Historians in the News

World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened

The Polish historian Jan Grabowski is one of many scholars whose work has been challenged and attacked by right-wing nationalists who wish to present a purely heroic version of how Poles acted during World War II. 

Ian Whitcomb, Rocker Turned Pop Music Historian, Dies at 78

Ian Whitcomb forsook pop stardom to study and preserve forms of music popular before rock and roll.   

Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks: Live Discussions with Eminent Historians on Sunday Afternoons

Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks is a new program that features the most exciting history scholars in America discussing their books with host William Roka live, followed by a Q&A with home audiences.

David Carter, The Gay Historian Who Wrote The ‘Definitive History’ Of The Stonewall Uprising, Has Died Of A Heart Attack Aged 67

The gay historian wrote Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, which was published in 2004 and cemented Carter as the leading expert on the riots outside New York’s Stonewall Inn in June 1969.

How The Approval Of The Birth Control Pill 60 Years Ago Helped Change Lives

FDA approval of oral contraception in 1960 had a transformative effect on women's lives but remains controversial today. 

2020 AHA RESEARCH GRANT WINNERS

The American Historical Association recently announced 37 winners of its annual research grants. 

We’re Still Living in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain

Ewan Gibbs reviews Dominick Sandbrook's popular history of the Thatcher era

Daniel Pipes Argues Annexing the West Bank Would Hurt Israel

Daniel Pipes, prominent conservative American commentator on Middle Eastern affairs, gives six reasons to believe that taking over Palestinian territory would harm both U.S.-Israel relations and Israel’s status as the Jewish state.

NPR podcast ‘White Lies’ named Pulitzer Prize finalist

The NPR Podcast about the murder of Rev. James Reeb, the Unitarian minister and civil rights activist who traveled to Selma, Ala. to support the fight for black voting rights in the South, was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting.

Presidential Historian Takes Apart Trump’s Claim He’s ‘Treated Worse’ Than Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin added some perspective to the president’s complaint.

UNC Historian Says NC Reopened Too Soon During 1918 Pandemic. Don’t Let That History Repeat.

UNC history professor James Leloudis has studied how the global 1918 influenza pandemic tore through North Carolina.

‘Anti-Blackness and Classroom Racism’: Senators Condemn Professor’s Repeated Use of Racial Slur

The art history professor used the racial slur while writing the full name of the group N.W.A. and when discussing one of its albums.

The ‘1619 Project’ is Filled with Slovenliness and Ideological Ax-Grinding

Conservative columnist George Will contends that the 1619 Project undermines trust in journalism by taking on a political project.

The Politics of Representation: The Fight for the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum

Still, in 2020, there is no brick and mortar NWHM; it exists only virtually.

UConn Historian: South Vietnam Archives Provide New Insights into War

Historian Nu-Ahn Tran argues that internal documents show that the government of the Republic of Vietnam worked toward its own goals and agenda rather than simply following direction from Washington to fight Communists.

'Not the Way to do History': Princeton University Historian Blasts 1619 Project as 'Historical Sloppiness' Unworthy of Pulitzer

Allen Guelzo has been a major critic of the New York Times's "1619 Project" and objects to the projects central essay winning the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. 

History According to Trump: The President and the 1917 Pandemic That Wasn’t

Historian John Barry suggests that Trump's insistence, in the face of fact, of dating the flu pandemic to 1917 reflects "insecurity that makes him willing to embrace and fully commit to a mistake rather than admit even the smallest error."  

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.”

The 1918 Flu Pandemic Killed Millions. So Why Does Its Cultural Memory Feel So Faint?

by Rebecca Onion

According to scholar Elizabeth Outka, the tragedy haunts modernist literature between the lines.

Remembering John Murrin

The early American historian passed away on May 2 after contracting coronavirus.