history

Why Are We Arguing About History But Letting the Profession Die?

by Daniel Bessner

If nobody can expect to earn a decent living researching and writing history, then vast swaths of our past will be unknown to the future, and the history that is written will suit the whims of the rich hobbyists who can afford to do the work. 

10 Podcasts for History Enthusiasts

The hosts of these shows, including historians Nicole Hemmer, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Walter Isaacson, and Erik Larson, use the past to help us understand our difficult present.

W. Caleb McDaniel Wins the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in History

The Pulitzer committee described McDaniel’s work as “A masterfully researched meditation on reparations based on the remarkable story of a 19th century woman who survived kidnapping and re-enslavement to sue her captor.”

Harvard Historian Bernard Bailyn Takes a Long Look Back in ‘Illuminating History: A Retrospective of Seven Decades’

To Bernard Bailyn, Adams University Professor Emeritus at Harvard, history involves storytelling, and historians, like novelists, should aim to depict a coherent world. But the historian, of course, must obey constraints that the writer of fiction naturally ignores.

For the love of history, let’s teach it better.

by Laura Redford

Let’s show students that studying the past is far more than memorizing. It can be thrilling, and can help them make more sense of the world in which they live.  

History by Text and Thing

by ShawnaKim Lowey-Ball

For researchers, history is a thing we do. It is an activity, a handling of old books, a building seen from the vantage point of its past. 

How “Historic” Are We? Going Off-Script in the Age of Trump

by Andrew Bacevich

Truth to tell, the word historic does get tossed around rather loosely these days. Just about anything that happens at the White House, for example, is deemed historic. 

Amanda Seligman: Growing Into Teaching Career Diversity for Historians

by Amanda Seligman

Teaching Career Diversity undid my ancient assumption that a PhD in the humanities should lead to a professorship. 

The Way We Write History Has Changed

by Alexis C. Madrigal

A deep dive into an archive will never be the same.

AHA Enrollment Study Finds History Enrollments Hold Study as Department Efforts Intensify

by Julia Brookins and Emily Swafford

For the past several years, the AHA has conducted an optional annual enrollments survey of history departments.

C.J. Alvarez's 'Border Land, Border Water' Featured on Austin NPR Affiliate Station

In his book “Border Land, Border Water: A History of Construction on the U.S.-Mexico Divide,” author C.J. Alvarez explores 150 years of border-barrier history.

Why fewer US students want to learn about UK these days

Once a bastion of English and History departments, the British studies discipline is waning as American students increasingly put career goals over their love of Charles Dickens, writes James Jeffrey.

The purpose of history in the Age of Trump

by Daniel W. Drezner

The president’s “strongest and most powerful protest” has a familiar ring to it.

Why we all have the knowledge to decide whether Donald Trump should be impeached

by Karin Wulf

The crucial importance of keeping historical records public and easily accessible.

Professor Removed Then Reinstated Over Discussion on Race

Louisiana Tech University briefly removed an instructor of history from teaching over class discussions on race and other topics before reinstating him this month.

37 books for history lovers: 11 Historians Select Their Favorite Books of 2019

In the Christmas 2019 issue of BBC History Magazine, on sale now, 11 historians selected their favourite historical page-turners published in 2019 .

History & Law: GW History Professor Jennifer Wells Discusses How Her Study of Law Has Informed her Career in History

by Mark Detlor

"I’m more much analytical as a result of law and try to immediately make an assertion and back it up with evidence when I write; I think it’s a very effective way of writing but I’m not sure that I would have mastered it had I not gone to law school."

Don’t despair if your teen wants to major in history instead of science

by Ian Milligan

Choosing to become a history major is a future-friendly investment. A history degree teaches skills that are in short supply today: the ability to interpret context, and — crucially — where we’ve been, so as to better understand the world around us today and tomorrow.

In History Departments, It’s Up With Capitalism And Down With Enrollments

by Brian Domitrovic

As faculty in history departments delved anew into explorations of the economic system, the American case in particular, students took leave of instruction in history at an acute rate. 

Teaching impeaching: History comes to life in school as teachers seize on this historic moment. Here’s what some are doing — and how.

“All too often, we look at history as these singular events that happened long ago. We sometimes try to connect many of those events to the present, but we fail to realize sometimes that the events that are unfolding around us every day are historic, too."