Historians in the News

Conference delves into effects of climate change on native people

As the planet warms and oceans rise, indigenous people around the world find themselves directly and disproportionately confronting climate changes that threaten long-held ways of life.

L.A. schools adopt history curriculum from Stanford University

Stanford University curriculum that is picking up steam nationally as educators grapple with widespread evidence of historical illiteracy among U.S. students.

Martin Kramer blasts MESA and Steven Salaita

Kramer calls Salaita a hater.

Historian says the removal of Nazi-era art to Switzerland makes restitution unlikely

"You know, historically, when objects go to Switzerland, to Swiss institutions, to Swiss art dealers, the likelihood of restitution is not very high."--Jonathan Petropoulos

Hottest subfield in history today may be the history of capitalism ... but The Nation wonders what happens if growth stalls (or if we're better off if it does)

by Timothy Shenk

Capitalism’s newest critics offer a groundbreaking account of slavery, but does their economic history add up?

NYT praises James McPherson for finding a way to remain objective about Jeff Davis

by Steven Hahn

McPherson found himself “becoming less inimical toward Davis” than he expected, and clearly more engaged with the challenges that Davis himself had to face.

Raleigh Trevelyan, Chronicler of a Notable Family, Dies at 91

His best-known work, “Sir Walter Raleigh” (2004), argued for the elevation of his ancestor to the upper reaches of the pantheon of British greats, along with contemporaries like William Shakespeare and Elizabeth I, based on his achievements as an explorer, courtier, poet, American colonizer and early purveyor of tobacco to England and potatoes to Ireland.

Former spokesman of B.C. anti-immigration group wants UBC history prof fired

“Do voters really want two pro-multicultural, ethnocentric candidates running our largest cities? I don’t and from my direct experience, neither do most Canadians of European origin.”

Middle East Studies Association Fights a Rising Tide of Critics

Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University who will be completing a two-year term as Mesa’s president, argued this week in an email that the planned panel discussion was "about the Salaita case, not about Israel."

Harvard's Steven Shapin Wins History of Science Award

Steven Shapin, an emeritus professor in the History of Science department, has been awarded the 2014 Sarton Medal for Lifetime of Scholarly Achievement by the History of Science Society

Juan Cole says the postwar Middle East governments were modeled on the Soviet Union, though not communist (interview)

by Juan Cole

"There were enormous state sectors, public sectors."

AHA backs California's LGBT History law

"Giving students access to primary sources that reflect the range of human experience within an inquiry-based instructional model encourages students to engage fully with the world they live in."

Cultural historian traces history of baby food

Where did baby food come from and where has it been?

Jules Witcover identifies the best and worst veeps in US history in an interview about his new book

Hint: Agnew’s on the list. Guess which category?

UVA history professor explores origins of Nazi animus toward Jews

Societies tell their stories to give meaning to their world, as a way of shaping their present. The Nazis devised a narrative to justify evil.

USC history professor studies Civil War experience through the senses

"My aim here...is to add texture to the experience of war. What did it mean? How did it feel?"

Native American Studies Professor Steven Salaita says he lost his job for criticizing Israel

"I’ve never made any secret as to what my politics are."

History Professor Publishes Book on World War II War Criminal, Ante Pavelić

“Ante Pavelić was one of the most significant war criminals from World War II to never answer for his crimes.”

“The rudest man in Britain”? TV historian David Starkey to appear at Stortford literature festival

His style is uncompromising, based on an unshakeable belief in his command of facts and his clear relish for a fight.

American Studies Assoc. president defends groups' boycott of Israel

by Lisa Duggan

"To condemn violence against Israel while opposing a nonviolent boycott is to say that the Palestinians, under endless occupation, should not resist at all."