Historians in the News

How a Fake Priest Duped Oxford and a World-Famous Historian

The New York Times reviews THE PROFESSOR AND THE PARSON: A Story of Desire, Deceit, and Defrocking by Adam Sisman.

In Pursuit of Knowledge: A New Book about Black Women’s Educational Activism

An interview with abria Baumgartner, an assistant professor of American studies at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, author of n Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Education Activism in Antebellum America.

Two History Professors Chronicle the Lives of the First Black Scholars Hired at PWIs

Dr. David Canton, associate professor of history at Connecticut College, is working on a biography of Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick, which will focus on the mid-20th century when an increasing number of African Americans earned doctorates and entered the faculties at predominantly White colleges and universities (PWIs).

Remembering Georgia Sommers Wright, art historian, scholar, filmmaker

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Georgia earned her BA from Swarthmore College, her Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University and her MBA from UC Berkeley. 

Historian Allyson Hobbs Writes Personal Essay for NY Times on Parents Divorce

"I thought their bond was indestructible. Now I’m mourning people who are still alive."

Historian Manisha Sinha Discussed Trump's Acquittal on 2 Episodes of Democracy Now

After a nearly 13-hour marathon session, the U.S. Senate approved by a party-line vote the rules for the impeachment trial of President Trump. This marks just the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history.

AHA Publishes 2020 Jobs Report

by Dylan Ruediger

New History PhDs Awarded Continue to Decline as Academic Job Market Remains Flat

Longtime University of Iowa Jeff Cox, 72, championed candidates and his kids

In addition to his longtime position as tenured professor of British social, imperial and religious history at the University of Iowa — where he also served in leadership positions including chair of the History Department and president of the Faculty Senate — Cox was widely involved in the community.

Yuval Noah Harari's History of Everyone, Ever

His blockbuster “Sapiens” predicted the possible end of humankind. Now what?

Richard Cándida Smith Reviews *Duress: Imperial Durabilities In Our Times*

by Richard Cándida Smith

A review of Ann Laura Stoler's Duress: Imperial Durabilities In Our Times.

Pitt Historian Mari Webel: Past outbreaks provide lessons for figuring out new coronavirus

“We don’t know a lot about [coronavirus] right now,” said Ms. Webel, who has a PhD in history and teaches classes on the history of health. “But this is why it’s so important to think about what specific pathogen is causing the problem."

University of Michigan plans teach-in, including history of climate activism, ahead of 50th Earth Day anniversary

For Matt Lasseter, professor of history at UM, putting Earth Day and its ties to Michigan into historical context is key.

Remembering Alice Mayhew, a True “Editor of Genius”

Alice Mayhew edited for Bob Woodward, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Walter Isaacson, among others.

Chernobyl disaster worse than we were told, historian Kate Brown says

Chernobyl should be seen, not as a one-time accident, Brown argued, but as part of a larger, still ongoing story of global nuclear contamination and Russian, American and the international officials hiding the truth.

Historian Carol Anderson On Voter Suppression

“This kind of silent, quiet bureaucratic violence, where policies are wiping out the voting rights of millions of Americans, that's the piece that is absolutely stunning for my students,” she explained.

Harvard historian Jill Lepore on what “Why We’re Polarized” gets wrong

by Ezra Klein

Jill Lepore is a Harvard historian, a New Yorker contributor, the author of These Truths, and one of my favorite past guests on The Ezra Klein Show. But in this episode of the show, the tables are turned: I’m in the hot seat, and Lepore has some questions. Hard ones.

3 historians on American political divisiveness — and how to heal it

Judy Woodruff sits down with the University of New Hampshire’s Ellen Fitzpatrick, presidential historian Michael Beschloss and Carolyn Lukensmeyer of the National Institute for Civil Discourse to discuss.

Carrying Community: The Black Midwife’s Bag in the American South

by Cara Delay

The policing of midwives’ bags and what was in them was central to the mission that would ultimately destroy black women’s traditional health networks. 

A Victory for the Immigrants’ Rights Working Group of Historians for Peace and Democracy

by Margaret Power and Alexander Aviña

On January 5, 2020, the Business Meeting of the American Historical Association passed a resolution condemning affiliations between ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and higher education.

The Daily Princetonian Publishes Article Summarizing Ongoing 1619 Project Debate

A summary of what different historians have said and how others have responded.