Exploring historical issues with contemporary relevance, historical perspectives on current events, and ideas about teaching, academia, and alt-ac.
When Jennifer Lopez sang Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration in January of this year, it marked the latest use of Woody Guthrie's much-contested song. The history of "This Land Is Your Land," from the many versions of the song to the even more varied responses to it, raise important questions about what a national anthem is—and what it might do in the discordant politics and culture of the United States.
Conservatives have relied on a small group of historians to validate their criticisms of the 1619 Project. Now one of the most vocal historians against the 1619 Project is trying to distance himself from the far-Right.
The parallels between the civil rights movement of the early 1960s and the 2020 uprising can situate Gov. DeSantis’s proposal in a broader context. Many of the legislative efforts to curtail Black Lives Matter demonstrations parallel efforts made to criminalize nonviolent actions led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
College students are taking fewer history classes than ever before. The consequences have implications not just for our collective knowledge about the past, but also for our ability to make sense of the present.
In their attempts to make sense of the novel coronavirus, media outlets frequently invoke the past, comparing COVID-19 to the Black Death, the "Great Influenza" of 1918-19, and other historical disease outbreaks. The act of connecting "then" and "now" has produced two countervailing historical narratives: one that emphasizes medical progress over time, and another that highlights America's failure to learn the lessons of past pandemics.
LGBTQIA+ history deserves a place in the modern K-12 curriculum. This piece includes a rationale and resources for educators working to make their courses more inclusive by incorporating LGBTQIA+ voices.
The current UAW-GM strike has been in the news recently. But the historical roots of the current strike extend back over eighty years to the Flint Sit-Down strike of 1936.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's history of donning brownface and blackface connects to a troubling history of blackface in Canada.
By Tiffany Baugh-Helton and Sarah King Elizabeth Warren is the professor. Everyone wants her to be their adviser. Warren has invited her most senior advisee to lead the day's discussion. She'll sit back with a slight smile on her face for most of the seminar until someone really screws up, at which point she'll use... Continue Reading →
