Historians in the News

Donald Weinstein, Influential Historian on the Renaissance, Dies at 89

Professor Weinstein’s work, with its emphasis on the power of religious thought in a supposedly secular age, opened up new avenues in research on the Renaissance.

Ron Chernow says Hamilton was one of the most modern founding fathers

Hamilton’s vision for America won out over Jefferson’s.

History’s going digital! These maps show history in a new way.

In a collaboration between the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond and Stamen Design, American Panorama combines United States history, geographic mapping, and individual narratives to create a visual atlas of history.

Walter Laqueur pays homage to the Israeli historian, Gershom Scholem

by Walter Laqueur

Among Israeli intellectuals of his generation, Gershom Scholem had by far the greatest impact both at home and abroad.

Historians weigh in on the President who had the best last year in office

Selections include: GW and Teddy Roosevelt.

Sidney Mintz, the food historian, has died at age 93

"Another sad loss but at a grand old age: Sidney Mintz whose anthropological history of sugar Sweetness and Power is still a classic." -- Simon Schama

CIA Fooled by Massive Cold War Double-Agent Failure, says agency's former chief historian

“The result was a massive but largely ignored intelligence failure.” — Benjamin B. Fischer, CIA’s former chief historian.

Lewis M. Dabney, Scholar Who Made Edmund Wilson Focus of His Life’s Work, Dies at 83

Professor Dabney, who taught at the University of Wyoming, spent more than 40 years immersed in Wilsoniana.

NYT History Book Reviews: Who Got Noticed this Week?

by Erik Moshe

This week ... World War II, the Cold War, India at war. Sorry.  Merry Christmas. 

History teachers are starting to abandon textbooks

Jim Loewen says textbooks don't teach the forest. They teach twigs. 

Historian reveals the story behind one of the world's most iconic images of war

Research has shed new light on the impact of Herbert Mason's famous picture of St Paul's Cathedral taken during the Second World War

William Leuchtenburg, at age 93, is out with a big fat new book

His goal in writing "The American President" was to provide a definitive history of the rise of the United States presidency, from virtual insignificance throughout the 19th century to global powerhouse in the 20th.

Disputing Korean Narrative on ‘Comfort Women,’ a Professor Draws Fierce Backlash

Park Yu-ha has been charged with defamation for a book that challenged the common understanding of “comfort women” as innocent girls taken forcibly and raped by Japanese colonizers.

OAH stands with adjuncts, backs collective bargaining in most situations

The organization says work conditions for part-time, adjunct, and contingent historians is seriously wanting.

Thomas Laqueur traces our evolving relationship with the dead

In his new book, The Work of the Dead, Laqueur examines the cultural significance of human remains and describes how burial and cremation customs have evolved over the centuries.

2 historians say America needs a monument that excoriates slavery

Blain Roberts and Ethan Kytle, professors at California State University, Fresno, expressed their views in an op ed in the NYT.

Diplomats protest the glorification of Hungary’s anti-Semitic historian Balint Homan

The statute commemorating the Nazi collaborator is erected by a “private group” linked to the far-right Jobbik party, but has received state and municipality funding, and has the moral support of the local Mayor, Andras Cser-Palkovics.

Princeton professor Julian Zelizer: I was blackballed by shul

Julian E. Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University and the son of a prominent Metuchen rabbi, said his invitation to speak at a Pennsylvania synagogue was revoked over the suspicion that he didn’t hold sufficiently supportive views of Israel.

Benedict Anderson, Scholar Who Saw Nations as ‘Imagined,’ Dies at 79

Dr. Anderson, an expert on Southeast Asia, transformed the study of nationalism with his book “Imagined Communities” and other works.

Stephen Prothero says liberals always win culture wars

That’s his conclusion after a careful review of culture wars since 1800.