Roundup

The Passing of the Generation that Remembers the Last World War Makes the Next One More Likely

by Stephen Wertheim

The United States faces a growing risk of conflict with other global powers without a strong awareness of how difficult and all-consuming it could be for the military, civilians, and the entire society. 

The Roundup Top Ten for December 2, 2022

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

Which Medieval Jewish Stories Need to Be Told?

by David M. Perry

The history of European Jews in the medieval period is unfortunately dominated by discussions of death that make violent antisemitism seem inevitable and inescapable. 

A Medical Historian Confronts Her Own Diagnosis

by Lindsey Fitzharris

"The experience has got me thinking about the women who came before me and how their pain and suffering accelerated medical advancements from which I am benefiting."

For Chinese Protesters, Blank Pages are the Punch Line. What's the Joke?

by Christopher Rea and Jeffrey Wasserstrom

To understand the current Chinese protests, consider the nation's traditions of creative, surreptitious, and subversive political humor. 

Can We Learn from a 300-year Old Murder, and the Treaty that Followed?

by Nicole Eustace

The resolution of a crisis caused by the murder of a Seneca man by two English fur trappers modeled the kind of restorative justice principles that are being raised today by criminal justice reformers. 

Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration and the Eclipse of Protestant Cultural Authority in America

by Nicholas T. Pruitt

Liberal Protestants in the early 1960s supported the reform of racially restrictive immigration laws, but ended up encouraging a more diverse nation where their brand of moderate religion was eclipsed by both multiculturalism and conservative white evangelicalism. 

From Rugged Individualists to Aggrieved Victims: The Rhetorical Trajectory of the Right

by Paul Elliott Johnson

Forms of grievance and victimhood have always been central to far-right politics. Only recently have mainstream conservative politicians felt free to embrace them without coming off as whiners. 

Reactionary Media are Fueling Anti-LGBTQ Violence

by Ben Miller

When the media give a platform to the idea that trans people living in public inherently encourages sexual abuse, violence aimed at removing them from the public will follow. The media need to take responsibility for Colorado Springs and call out icitement to violence. 

What the AHA President Got Wrong—and Right

by Jonathan Wilson

"History is political because human experience is political. Historians have power, or at least we want them to. We require that secondary-school and university students study history because we hope it will shape their behavior as citizens."

Y'all's Time Has Come

by David B. Parker

The South already has a pronoun that transcends singularity, plurality and gender. 

Can Universities Protect Diverse Admissions and Excellence?

by John Thelin

The vastly improved technology available to college admissions officers means that a handful of selective institutions can serve the interest of both nominal diversity and elite reproduction, while exacerbating the divide in elementary and secondary educational quality in the nation. 

Republicans Can Thank Suburban New Yorkers for House Majority

by Stacie Taranto

The volatile politics of New York's downstate suburbs trace back to the settlement of massive suburban tracts outside the city after World War II, which created a large constituency of homeowners concerned with "law and order." 

Forget Apology, the Right is Doubling Down on Inciting Violence Against LGBTQ Americans

by Thomas Lecaque

The campaign of encouraging stochastic terror against LGBTQ communities won't be deterred by a tragedy like the Colorado Springs killings. 

Grad Workers: Choose Solidarity with New Haven

by Adom Getachew and Sarah Haley

Two former Yale PhD students argue that the university's graduate student union offers not just benefits and protection to graduate student workers, but the chance for them to work in solidarity with other university and New Haven workers across the vast racial and socioeconomic divides separating city and campus. 

Are Elite Conservatives Getting Too Weird to Win?

by Graham Gallagher

The right's move toward European nationalism, conservative Catholicism, and other departures from domestic conservative tradition are troubling to scholars of reactionary politics. But they might just seem weird to voters. 

Jefferson's Time in Paris Revealed His True Beliefs About Slavery

by Fred Kaplan

Jefferson's discussions of slavery with his intellectual compatriots was at odds with the pragmatic and self-serving decisions he made about his own business affairs. 

Despite Defeat, Iran's Footballers Won

by Golnar Nikpour

Iranian players' show of solidarity with protesters facing government repression has been more important than the results on the pitch. 

Taking a Longer View, the Crime Spike Isn't a Mystery, but Solutions aren't Easy Enough for Politicians

by Patrick Sharkey

Crime is a whole-society problem that is experienced locally; solutions require deep reforms and can't be subjected to the shifting attention of politicians in an election year. 

The Roundup Top Ten for November 23, 2022

The Roundup of the top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week drops early for the Thanksgiving holiday.