Roundup

American Orthodoxy Has a Lost Cause Problem

by Aram G. Sarkisian

"Scholars and other observers are noting the growing links between Orthodox Christianity and the American alt-right."

Facial Surveillance Has Always Been Flawed

by Amanda Levendowski

Today, artificial intelligence startups are scraping the web to build massive face-recognition databases, without any pretense of consent by the public. The technology may be new, but the intrusive assertion of surveillance has a long history. 

A Descent into Textual Paranoia

by Christopher S. Celenza

"Doing one's own research" in an environment of proliferating information and few gatekeepers isn't new to the internet age. 

Every Woman Needs Access to Abortion

by Claire Potter

"If SCOTUS overturns Roe, every civil right that Americans have gained since the 1940s is up for grabs. That’s not partisan propaganda: that’s the truth."

Was the Legendary Viking "Blood Eagle" Torture Real?

by David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele

"The blood eagle’s prominence within Viking society—both during the medieval era and as ascribed in the centuries since—stems from its emphasis on ritual and revenge."

The Roundup Top Ten for December 3, 2021

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

After 20 Years, Enron Still Haunts Us

by Gavin Benke

Despite Enron's bankruptcy and the resulting economic fallout, American business media is still dangerously credulous toward promises of "innovation" and "disruption" without asking whether the latest hot entrepreneur is using smoke and mirrors. 

Biden's Burden: Emotion Outweighs Policy with Voters

by Heather Cox Richardson

The Biden agenda is broadly popular, but the President isn't. 

What RBG Got Wrong about the Abortion Debate and the Courts

by Felicia Kornbluh

Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated that the Roe v. Wade decision inflamed abortion politics by preventing the states from legislating on the issue. The history of abortion legislation doesn't suggest that it would have, or will ever, create consensus. 

In Zemmour, France's Old Bigotry Finds New Voice

by Mitchell Abidor and Miguel Lago

Presidential candidate Éric Zemmour's Jewishness should not be a shield for his manipulation of France's historical bigotries for political gain.

Wednesday's Arguments Signal the End of Roe

by Mary Ziegler

"Today’s oral argument signaled that the Court is poised to reverse Roe outright when it decides Dobbs, probably sometime in June or early July," says a leading legal historian of abortion rights.

Is the Anti-Pope Francis Rad-Trad Catholic Movement Headed to QAnon Territory?

by Joshua P. Hevert and Thomas Lecaque

"While the Middle Ages may feel very distant, the amping up of apocalyptic rhetoric in a struggle over the papacy and the direction of the church is very current."

In Praise of One-Size-Fits-All Social Policy

by Lawrence B. Glickman

"To call a vaccine mandate a constraint on an “intensely personal decision” is to obfuscate the fundamental reality that pandemics are intensely social."

Humans Are Doomed to Extinction

by Henry Gee

From the perspective of a natural historian, humanity has had a good run, but "I suspect that the human population is set not just for shrinkage but collapse—and soon."

The History of the "Anti-White" Victim Mantra of White Supremacy

by Ibram X. Kendi

'"Anti-racism is anti-white' is the old and explosive mantra of avowed white supremacists. It has been their organizing vehicle, fueling their rage, fueling their backlashes, fueling their delusions."

Taylor Swift Takes a Familiar Path to Hell and Back

by Peter Manseau

"In its own way, “All Too Well” tells a story not unlike myths of yore. It dabbles not in mythology, per se, but in the so-called “monomyth,” popularized as “The Hero’s Journey” by the folklorist Joseph Campbell almost 75 years ago."

Can Cold War History Help Stop a Disastrous US-China Conflict?

by Li Chen and Odd Arne Westad

The emerging superpower rivalry between the US and China is not exactly like the Cold War, and simplistic historical analogies are a poor strategic guide. But Cold War history does offer examples of potential pitfalls. 

A Woman Enslaved by a Founder Sought Freedom in Paris

by Martha S. Jones

"Paris has no true monument to Abigail, no place that calls to mind an American slave who died there at the advent of American freedom."

What Slavery Looked Like in the West

by Kevin Waite

"Historians typically study Black and Native slavery as discrete systems. But America’s wealthiest slaveholders didn’t draw a fixed line."

Biden Doesn't Need a "Sister Souljah" Moment

by Seth Masket

The evidence that the Democrats can win White voters by signalling disapproval of Black protesters is slim; why do strategists keep insisting on distancing themselves from a core constituency?