Week of June 17, 2013

Up Front

1964 Report: Humanities "Equipped to Fill the 'Abyss of Leisure'" Made Possible by Forty-Hour Workweek David Austin Walsh A new report on the humanities makes rather different arguments than the one from fifty years ago. Tags: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, reports

The Case for Sparing the Rosenbergs Lori Clune Sure, they were guilty (or at least Julius was) but their execution was a PR disaster for the United States. Tags: Cold War, McCarthyism, Red Scare, Rosenberg case

American Heritage to Subscribers: Sorry, No Refunds David Austin Walsh Despite suspending print publication, the magazine has no plans at the moment to give subscribers back their money. Tags: American Heritage, history, magazines, publishing

Senate History Just Got a Little More Social David Austin Walsh The U.S. Senate Historical Office debuts its social media presence on Twitter. Tags: resources, social media, Twitter, Senate

The Problem with Evolutionary Nostalgia Marlene Zuk Evolution doesn't have an endpoint. We need to stop the Roussean worrying about what early humans were "meant" to do. Tags: evolution, human evolution, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology

News at Home

The Not-So-Good Old Days Stephanie Coontz The middle class may have had it easier in the 1950s and '60s, but women sure didn't. Tags: nostalgia, women, gender, NYT

How Obama and the Democrats Can Build a Twenty-First Century Supermajority Mac McCorkle LBJ provides the blueprint, as outlined by James Patterson in 1965. Tags: Barack Obama, Great Society, James Patterson, 1965

The Neverending Morality Play of the Deficit Hawks Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica Like any deeply-rooted moral worldview, it's largely impervious to logic. Tags: budgets, deficits, morality, Paul Krugman

A Brief History of Political Leaks, from Alexander Hamilton to Barack Obama Unlike in past administrations, leakers and whistleblowers under Obama are coming from the bottom of the totem pole. Tags: Hot Topics, leaks, NSA, PRISM scandal

News Abroad

Just What is the Pentagon Up To in Africa? Nick Turse As the war in Afghanistan winds down, get ready for new military adventures in Africa. Tags: Africa, AFRICOM, Mali, war on terror

Top Ten Conclusions from Iran’s Election Juan Cole An outbreak of reasonableness in Tehran. Tags: elections, Hassan Rouhani, Iran, Middle East

What Obama and Xi's Shirt Sleeves Summit Means Jeffrey Wasserstrom Xi's Western attire suggests China is embracing its new role in the world. Tags: attire, China, fashion, Xi Jinping

The Information Age Has Given Birth to a Global Security State Tom Engelhardt Hitler, Stalin, and Mao have nothing on the NSA's ability to collect data across borders. Tags: Information Age, global security state, national security state, PRISM scandal

Syrian Agendas . . . Josh Brown's Life During Wartime Tags: John McCain, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Syria

U.S. Strategies for Syria Walid Phares Obama's edging toward decisive intervention, but it needs to be done in a strategically coherent way. Tags: Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, Syrian Revolution

Historians & History

Canadian Historians: Come Clean About Your Relationship with Big Tobacco Daniel J. Robinson Many prominent Canadian historians have been working as "expert witnesses" for the tobacco industry. They need to own up to their actions. Tags: Canada, cigarettes, ethics, historians

On Non-Academic Job Market, Your PhD is a Visa, Not a Passport David Austin Walsh Beyond Academe's Alexandra Lord explains that the PhD isn't enough on the non-academic job market; you need skills and experiences. Tags: Alexandra M. Lord, interviews, job market, jobs

Education

Loose Lips Sink Don't Always College Presidencies Howard P. Segal Gordon Gee fell from Ohio State's grace for insulting Catholics, but U.Maine's Dale Lick got away with saying blacks are genetically better atheletes. For awhile, anyway. Tags: Dale Lick, Gordon Gee, The Ohio State University, University of Maine

Culture Watch

Fathers are Forever Steve Hochstadt Fatherhood is about taking responsibility. Tags: fathers, Father's Day, gender, family

Books

Review of George Packer's The Unwinding Jim Cullen The acclaimed New Yorker writer channels his inner Dos Passos in his sketch of an America adrift. Tags: George Packer, New Yorker, 1980s, welfare state