Week of July 15, 2013
Up Front
 Stop Thinking of Only the "Arab World"Bassam S. Haddad To truly understand the so-called Arab Spring, look to each revolution on a case-by-case basis. Tags: Arab Spring, Egyptian Revolution, Middle East, revolutions |
 Announcing "Revolutionary Moments": A Group BlogJack Censer, Bassam S. Haddad, and Peter N. Stearns With the world once again filled with anticipation and dread of revolution, it is reasonable to examine what our predecessors experienced. Tags: Arab Spring, Egyptian Revolution, Egypt, revolutions |
 Is This 1848 Redux?Peter N. Stearns Analogies are distracting and misleading. Tags: 1848, 2013, Arab Springs, revolutions |
 The Military Played a Smaller Role in France and the U.S. than in EgyptJack Censer In 1776 and 1789, the military was transformed by the revolution, not the other way around. Tags: American Revolution, Egypt, French Revolution, revolutions |
 Demystifying the NSA Surveillance ProgramJohn Prados A humble rebuttal to those who claim that collecting metadata is no big deal. Tags: National Intelligence Community, National Security Agency, PRISM scandal, surveillance state |
News at Home
 If Only Trayvon Had Freedom PapersStephanie Jones-Rogers The South has a long, sordid history of regulating black bodies. Tags: Trayvon Martin, African American history, George Zimmerman, slavery |
 Trayvon Martin the Latest Victim of America's Fear of Black MenElaine F. Parsons "Reasonable fear" of harm is ridiculous, since that's the same logic the Klan used. Tags: Trayvon Martin, eorge Zimmerman, African American history, Reconstruction, Elaine F. Parsons |
 Sanford, Fla., Threatened to Lynch Jackie RobinsonPeter Dreier The sleepy Florida town where Trayvon Martin was killed has a long history of racial tension. Tags: Jackie Robinson, lynching, Sanford, George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin |
 Women Played Critical Role in George Zimmerman DecisionBrenda E. Stevenson From Judge Debra Nelson (pictured) to the all-female jury, women were ultimately in control of the controversial trial. Tags: George Zimmerman, L.A. riots, law, Trayvon Martin, women |
 Libertarianism's Neo-Confederate DelusionCarole Emberton It's hard to take seriously a man who wears a Confederate flag Mexican wrestler's mask. Tags: neo-Confederates, libertarianism, Rand Paul, Jack Hunter |
 Summer is the Season to Fix ImmigrationAdam Arenson In July 1870, Congress gave African Americans the pathway to citizenship. In 2013, Congress should do the same for undocumented immigrants. Tags: Republican Party, GOP, civil rights, immigration reform |
 Clearly We Don't Live in a Post-Racial SocietyJosh Brown's Life During Wartime Tags: George Zimmerman, Josh Brown, Life During Wartime, Trayvon Martin |
 Liberals Tolerate Ambiguity More Than ConservativesIra Chernus's MythicAmerica Or, why conservatives love Dragnet while liberals prefer Chinatown. Tags: ambiguity, film noir, morality, myths |
News Abroad
 The Making of the U.S. Surveillance State, 1898-2020Alfred W. McCoy Always reality abroad, the creation of the domestic surveillance state proceeded with stunning speed under Barack Obama. Tags: surveillance state, National Security Agency, PRISM scandal, TomDispatch |
Historians & History
 Ray Begovich: How I Found Rare Footage of FDR in a WheelchairDavid Austin Walsh The Indiana journalism professor found the film while researching a biography of Elmer Davis, FDR's wartime information chief. Tags: Ray Begovich, FDR, videos, National Archives, interviews |
Culture Watch
 Country Matters in Elizabethan EnglandBruce Chadwick No, it's not Hamlet -- it's As You Like It at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Tags: As You Like It, New Jersey, Shakespeare, theater reviews |
 The Real Housewives of LondonBruce Chadwick Noel Coward's 1925 play Fallen Angels puts New Jersey to shame. Tags: Fallen Angels, Noel Coward, plays, theater reviews |
Books
 Review of Erik Christiansen’s Channeling the PastLuther Spoehr Most Americans learn their history outside the classroom; Erik Christiansen examines how. Tags: Luther Spoehr, Erik Christiansen, Channelling the Past, Brown University |