Roundup

Putting the Tenure Debate in Historical Perspective

by Adam Sitze

Academic tenure has much in common with the historial practice of lifetime appointments for judges. Why are academics reluctant to embrace the comparison? 

Satanic Panic Has Featured in American Politics Since the Revolution

by Zara Anishanslin

Revolutionary patriots used the symbol of the Devil to convey the ideas of corruption and tyranny, and to elevate political disagreements to the plane of good and evil. 

Trump Has Mainstreamed Christian Nationalism, Despite its History of Violence

by Samuel Perry

The Trump administration and the current wave of MAGA candidates have openly embraced Christian nationalist themes that were once confined to the far-right and white supremacist fringe. It's vital that the historical violence associated with these ideas is not forgotten. 

What the Nazi-Soviet Fight in Ukraine Tells Us About the War Today

by Pascal Trees

A family archive of letters from a German soldier fighting the Red Army in Ukraine reveals the complexities of ethnic and national identity that are in dispute by Russian and Ukrainian partisans today. 

Alito is Fulfilling Promises to the Supporters to Demolish Church-State Separation

by Duncan Hosie

The Justice was elevated to the high court by supporters who imagine the First Amendment supports the pervasive influence of Christianity on public life and who reject the premise of a secular state. He is meeting their highest expectations. 

From "Oregon Trail" to "Uncharted," How Video Games Have Helped Teach History

by Julio Capó, Jr.

The popularity of immersive historical narratives in video games means they have the ability to engage players deeply – historians need to understand the potential and limits of games for teaching. 

It's Not Hypocrisy When It's Fascism

by William Horne

The right is acting to advance a white Christian nationalist agenda through any means necessary, and has no regard for whether its actions match its stated principles if those actions advance their agenda. 

Liberals: The January 6 Hearings Won't Save Us

by Daniel Bessner and Ben Burgis

Liberals hoping the televised hearings will result in criminal charges or accountability for Trump and his accomplices are in denial about the culture of elite impunity in America. The Democratic Party can't hope that outrage over January 6 will help them in November. 

Connections, Capacity, and Impact: Strategic Thinking About Political Action

by Lara Putnam

The work of Democratic Party strategists is aimed at winning campaigns through a "cost per vote" calculation. Citizens who want to protect democracy need to think about deeper organizing. 

Thoroughly Modern Maxie: Robespierre and His Legacy for Democracy Today

by Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall

"If Robespierre was not by nature a murderous despot, who was he and what does he have to teach us – especially at a time, like that of the French Revolution, when progressives and liberals are divided about how to prioritize the rights of minoritized groups?"

Noir Politics in Mike Davis's "City of Quartz"

by Charlotte Rosen

The late Mike Davis wrote his influential and controversial history of Los Angeles as a noir thriller, exposing the greed and corruption beneath the sunny surface. 

California's Ongoing Secession Movement and its Ties to the History of Slavery

by Kevin Waite

Today, more conservative parts of California agitate to separate from the liberally-governed state. In the 1850s, southern California sought to secede from a state constitution that prohibited slavery and build an empire of forced labor. 

The Dangerous Myth that Pop Warner was Jim Thorpe's Savior

by David Maraniss

Most people understand the relationship of the star athlete and his football coach through the story told by a 1951 movie. A biographer says the coach chose hypocrisy and self-protection when Thorpe needed him most – when his Olympic medals were stripped for having played professional baseball with Warner's knowledge.

The Roundup Top Ten for August 5, 2022

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

Tribal Sovereignty Isn't So Fragile

by Noah Ramage

Although the United States's campaign to legislate existing Indigenous republics out of existence has been broadly successful, the tenacity and durability of tribal sovereignty has been underestimated. 

Working 9 to 5: The Activism of Women Office Workers

by Ellen Cassedy

The author of a new firsthand history of a pioneering organization of women office workers discusses the history behind the movement for "Raises and Roses." 

The Power 5 Conferences Should Split Revenues with College Football Players

by Victoria Jackson

Another college football season means another chance to demand that universities and the NCAA recognize a fundamental fact about the dangerous and isolating work performed by players: they are not student-athletes, but employees of the football team. 

The Ongoing Legacy of Direct-Mail Grievance Politics

by L. Benjamin Rolsky

By privatizing political discourse, the pioneers of direct mail advertising could solicit funds at the same time as they stoked the fears of a targeted set of voters; this worked to bring the religious right into the heart of the Republican Party. 

CPAC's Orban Fandom in Historical Context

by Jason Tebbe

Orbanism resonates with today's American right because it explicitly rejects liberalism, involves the masses in politics while rigging the system for favorable outcomes, and gets its power from resentment of marginalized “outsiders," galvanizing a group feeling its demographic and cultural position decline. 

Black Women's Expansive Vision of Reproductive Freedom

by Ashley Farmer

The history of radical Black women activists offers a model for fighting not just for legal abortion, but to create a world in which women would be truly free to have or not have children without constraint by law, poverty, or lack of access to information.