Historians in the News

Nat'l Teacher of the Year Has No Plans to Stop Teaching Controversial Material

“I don’t want to be defiant, said Russell. “My sole purpose as a teacher is to provide my students with a holistic education and I don’t believe -- through my lived experience -- that taking away certain subjects or certain books will do so."

Beschloss, Ben-Ghiat on the Stakes of the Midterms

NBC Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss and NYU History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat discuss the concept of fascism and the danger facing the U.S with American Voices host Alicia Menendez. 

Post-9/11 Wars Created the Foot Solders of Far-Right Violence

Historian Kathleen Belew says that war affects not only veterans, but makes an entire society more receptive to the possibility of violence. 

What Explains the Enduring Fervor for Guy Fawkes Night?

British historians explain the enduring appeal of a festival commemorating a failed coup-by-explosion—a fortuitous combination of spectacle, seasonal change, and anti-catholicism. 

#AcademicTwitter Isn't Collapsing – At Least Not Yet

Twitter heavyweight Kevin Kruse says there is a danger that proposed changes to account verification could erode trust on the site, which could make him bail out. Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Mark Anthony Neal note many scholars like them have invested too much in their networks to make the decision lightly.

New Documentary uses Fight for Black Power in Lowndes County, Alabama as Lens on Present

Vann Newkirk, whose work inspired "Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power" examines how a conservative white minority fought to keep power even after the passage of the Voting Rights Act

Is the Feeling of Safety from Home Security Cameras Worth the Invasion of Privacy?

Historian Matt Guariglia of the Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that the cozy relationship between tech companies and police departments threatens to make camera footage less private according to the wishes of law enforcement. 

The Shift from Norms to Boundaries Explains the Problem of TMI

"Too Much Information" is a social error that arises from the need for individuals to determine their own boundaries and match their expression to others'. But longing for firmer rules of etiquette should be tempered by understanding how those rules were based in ideas about whose voices should be heard. 

Can a History of America's First Two Reconstructions Make a Third one Possible?

Peniel Joseph's book looks to the past struggles to define and achieve freedom and equality to ask what America's Third Reconstruction – begun with Obama's election and attacked since– must do to survive and advance. 

Will Florida's "Stop WOKE Act" Hold Up in Court? (Podcast)

Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder discuss the implications of the Florida legislature's intervention into the teaching of history. 

Pickup Trucks: Less Needed for Work, More Needed to Signal Masculinity?

Historian Mark Metzler Sawin explains why pickup trucks are the top-selling vehicles in America, even as the country is more urbanized and less engaged with farm and manual labor than ever before. 

Can Silicon Valley Be Redeemed? (Review Essay)

by Margaret O'Mara

Three books collectively demand a reckoning with Silicon Valley's immense social power; tech executives would do well to listen, says a technology historian. 

Christian Nationalism Debates Show Multiple Views of Society – and History – Among US Christians

Historian John Fea and other scholars discuss how the idea of Christian nationalism evokes different understandings of religion in history and how that history should guide the future. 

Is There a New History War?

by David Frum

David Frum asks what's behind the summer's AHA dustup. 

Thomas Cahill, Popular and Scholarly Historian of Ireland, Dies at 82

Cahill's 1995 surprise bestseller emphasized the role of isolated Irish monks in preserving religious and literary scholarship after the fall of Rome. 

Eric Foner: Originalism and the Color-Blind Constitution are Intellectually Indefensible

The historian says that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was on the right track to argue that the meaning of the 14th Amendment must be understood in context of its authors' intention to end the race-based subjugation of Black people. 

Kimberle Crenshaw on CRT and Acknowledging American History (Podcast)

The noted legal scholar discusses Critical Race Theory, anti-intellectualism in politics, and new work in African American political studies with host Bakari Sellers. 

Melvin Rogers: How Black Thinkers Remade America's Political Traditions

From Douglass to DuBois, African American intellectuals have pushed for the theory of American republicanism to wrestle with the conflict between racial domination and political equality. 

Koritha Mitchell Discusses Representation of Racist Violence and "Till"

Prof. Mitchell and host Karen Hunter discuss who the audience is for "Till" and whether movies about lynching are needed today. 

Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller: Learn from the "Bad Gays" of History

The podcasters insist on looking at how the lives of historical figures outside of the narrative of liberal progress shed light on LGBTQ history, from colonizer Cecil Rhodes to Nazi Ernst Röhm to McCarthyist Roy Cohn.