Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Rashid Khalidi, Washington Post, posted May 13
The author teaches Arab Studies at Columbia University. Among his books is The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (Metropolitan Books, 2020). He is part of the H-PAD Virtual Speakers Program.
By Dario A. Euraque, AHA Perspectives on History, posted May 12
On the history of real US-dominated “banana republics” in Central America. The author teaches history at Trinity College. Among his books is Reinterpreting the Banana Republic: Region and State in Honduras 1870-1972 (U. of North Carolina Press, 1996).
By Kimberly A. Hamlin, Washington Post, posted May 7
Argues that President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation of “Mother's Day” in 1914 was a conservative response to diverse initiatives from women reformers for a day that would represent “an equal voice in shaping the laws that govern women, peace and safety for our children and accessible health care.” The author teaches history at Miami University in Ohio.
By Alfred McCoy, TomDispatch.com, posted May 6
A capsule history of US involvement in Afghanistan, with particular attention to the heroin trade, with which the Taliban has financed its operations. The author teaches history at the University of Wisconsin; among his books is In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of American Global Power (Haymarket Books, 2017).
By Joshua Freeman, History News Network, posted May 2
On the rise and (since the 1970s) fall of New York City policies taking the needs of working-class people into account. The author is a professor emeritus of history at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center, best-known for his book Working Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II (New Press, 2001). He is part of the H-PAD Virtual Speakers Program.
By Neil McFarquhar, New York Times, posted May 1
On “The Order,” a far-right group responsible for robberies and murders in the early 1980s in the service of seeking to establish a white homeland in the American West. The story is based on interviews with federal agents and prosecutors who brought the group down and who see parallels with groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
“All Enemies Foreign and Domestic: The Road from Vietnam to the Capitol Steps”
By George Black, The Washington Spectator, posted April 27
A lengthy, detailed essay arguing that “there is a clear throughline connecting the grievances of right-wing military officers in the wake of the defeat in Vietnam to the conspiracy theories that erupted into full view in the weeks and months leading up to the Capitol insurrection.” The author's book The Long Shadow: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam will be published by Knopf.
By Donna Murch, The Guardian, posted April 27
” The Amazon drive is only one part of a larger tide of multiracial labor activism incubated in workplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic – activism that will undoubtedly grow as the lockdowns recede.” The author teaches US history at Rutgers University
By L. D. Burnett, Washington Post, posted April 26
On the rise of “Anglo-Saxon” rhetoric in the 1830s, in opposition to abolitionism and as a precursor to imperial expansion prior to the US-Mexican war. The author is editor of the blog of the Society for U.S. Intellectual History..
By Thomas Grace, Kent State Magazine, Spring-Summer issue
An appreciation of the late Alan Canfora, a Kent State University graduate who more than anyone else kept alive the historical memory of the Ohio National Guard's shooting that killed four students and wounded nine others on May 4, 1971. The author teaches history at Erie Community College in Buffalo and wrote Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties (U. of Massachusetts Press, 2016).
By Eileen Boris and Annelise Orleck, Academe, Spring 2021
Introduction to a special issue of the AAUP magazine Academe on a “New
Deal for Higher Education.” Eileen Boris teaches history and feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Annelise Orlick teaches history at Dartmouth College.
Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg and an anonymous reader for suggesting articles for the above list. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.