Historians in the News

In a new lecture Jill Lepore ponders what it’s like to write history at a time of polarization

“Conservatives rested their claim to political power on winning elections, and perhaps above all on winning history.”

Arizona State’s Laura Tohe delighted to see the Code Talkers finally getting national recognition

In her 2012 book she explains that the "Navajo Code Talkers did not have voting rights in Arizona until 1948, after WWII ended.” 

You may be worried about the rise of rightwing parties in Germany. Daniel Pipes isn’t.

by Daniel Pipes

This insurgency indicates a healthy means for Europeans to protect their mores and culture.

How I became a corporate historian

An interview with Tracey Panek, director of archives, at Levi Strauss & Co.

Russia Expels Polish Historian Without Explanation

Professor Henryk Glebocki was detained in Moscow on November 24 and ordered to leave Russia within 24 hours after he gave lectures in St. Petersburg about the Soviet-era purges of 1937-1938.

In an interview Ibram X. Kendi says racism so infuses society that even liberals like Ruth Benedict couldn’t escape its assumptions

"I think most people who are operating within racial justice spaces, or outside of them, have never really sat down to define a racist idea and thereby apply that definition to their ideas.”

University of Michigan’s Victor Lieberman objects that he was silenced at a debate over divestment from Israel

"This is not a partisan but a serious national concern. So far this year alone, at least 29 speakers have been disinvited or prevented from speaking on college campuses."

Georg G. Iggers, renowned historian and civil rights activist, has died at age 90

His experience of anti-Semitism as a child in Nazi Germany inspired his activism as an adult.

Historian Alfred McCoy discusses his new book, the deep state, and Donald Trump’s threats to the US position as a global power

by Nick Turse

"We are certainly witnessing the end of the US empire, but not empire as a form of global governance."

Highway in Durham named for John Hope Franklin

Franklin retired to Durham in 1980. Two years later, he became the James B. Duke Professor of History, Duke University’s highest professorship.

Dartmouth’s Douglas Irwin agrees that trade policy is important. But all manner of powers are wrongly laid at its door.

Only twice has the broad direction of trade policy shifted, according to Mr Irwin. Both reconfigurations were triggered by catastrophic events.

Professor Maya Jasanoff embraced adventure to explore the mind behind ‘Heart of Darkness’ and other classics

She retraced the 1,000-mile journey Joseph Conrad made down the Congo River more than 100 years ago when researching her new book on Conrad.

Vietnam veterans challenge Ken Burns on the accuracy of his epic documentary

"The film portrays U.S. support for South Vietnam as blustering, blundering jingoism and the choice of music, graphics, and interviewees demonstrates a bias in favor of the militant leftist anti-war cliches of the 1960s."

Rick Perlstein interviews Daniel Ellsberg about his new book and it’s scary reading

The book: "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner."

OAH historians say events of the past year show they were right to emphasize freedom as the theme of the 2019 annual convention

by Joe W. Trotter Jr. and Kate Haulman

The theme of the OAH in 2019 will be The Work of Freedom.

Why being a historian is about so much more than producing displays for museums

by Tim Cole

"We were struck by the way that the most successful collaborations were ones where the distinct identities of arts and humanities researchers and businesses in the creative industries blurred. "

Historian Says Textbooks Have Shaped Our Attitudes On Race

Harvard’s Donald Yacovone says textbooks reinforced attitudes of white supremacy.

Heather Ann Thompson says what went on at Attica is worse than we thought

by Heather Ann Thompson

Only now are we learning that inmates were used as guinea pigs in an experiment involving the virus that causes leprosy.

Gar Alperovitz is still pushing to make America more democratic

In an interview he explains what the organization he co-founded (Democracy Collaborative) does.

Princeton’s Jan T. Gross warns that Poland’s showing signs of turning decisively in a fascist direction

"Tens of thousands of people — many of them young men with crew cuts, but some parents with children, too — flocked to the Polish capital to celebrate Independence Day in a march organized in part by two neo-fascist organizations.”