days. Selections follow.MELVYN DUBOFSKY

Why Haifa University Cancelled My Conference

by Ilan Pappe

Three weeks ago, my colleague in the University of Haifa, Dr. Asa’d Gahnim of the department of political science suggested convening a conference on the 1948 historiography. We agreed to present in the conference the recent developments in both the Israeli and Palestinian historiography on the 1948 war and Nakbah. He and Salman Natur were asked to introduce the recent critical trends in the Palestinian side (with particular stress on works which

My Brooklyn College Tenure Battle

by KC Johnson

On February 24, 2003, I received promotion to full professor with tenure by a vote of the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York, upon on the recommendation of Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. Goldstein himself acted upon the advice of a select committee of distinguished CUNY faculty outside of Brooklyn College, one of the senior colleges in the CUNY system.  This is not the usual way in which a candidate with solid credentials in sch

Bruce Cole's Obsession with History

by Rachel DiCarlo

Bruce Cole, the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, wants to put the "H" back in NEH. His two Clinton-administration predecessors had other priorities for the agency--a "national conversation" on diversity, and greater attention to regional and popular culture. Cole is making it his mission to tackle what he calls Americans' "collective amnesia" about their history. Himself a historian of art specializing in the Renaissance, Col

Why We Don't Need More Students Majoring in Middle East Studies

by Martin Kramer

Niall Ferguson, the historian who goes back and forth between New York University and Jesus College, Oxford, had an essay entitled "The Empire Slinks Back," in the New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago. After describing himself as a "member of the neoimperialist gang," he questions whether Americans have the staying power to maintain a far-flung empire in places like Iraq. It's a good question, and I share his doubts. It's his solution that's dubious.

I Don't Feel I Need to Apologize

by Laurie A. Brand

Among the predictions about the war that didn't pan out, there is one that hasn't been subjected to post-war ridicule, but that very much deserves it. This is the December letter, signed by over 1,000 academics, predicting and warning against Israel's possible "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians in the "fog of war." The letter ended with this recommendation: "We urge our government to communicate clearly to the government

Why My Book About Spain Upset the Spanish

by Henry Kamen

Outraged Spanish conservatives have turned against an historian for daring to question the idea that bravery, patriotism and belief in a Christian god were the key values of the Conquistadores who created Spain's new world empire. The historian, Henry Kamen, has been accused of "rubbishing the history of Spain" and "destroying the foundations of the Spanish empire", in his book, Empire. How Spain became a world power (

Should History Be Taught Backwards?

One of the unlikeliest subjects to catch fire in the world of bloggers is the desirability of teaching history backwards. Below are comments recently posted by three well-known bloggers, including HNN's Thomas Spencer.THINKING IT THROUGH (AKA: THOMAS SPENCER) 4-29-03Hey, people are talking about teaching history in the blogosphere -- and I was out of pocket to talk about

Mr. Foner Vs. Mr. Horowitz

by Nathan Williams

"Just click into History News Network which regularly publishes scurrilous, if not libelous, attacks on historians including myself, often with no basis in fact whatsoever, and that's their freedom of speech, but I hope nobody here takes that stuff seriously."These were the charges leveled by Columbia history professor Eric Foner at the 2003 OAH convention, as reported by HNN on April 8

The Disturbing Case of Dino Cinel

by Sebastian Fichera

Published in 1982 to widespread acclaim, From Italy to San Francisco (Stanford University Press), a history of that city's Italian community, came to serve as the launch pad of a brilliant academic career for its author, Dino Cinel. It won him the Merle Curti Award in Social History for 1984 and just a few years later helped him secure a Distinguished Professor of Italian-American Studies at City University of New York. When the Agnelli Foundation sponsored a

Is Noam Chomsky Anti-American?

by David Webster

Following is a comment made by Mr. Webster in the course of an exchange on H-Diplo in early April. It was in response to a comment by Russil Wvong, who questioned Noam Chomsky's use of quotations. While I am not a Chomskyan, I must confess that the notorious Professor Chomsky is among the contributors to an upcoming book I am editing on East Timor, and I feel compelled to say a word on this topic, even among people obviously more versed. Chomsky is of course not a diplomati

