Historians in the News

Few historians join call for an academic boycott of international conferences held in the US

Over 5,000 academics have signed the petition  –  but the list includes fewer than a dozen historians. 

Martin Kramer notes how a ban on Jews in the 1930s affected historian Bernard Lewis

by Martin Kramer

"Trump’s limited executive order doesn’t resemble the sweeping Jewish ban that changed the career of Bernard Lewis.”

CBS interviews historian who got the truth about the murder of Emmett Till

Duke’s Timothy Tyson says the woman who claimed that the black youth had assaulted her broke her silence  –  and recanted.

White House accused of anti-Semitism by Holocaust historian

Deborah Lipstadt, who exposed David Irving as a Holocaust denier, accuses White House of 'softcore anti-semitism.'

Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson post on Trump goes viral

She says the immigration order is a “shock event.”

History Professor Kills Himself 2 Days Before Child Porn Term Begins

Villanova University professor Christopher Haas pleaded guilty in September to accessing the internet with the intent to view child exploitation images.

AHA Condemns Executive Order Restricting Entry to the United States

"The order will have a significant and detrimental impact on thousands of innocent people, whether inhabitants of refugee camps across the world who have waited months or even years for interviews scheduled in the coming month (now canceled), travelers en route to the United States with valid visas or other documentation, or other categories of residents of the United States, including many of our students and colleagues."

Harvard president hits back at Trump's immigration ban: 'Nearly half of the deans of Harvard's schools are immigrants'

"Benefiting from the talents and energy, the knowledge and ideas of people from nations around the globe is not just a vital interest of the University; it long has been, and it fully remains, a vital interest of our nation."

More than 500 historians have signed a petition against the Trump immigration ban

The petition criticizes the executive order restricting immigration from select Muslim countries.

AHA’s Jim Grossman says history PhDs have a bright future if they pick up these 5 missing skills

The executive director of the American Historical Association says departments should integrate communication, collaboration, and three other "basic skills" into their programs.

What Historians Are Saying About Trump's Immigration Ban

by HNN Editor

A survey of opinion on social media.

Historians Affected by the Trump Immigration Ban

See who's affected.  Share your story.

Yale’s Timothy Snyder has a 20-point guide for surviving the Trump years

Tip # 1: Do not obey in advance.

Robert Huddleston recalls how the first director of the LBJ Library was recruited

by Robert Huddleston

How LBJ arranged for directors to get a higher pay grade. 

Rick Perlstein asked his student why he voted for Trump. The answer was thoughtful, smart and terrifying.

by Rick Perlstein

"Liberals must listen to and understand Trump supporters. But what you end up understanding from even the sweetest among them still might chill you to the bone."

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich out with a new book about Mormon women

by Beverly Gage

It answers the question: How the women came to embrace polygamy.

Professor Who Wrote of Korean ‘Comfort Women’ Wins Defamation Case

In a case closely followed by the South Korean news media, a judge in the Eastern District Court in Seoul ruled that her academic freedom must be protected.

Eric Foner describes how profits from the slave trade helped fund the start of Columbia University

by Gillian B. White

Slavery, says Foner, has been ignored in the official histories of universities. This needs to change.

Heather Ann Thompson tells the story of the Attica prison uprising on The Daily Show

Trevor Noah says the prison officials hid the truth for decades.

Yale's LGBT historian George Chauncey moving to Columbia

“I think [Chauncey] was recruited as the leader of gay history in America, and he departs, still, as that leader.”