The Democracy Issue
Inspired by the social movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Los Angeles artist John August Swanson created a series of collages, reproduced as seriographs, that he called "exploding newspapers." These combined overexposed photographs, lettering, stamps, and words that were meaningful to him. Seeds of Brotherhood (1973), reproduced on our cover, is one "exploding newspaper" that seems to capture the essence of democracy for us: optimistic, with an underlying order that belies its first impression, and full of people. John August Swanson, Seeds of Brotherhood. Copyright 1973 by John August Swanson. Serigraph, 17.5" x 23". www.JohnAugustSwanson.com.
Staff
Featured Articles
From the AHA
Black Pasts Matter: Charting the Future of African American History
The Future of the African American Past, a conference held May 19–21 in Washington, DC, brought together public audiences and…
Survey Finds Fewer Students Enrolling in College History Courses
Undergraduate teaching offers many historians their widest audiences, as well as some of the most direct opportunities to maintain the…
Linking In: How Historians Are Fighting Wikipedia’s Biases
A promotional poster for a women’s history edit-a-thon at the Berkman Center at Harvard University that reads “We Can [edit].”…
Perspectives on Democracy: Introduction
Thinking about democracy requires confronting contradictions. What makes a political system “democratic” in its workings? What makes a society “democratic”…
China: Vicissitudes of Definitions
Sun Yat-sen (pictured here on a postcard) became president of the new Republic of China in the course of the…
The United States: Self-Taught Activism
The abolitionist and escaped slave Frederick Douglass lectured throughout Britain and Ireland in the 1840s. This image appeared in The…
India: Collective Assembly as a Critical Practice
In July 2016, 12,000 Dalits marched on the streets of Ahmedabad to protest atrocities against members of their community. @AMusketeer/Twitter…
Brazil: Regional Inequality—Whose Vote Counts?
“I’ve already done my duty. And you?”: Citizens of São Paulo who revolted against the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in…
Senegal: Gender and Colonial Legacy
As French West Africa decolonized after World War II, women of Senegal’s four Communes erupted in protest, demanding suffrage rights.…
The United Kingdom: Class, Race, and Identity
Launched by the British activist organization Operation Black Vote, this controversial poster appeared during the run-up to the vote on…
Townhouse Notes September 2016
Graduate students weather ridicule regularly. There’s that 2006 Simpsons clip in which Bart taunts, “Look at me, I’m a grad…
Democracy and Its Variations
Like many others, I have maintained an article of faith that the people should govern. But in reading about democracy…
New Life for FOIA: Holding Government Accountable through Access to Federal Records
On July 4, our nation celebrated the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The day also…
Carolyn P. Boyd (1944-2015): Historian of modern Spain; AHA member
Historian of modern Spain; AHA member Carolyn P. Boyd, a world-renowned scholar of modern Spain, died at her home in…
Richard W. Davis (1935-2015): Historian of Great Britain; AHA member
Historian of Great Britain; AHA member Richard W. Davis passed away on December 25, 2015, after a prolonged illness. He…
On Accessibility at AHA Headquarters
To the editor: Your picture of the entrance to AHA national headquarters (“Townhouse Notes,” Perspectives on History, April 2016) conveys…
Letter to the Editor: Defining a Public Historian
To the editor: While engaged in an Internet search for a precise definition of the term “public historian,” I was…
Five Myths about Denver, Host City to the 2017 Annual Meeting
For the duration of the next thousand words, consider me your tour guide through the Mile High City. The majority…
Advocacy in Action: AHA Sends Letter to the Texas Board of Education Regarding Proposed Mexican American Studies Textbook
On September 20, 2016, executive director Jim Grossman sent a letter to the Texas Board of Education expressing the Association’s…
AHA Member Spotlight: Allison Brown
Allison Brown is a writer and editor at the Museum of the Bible. She lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, and has…
Announcing the Palmegiano Prize in the History of Journalism
The American Historical Association is pleased to announce a new book prize to honor excellence in historical scholarship. The Eugenia…
AHA Member Spotlight: Jessica Young
AHA members are involved in all fields of history, with wide-ranging specializations, interests, and areas of employment. To recognize our…
Staff Picks from the 2017 AHA Annual Meeting Program
Here at the AHA townhouse in Capitol Hill, staff members are switching into high gear as we prep for the…
Putting Zika in Historical Context
The Zika virus has recently announced its unwelcome arrival in the continental United States. In addition to over 2,500 individuals…
Teaching with ORBIS
After a few minutes of tinkering with ORBIS: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World, one of my…
AHA Executive Director Comments on University of Chicago Faculty Letter and Academic Freedom
In late August the dean of students at the University of Chicago, John Ellison, stirred up a hornets’ nest with…
AHA Member Spotlight: Mahjoob Zweiri
Mahjoob Zweiri is an associate professor in contemporary history of the Middle East in the Humanities Department and graduate faculty…
Registration and Housing Now Open for the AHA17 Annual Meeting
You can now register and book your hotel at the AHA annual meeting at discounted rates. Don’t forget that AHA…
AHA Guidelines Crucial to Response to Controversial Textbook
AHA Teaching Division Councilor Trinidad Gonzales (South Texas Coll.) and AHA member Emilio Zamora (Univ. of Texas, Austin) are part…
What I Do: Aaron Marrs, US Department of State
As part of the Career Diversity for Historians initiative, the AHA is producing and making available short videos of historians…
Who Died of Consumption?
In summer 2015, a project team of eight students from Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, and George Mason University…
AHA Member Spotlight: Gregory Bereiter
Gregory Bereiter is a historian at the Naval History and Heritage Command where he’s currently researching and writing about naval operations…
AHA Holds Second Conference on Introductory History Courses in Texas
On August 5 and 6, the AHA held its second annual Texas Conference on Introductory History Courses at San Antonio…
Wrapping Up the 2016 AHA Today Summer Blog Contest
This summer, three history graduate students presented their research on subjects as varied as plantation architecture, gift exchange between Muslims…
Democracy, Now (and Then): Announcing the September Issue of Perspectives
Like the scent of fresh school supplies, Perspectives on History is back for fall. We’re proud to present our big…