The Petition Middle East Scholars Would Rather Forget

by Martin Kramer

Among the predictions about the war that didn't pan out, there is one that hasn't been subjected to post-war ridicule, but that very much deserves it. This is the December letter, signed by over 1,000 academics, predicting and warning against Israel's possible "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians in the "fog of war." The letter ended with this recommendation: "We urge our government to communicate clearly to

Coaches Shouldn't Teach History

by Diane Ravitch

Testimony Ms. Ravitch gave on April 10, 2003 in support of a bill by Sen. Lamar Alexander to promote the teaching of history. History education is one of the most important responsibilities of our schools. Unfortunately, for many years, the teaching of history had a low priority. In the 1970s and 1980s, history in many schools was replaced by a mishmash of ill-defined social studies courses that taught things like group decision-making, consumer education, and social science

Did the OAH Stack the Panel Devoted to the War in Iraq?

by Ronald Radosh

THE WEEKEND OF APRIL 5, the Organization of American Historians (OAH)--the leading association of professors of American history--held its annual meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. The best-attended event, televised live by C-SPAN, was a panel discussion entitled "Historians Reflect on the War in Iraq." Before a packed audience of OAH members, five historians presented five takes on why it was necessary to oppose the war. Not one audience member begged to differ--at a time when p

Nicholas De Genova Explains What He Meant When He Called for a Million Mogadishus

by HNN Staff

At a teach-in at Columbia University in March Nicholas De Genova, assistant professor of anthropology and Latino studies, said that he wanted Iraq to defeat the United States and that he hoped for a"million Mogadishus." His comment ignited a storm of protest. The president of Columbia, Lee Bollinger, called the remarks"outrageous." After a story in Newsweek 104 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a petition demanding that he be fired. (He is untenured.) Unive

2.5 Cheers for Bridging the Gap Between Activism and the Academy

by Jesse Lemisch

The following article is based on remarks Mr. Lemisch delivered at an April 2002 conference held at Columbia University on the history of activism.Being an activist is a necessary prerequisite for historians who want to see through the reigning lies, and I take it as a given that we must be activists. Activist experience gives the historian experiential understanding of the power of the state, repression, social change, agency, surprise in history, the distortions p

OAH Annual Meeting: What Historians Against the War Want

by Rick Shenkman

Friday night, April 4, at the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH), Memphis, Tennessee, downtown Marriott. After a feisty debate, a group of some fifty historians decided to try to persuade the executive board of the OAH to adopt the following resolution in support of free speech: In view of the threat to free speech in the current climate, the OAH executive board affirms the centrality of dissent in American history and the necessity of open

Does HNN Screen Articles for Vituperative Statements?

At the 2003 annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians, Eric Foner, past president of the OAH, criticized HNN. Mr. Foner said: Today also, statements about history that in normal times might be considered uncontroversial are regularly labeled treasonous. If you don't believe me, just click into History News Network which regularly publishes scurrilous, if not libelous, attacks on historians including myself, often with no basis in fact whatsoever, and that's their

Why Liberal Historians Opposed to the War Are Sounding Shrill

by Ronald Radosh

Americans already know what the Hollywood community thinks of the war to liberate Iraq, and they are fairly disgusted. Entertainers are disdained for using their celebrity as a tool to drum up dissension regarding the war and for crude attacks on President Bush for being both "dumb" and a "cowboy." Far more important, however, are the attitudes of many in the intellectual community, whose analyses of the issues are more serious and, in the long run, more consequenti

Reporter's Notebook: The 2003 Annual Meeting of the OAH

by Rick Shenkman

HEADLINESATTENDANCE More than 2,400 historians attended the 2003 annual meeting of the OAH held in Memphis. Executive Director Lee Formwalt told HNN that this was a near record. He noted that only 1800 had pre-registered. Attendance was expected to be down because of the war and the fear of terrorism. Formwalt said that the high attendance put the organization safely in the black.BYRD GRANTS Some 500 high school teachers attend