Roundup

The Revolt of the Super Employees

by Erik Baker

The business managerial ethos established in the 1980s destroyed the idea of solidarity and replaced it with a fantasy version of meritocracy. Now, upper-middle management is having the rug pulled out from under it, and they're mad. Are they mad enough to recognize the faults of the system? 

My Life With Maus

by Tom Engelhardt

Although the aftermath of the Tennessee "Maus" controversy involved a flood of donated copies sent to the local community and the book's return to the bestseller charts, the revival of book-banning sentiments bodes ill for the course of the nation. 

Confronting History Should Make Us Uncomfortable

by Kevin M. Levin

Good teaching requires leveraging students' emotions to engage the past. 

The Conservatives on the Court Don't Seem too Concerned about SCOTUS's Legitimacy

by Mary Ziegler

The belief that Supreme Court justices will moderate their decisions to avoid the image of an unelected group of partisan ideologues usurping the power of the elected branches of the government seems increasingly rooted in outdated norms and institutional arrangements that no longer apply. 

Will Monuments Honoring People of Color Replace Confederate Statues?

by Frederick Gooding, Jr.

"With few new exceptions, public and prominent statues of Blacks people are nonexistent."

Avoiding Racial Justice at Alabama

by Antar Tichavakunda

The University of Alabama's initial decision to add desegregation pioneer Autherine Lucy's name to a building already honoring a former governor and Klansman was a PR blunder, but it sheds light on the way that universities typically use symbolic changes to sidestep demands for systemic reform.

No Era More Critical, More Neglected in History Education than Reconstruction, Report Finds

by Mimi Eisen

Most state history standards are inadequate at best in the attention they give to Reconstruction, and need to be reworked to help students understand the making of modern America and the unresolved questions of racism and democracy that plague us today. 

Selling Hope

by Wendy A. Woloson

After a cancer diagnosis, the author still couldn't escape a world of consumerism that relentlessly commodifies even the worst experiences.

Historians Urge Stronger Anti-Fascist Commitment or US Risks Following Weimar Germany

by Berry Craig

The coalition assembled by Donald Trump includes enough white nationalists, violent extremists, and anti-democracy ideologues that the Biden administration's faith in institutional protections may be insufficient to contain it through normal means. 

The Enlightenment Precursor of the Social Media "Wife Guy"

by Meghan Roberts

The "wife guy" who self-servingly projects an image of domestic bliss and romantic devotion is not just a creation of the social media age. 

The Public Will be the Ultimate Judge of Whether the Olympics Soften China's Image

by Michael J. Socolow

China is doing all it can to use the winter games as a statement of its belonging in the world community. It will be up to the viewers to ask critical questions about the media coverage and spectacle. 

Today's Asylum Seekers Carry on the Freedom Struggle of Enslaved Americans

by Sean Gallagher

Moving across the nation's boundaries was integral to the efforts of enslaved people to secure freedom; migrants today carry the legacy of that struggle, despite the cruelty of American immigration policy. 

Ottawa Truck Protests are an Extension of Canada's Settler Colonial History

by Taylor Dysart

Today's Canadian protesters include many of the contemporary far right, but they all draw on a concept of freedom as individual entitlement to rule that has roots in the displacement of the nation's indigenous people. 

The Roundup Top Ten for February 11, 2022

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

Teaching Slavery to Middle Schoolers Raises Emotions. It's Not a Bad Thing

by Mary Niall Mitchell and Kate Shuster

A new digital project helps teachers use advertisements seeking the return of enslaved people who escaped as a way of understanding the people whose self-liberation forced those stories into the printed record.

When Professors Close Ranks

by Claire Bond Potter

If administrations can't be counted on to support student victims of sexual harassment, faculty need to be prepared to defend students and help them defend themselves by whatever means necessary. 

Hunger Strikes are Powerful Stands Against Injustice

by Nayan Shah

The hunger strike is a potent tool of resistance when the balance of formal power is highly unequal. 

Notes from a Grad School Survivor

by Kellen Heniford

This week's revelations of sexual harassment and institutional complicity at Harvard are striking a chord with women academics because they're not surprising. The author discusses her own experiences and the power dynamics stacked against students and survivors.

Seat Belt Law History Shows Public Protections Don't Have to be Partisan

by Erica Westly

Seat belt laws originated in the conservative state of Tennessee, but spread with remarkable success to other states. Can this guide public policy around today's controversies like mask and vaccine mandates?

Was the Black Death Less Severe and Shorter than We Think?

by Adam Izdebski, Alessia Masi and Timothy P. Newfield

"While no two pandemics are the same, the study of the past can help us discover where to look for our own vulnerabilities and how to best prepare for future outbreaks. To begin to do that, though, we need to reassess past epidemics with all the evidence we can."