Historians in the News

Louis Warren says we’ve gotten the Ghost Dance at Wounded Knee wrong

by Leah Webb-Halpern

In his new book, "God’s Red Son: The Ghost Dance Religion and the Making of Modern America," he rescues the Ghost Dance from a narrative of tragedy.

How Labor Scholars Missed the Trump Revolt

by Jefferson Cowie

We thought we knew the white working class. Then 2016 happened.

Karen L. Cox says historians need to use their power now

by Karen L. Cox

"Today, humanities scholars are roundly criticized for being irrelevant. But this is simply not true as recent events have shown."

Alfred McCoy recounts his conflicts with the CIA

by Alfred McCoy

In a new book he reveals that the agency tried to stop him from reporting on the opium epidemic among US troops in Vietnam.

The New Yorker interviews Mark Lilla about his controversial critique of identity politics

He says identity politics works for the right but not the left.

Historian Peter S. Carmichael says that the debate about Confederate statues is obscuring what we should be talking about

The director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College says what we should be focusing on is racial injustice.

Annette Gordon-Reed recalls the publication of her book on Sally Hemings 20 years ago

She suggests it’s inaccurate to describe her as a passive actor utterly without agency.

This historian – Volker Ullrich – just wrote a book about Hitler

Here’s what he thinks of those Trump-Hoitler comparisons.

New Yorker profiles Ken Burns

Even in a fractious era, the filmmaker still believes that his documentaries can bring every viewer in.

Historians' leading organization says it's ok to remove Confederate statues

To remove such monuments is neither to “change” history nor “erase” it.

For the 3rd year in a row more than 1,000 graduate school degrees awarded in history

by Robert Townsend

That's the first time since the early 1970s.

Toronto Holocaust historian uncovers brilliant ploy that spared lives of Jews

An Orthodox Jewish wife and her husband crafted a brilliant ploy to con Nazi SS Chief Heinrich Himmler into ending the monstrous Final Solution program early, saving as many as 300,000 lives, Holocaust historian Max Wallace says in his new book.

Max Boot says what we need to do in Afghanistan is what no one wants to admit and that's nation-building

by Max Boot

"The only conceivable path to success lies in fostering stable and effective institutions of government that can police their own territory with diminishing amounts of outside assistance. In other words, nation-building."

Niall Ferguson chastises Trump’s comments on Cville but says the left’s open to criticism, too

"Trump blew it last week, no question. But as the worm turns against him, let us watch very carefully whom it turns to — or what it turns turn into. If Silicon Valley translates 'There is only one side' into 'Censor anything that the left brands "hate speech,” ' then the worm will become a snake."

Male Historians Have Long Dominated Public Debates. Is Charlottesville a Turning Point?

by Rick Shenkman

Since the awful events in Cville, women historians have written many of the pieces published in the mainstream media. 

Kevin Levin says he’s changed his mind about Confederate statues

by Kevin M. Levin

They should go.

Scholar of African history says his Jewish background didn’t stop him from writing about Muslims and Africa

by Charles L. Geshekter

"If I were to single out two cohorts whose members disproportionately enhanced the exchanges in my classrooms, they would be military veterans and strong Christians."

Jon Meacham points out why Lee should go but Washington should stay

by Jon Meacham

Lee had it right: “I think it wiser,” he wrote in 1866, “not to keep open the sores of war.”

"I've studied the history of Confederate memorials. Here's what to do about them."

by W. Fitzhugh Brundage

UNC's W. Fitzhugh Brundage recommends removing them. "Whatever value they have as historical artifacts, they were not the work of some latter-day Michelangelo."

Annette Gordon-Reed writes about why Jefferson matters more than ever after Charlottesville

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Perhaps coming fully to grips with the paradoxes that Jefferson’s life presents is what being an American is about.