Note: Historian Tejasvi Nagaraja
at Cornell University will host two free online panels under the theme of “Twenty Years of War.” The first, “The War on Terror, Security Statecraft, and Racial Justice,” takes place November 30 and the second, “Coalitions of War and Antiwar,” on December 7, both at 3pm EST.
at Cornell University will host two free online panels under the theme of “Twenty Years of War.” The first, “The War on Terror, Security Statecraft, and Racial Justice,” takes place November 30 and the second, “Coalitions of War and Antiwar,” on December 7, both at 3pm EST.
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Alfred McCoy, TomDispatch.com, posted November 18
Based on the author's new book, To Govern the Globe (Dispatch Books, November 2021), which covers the last 600 years of “world orders” and their unmaking, this article argues that climate change is eclipsing America's world order and offering only a short duration for the China-dominated order that is likely to follow. The author teaches history at the University of Wisconsin.
By Nelson Lichtenstein, Washington Post, posted November 18
Compares the current phenomenon of workers leaving their jobs, sometimes called “The Great Resignation,” with W. E. B. Du Bois's use of the term “general strike” for actions by African Americans' in the South during and after the Civil War. The author is a labor historian and a research professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
By Woody Holton, Washington Post, posted November 12
A personal account by University of South Carolina historian Woody Holton, who attended a newly integrated public school in Richmond in the early 1970s. His father, Linwood Holton, was the Republican governor of Virginia at the time and accepted federal court orders to desegregate the schools. The older Holton died on October 28 of this year.
By Jake Silverstein, New York Times, posted November 9
“Fights over how we tell our national story go back more than a century — and have a great deal to teach us about our current divisions.” The author is the editor-in-chief of the New York Times Magazine and a key figure in the 1619 Project.
A report by PEN America, posted November 8
A detailed survey of the 54 bills introduced in 24 state legislatures during January-September 2021 to restrict teaching and training in K-12 schools, public universities, and state agencies. “These bills appear designed to chill academic and educational discussions and impose government dictates on teaching and learning. In short: They are educational gag orders.”
By Alex Park, Jacobin, posted November 7
A review essay on Susan Williams's book White Malice: The CIA and the Recolonization of Africa (Public Affairs Press, 2021), a deeply researched account of how the CIA undermined leftist governments in the Congo and Ghana in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The reviewer is a freelance journalist with a particular interest in foreign investments in Africa.
By John S. Huntington and Lawrence B. Glickman, The Atlantic, posted November 7
Gives historical examples, starting with Reconstruction, showing that “Each time political minorities advocate for and achieve greater equality, conservatives rebel, trying to force a reinstatement of the status quo.”
The authors teach history at Houston Community College and Cornell University, respectively.
The authors teach history at Houston Community College and Cornell University, respectively.
By Alan Singer, Think, posted November 5
“The idea of citizen’s arrest laws dates to Europe in the 13th century, but it became melded with American efforts to prevent slave escapes.” The author is a historian and director of social studies education at Hofstra University.
By Steven Shapin, London Review of Books, posted November 4
A lengthy review-essay on Alex Wellerstein's book Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States (U. of Chicago Press, 2021). The reviewer is a professor emeritus of the history of science at Harvard University.
By William Hogeland, Slate, posted October 30
An informative and entertaining account of the recent face-off at the Massachusetts Historical Society between Woody Holton and Gordon Wood on the 1619 Project and the nature of the American Revolution. The author has published several books on early American history, including Inventing America (MIT Press, 2009).
Thanks to an anonymous reader for flagging some of the articles included above, and to Steve Gosch for valuable consultation. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.