To the editor:

I read with great interest the exchange on US political history (“Political History: An Exchange,” January 2017). It was a bit disconcerting to read highly accomplished scholars debate the nature of US political history and the proper term for same-sex-oriented people while the crisis in the humanities threatens to destroy much of the profession at four-year colleges and universities. It brought to mind that old joke about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. In my humble opinion, this is not a time to divide, but to unite so that we might properly address the present existential crisis.

Williamjames Hull Hoffer
Seton Hall University

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