Historians in the News

NYT lauds newest biography of Stalin. It's by Stephen Kotkin.

Kotkin's new study depicts Stalin as an autodidact, an astute thinker, “a people person” with “surpassing organizational abilities; a mammoth appetite for work; a strategic mind and an unscrupulousness that recalled his master teacher, Lenin."

South Korea opens new front in East Asian textbook wars

"The last thing the region needs is officially sanctioned government histories that neighbors will inevitably call propaganda."

1,000 + have signed a petition protesting US government plan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War

"We write on behalf of many veterans of the American peace movement during the Vietnam era with a deep concern that taxpayer funds and government resources are being expended on a one-sided, three-year, $30 million educational program on the "lessons of Vietnam."

Historian and raconteur Raychauduri dies in UK

Early 1973 saw Raychaudhuri move to the University of Oxford where he presided over the teaching and research of South Asian Hisory for the next 22 years. 

Group is drawing attention to the historic swath between Gettysburg and Monticello

Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a nonprofit organization and four-state partnership based in Waterford, VA, has been dedicated to raising awareness of the unparalleled American history of the region.

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.

History professor says the Vikings never came to Newfoundland

Olaf Janzen is used to getting puzzled looks when he tells people the Vikings never came to Newfoundland.

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.

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

Martin Kramer blasts MESA and Steven Salaita

Kramer calls Salaita a hater.

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.

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.”

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

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."

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."

Ted Widmer picks the 5 best presidential books worth reading

On the list are books by Carter, Hoover, Jefferson, Ike, and Grant

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?