Historians in the News

Hasia Diner, former Fulbright Professor at the University of Haifa, says Zionism is a “naive delusion”

She stopped being a Zionist in 2010.

The Scholars Who Look at American History Through Beer-Tinted Glasses

Scholars seceded to lose interest in the history of beer after Prohibition ended. Now they’re taking a second look.

Historian calls Kent State shooter’s guilt into question

John Fitzgerald O’Hara argues that never-before-seen evidence clears Myron Pryor.

Max Boot says the “Stupid Party” created Donald Trump

by Max Boot

Anti-intellectualism started as a Republican posture. It has ended with a dangerous ignoramus leading the party.

What Happened the Last Time the Earth Went Through Climate Change Was Horrifying

by David L. O’Connor

The economy collapsed and thousands of people were burned as witches.

Gerald Posner calls on Pope Francis to open the Vatican archives on the Holocaust

Pope Francis’s visit to Auschwitz is the perfect moment to change policy.

History chairs dismiss concerns over not requiring U.S. history course

“Almost all of our history majors love US history and take courses in it, so having a requirement would be a bit like requiring them to eat.” — Harvard’s Daniel Smail

Doris Kearns Goodwin talks politics with Stephen Colbert

She danced her way onto the set as she began the interview.

Annette Gordon-Reed says it was easier for Obama to win than it will be for Hillary

“Black men got the vote before women, which caused great dissension. Feminists supported abolition, but didn’t get the vote.”

Lincoln University historian mourns decision to abolish the history major

by J. Mark Leslie

J. Mark Leslie says it’s myopic.

The Invisible Labor of Women’s Studies

by Noël Duan

Many elite universities relegate the degree program to second-class status.

Hamilton College conservative historian questions diversity requirement

Robert Maquette says the faculty never bothered to define diversity.

Historian James Harris says Russian archives show we’ve misunderstood Stalin

by James Harris

If you think of Stalin as a bloodthirsty, paranoid, political opportunist determined to secure total power over all other considerations, you’re wrong.

Historians on Donald Trump: A Huge Hit on Facebook

by Rick Shenkman

In the three weeks since the anti-Trump Facebook page set up by David McCullough and Ken Burns went live it's drawn over 5 million views.

Historians Against Trump: Tweets During the GOP Convention

What historians said about Trump at the RNC.

In an interview Daniel Pipes explains what’s wrong with Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations argument

"The battle against Islamism has not yet started. I cannot predict how long it will take. It's still pre-1945 in communist terms and the 1930s in fascist terms."

The next president of the American Historical Association will be ...

Tyler E. Stovall (University of California, Santa Cruz). But you already knew that. So the real news is who the president-elect will be. It's Cornell's Mary Beth Norton.

Diane Ravitch: The Common Core Costs Billions and Hurts Students

She admits she was wrong to back the Common Core and wrong to back a national test regimen.

Israel Historian on King David Hotel Bombing: 'It Was an Act of Terror'

Seventy years after Jewish militia blew up the symbol of the British Mandate in Jerusalem, Prof. Mordechai Golani says attack 'stained our history.'

The Worst Convention in U.S. History?

Politico surveyed historians for their opinions.