Contesting Narratives
Histories are always political; recently, historians’ involvement in politics feels unavoidable. This issue explores contesting historical narratives in public spaces. Emily Sclafani’s “The Danger of a Single Origin Story” and Tina Gross’s “Search Terms Up for Debate” discuss the legacy of old narratives, while Victoria Saker Woeste’s “The Charlottesville Verdict” weaves together historical and contemporary popular history. In “Trolling History,” Alexandra F. Levy examines public blowback against historians, and Alexandra J. Finley’s “Joining the Chorus” argues for understanding of historians as political actors. But will the cracks in the foundation identified by these authors be repaired, stabilize, or end up bringing the whole building down?
Photo: Lisa Brewster/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
Staff
Townhouse Notes
Plague—that’s something I know a bit about. I’ve studied the science of the human past under Michael McCormick, listened attentively…
March Madness
This coming month is recruiting season for history graduate programs across the country. During the second weekend of March, COVID…
John R. Gillis (1939–2021)
John R. Gillis, professor emeritus at Rutgers University, died in Berkeley, California, on December 7, 2021. Born in 1939 in…
Harry A. Kersey Jr. (1935–2021)
Harry A. Kersey Jr., an eminent historian of the modern Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, passed away on November 7,…
Linda Nash (1962–2021)
Linda Nash died on October 17, 2021, in Seattle, Washington, from lymphoma. A noted scholar of US environmental history at…
Julius S. Scott (1955–2021)
It is hard to imagine that any historian has ever been more famous for a dissertation. Julius S. Scott III…
Betty C. Wood (1945–2021)
Betty C. Wood, retired member of the history faculty at the University of Cambridge and an AHA honorary foreign member…
On “Another Digital Revolution”
To the Editor: In her December 2021 column, “Another Digital Revolution,” Jacqueline Jones writes about the digitized wealth of “evidentiary…
On “Townhouse Notes: Making a More Readable and Accessible Publication”
To the Editor: After reading “Townhouse Notes: Making a More Readable and Accessible Publication” (January 2022), I applaud the effort…
On “Missing Women”
To the Editor: I applaud Bridget Riley’s initiative and diligence in working with her students to incorporate the experiences of…
Activism on Screen
The AHA held its 16th annual film festival during the 2022 annual meeting. One of the better kept secrets of…
AHA Member Spotlight: Richard D. Driver
Richard D. Driver is an associate professor of history at McLennan Community College. He lives in Hewitt, Texas, and has…
AHA Member Spotlight: Rachel Rothstein
Rachel Rothstein is a teacher and dean of social studies and the director of the Israel Poland Experience at the…
AHA Member Spotlight: Andrew Preston
Andrew Preston is a professor of American history at Cambridge University. He lives in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and has been…
Want to Write for the AHA?
A key skill for historians—whether they work in academia, public history, archives, publishing, or beyond—is the ability to communicate with…
AHA Member Spotlight: Cherisse Jones-Branch
Cherisse Jones-Branch is dean of the Graduate School at Arkansas State University. She lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and has been…
Teaching Historiography in the K–12 Classroom
How did you learn historiography? When did you realize that historiography existed in the first place? Maybe it was in…