Still More Noted

Congratulations to four historians who have been confirmed for six year terms on NEH's National Advisory Council: Allen Guelzo of Gettysburg College*, Mary Habeck of Johns Hopkins, Wilford M. McClay of the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and Jay Winik, a public historian at the Hudson Institute.
*Years ago, I gave Guelzo some holy hell over what must have been his first published article. The last time I saw him, I told him that it was good to see that he was" capable of growth."

Endgame: William J. Turkel,"The Difference That Makes a Difference," Digital History Hacks, 26 November, tackles the question of how, with an infinite archive at hand, you know when you've finished your research.

Revenge of the N-Words: Diane McWhorter,"The N-Word: Unmentionable Lessons of the Mid-Term Aftermath," Slate, 28 November; and Daniel Drezner,"Sanest Quote Ever" and Eric Rauchway,"The N-Word, Further," Open University, 28 November. Different N-words, but both suggest the folly of prohibited speech. Too often, we attempt to reify matters of prudential judgment with social taboos or legal codes.

Finally, farewell to Richard W. Leopold, professor emeritus of American History at Northwestern. A former president of the Organization of American Historians, he was the author of Robert Dale Owen: A Biography (1940); Elihu Root and the Conservative Tradition (1954); and The Growth of American Foreign Policy (1962). I never met Professor Leopold, but he was my academic grandfather.