The Roundup Top Ten for July 17, 2020
Equal Opportunity is Not Enoughby Elizabeth M. Smith-PryorThe myth of America as an equal opportunity society has historically allowed white Americans to hold out equality as a promise redeemable in the future but rarely available in the present. |
How Should Teachers Handle the Movement to 'Rewrite' High School History? Embrace Itby Jack Doyle and Chris DoyleAmerica today is a product of the past and not immune from its racist legacy. Combating racism, now, requires suspending overly optimistic narratives of its demise. |
Americans Are The Dangerous, Disease-Carrying Foreigners Nowby Erika LeeFor centuries, we have been the ones demonizing foreigners as carriers of infectious disease. And we have been the ones banning immigrants in the name of protecting Americans’ public health. |
Facing America's History of Racism Requires Facing the Origins of 'Race' as a Conceptby Andrew CurranMany of the most rearguard and unscientific European notions regarding race have remained deeply embedded in the American psyche. |
When Plague Is Not a Metaphorby Hunter GardnerIt's not always a blessing when current events make a researcher's specialty suddenly and urgently relevant. |
The Goya Boycott is Something Much More than "Cancel Culture"by Allyson P. BrantleyWhat William (Bill) Coors complained was “political persecution” was, for boycotters, a tool of political expression — of refusing to financially support policies that maligned and marginalized their communities and those of their allies. |
Veterans Go to Washington--So What?by Nan LevinsonSpeculation about the effects of electing veterans to national office is seldom historically informed. Although it's assumed military experience and leadership would shape a legislator's vote, today's partisanship is probably the biggest influence. |
The Campus Confederate Legacy We’re Not Talking Aboutby Taulby EdmondsonWhen a fraternity chapter sued him for defamation for remarking that it actively preserved the "Lost Cause" mythology of the Confederacy, the author went to the archives to defend himself. |
How a History Textbook Would Describe 2020 So Farby James West DavidsonA historian imagines the chapter high schoolers might read one day about this momentous time. |
The Coal Strike That Defined Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidencyby Susan BerfieldTo put an end to the standoff, the future progressive champion sought the help of a titan of business: J.P. Morgan. |