not even past
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Civics 101 in History 130 & 131
My friend Virginia introduced me to the New Hampshire Public Radio-produced podcast Civics 101 earlier this year. She was on the board of NHPR and rightly-proud of their new venture. I’ve enjoyed listening to host Virginia Prescott (a different Virginia) interview a different guest each week – including many professors – on topics like “Party Whips,” […]
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The American cantus firmus
There is an abyss between the man about to assume power and the best shared traditions of the country he represents. Source: The Music Donald Trump Can’t Hear In a beautiful piece in The New Yorker entitled “The Music Donald Trump Can’t Hear,” Adam Gopnik advises us to differentiate between the coming changes that we think are […]
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Enough to drive you crazy if you let it
One incessant refrain in the weeks since the election has been how Democrats – and Hillary Clinton in particular – failed to reach out to “working people” and secure their votes.[1]This presumes that policy positions were the subject of media coverage in this election season, which they were not. This claim is dubious, but the […]
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What’s the state of our nation?
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was fortunate enough to see Hamilton (thanks, Corinne!), and it absolutely lived up to expectations. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve made my peace with the musical, despite some quibbles with the interpretation of the period it presents, and thought about how it might impact my scholarship and my teaching. I thought […]
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The cowardice of “no strong convictions”
Many of us in Connecticut were horrified – but not surprised – at video of a post-election gathering at which someone in Klan robes rode around a bonfire waving a Trump/Pence sign while onlookers laughed and cheered. Some, however, including the first selectman, downplayed the seriousness of this. A town leader downplayed the vile bash. […]
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The weight of history
This election has led to a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over the state of the electorate, and I’ve seen a lot of people arguing that the voting population in the United States needs more civics education. In many ways, I agree; I don’t think most voters could explain the mechanisms of our government […]
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The planks in our own eyes
This is a post that’s been percolating in my brain, and in my academic writing, for a long time. The latest uproar – and the terms of the uproar – over leaked Clinton campaign emails with comments about Catholics has made it clear it’s as good a time as any to put these thoughts out […]
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Who tells your story, or, how Hamilton is and isn’t changing my teaching
The experience of being a historian of Early America[1]This in itself is a problematic categorization. I study the 19th century, and I am most comfortable with the antebellum period, but my program conceived of me as an “Early Americanist” … Continue reading during the moment of Hamilton has been a complex one for me, and it’s brought […]
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When did America stop being great? Another darn good question.
“We have been overlooked, with all these special-interest groups getting their way.” Source: We asked Trump voters, “When did America stop being great?” Their answers were amazing. A fascinating counterpoint to this earlier video produced by The Atlantic that I mentioned last week. I think these things matter to us as historians because, as John Fea and […]
