Teach history at
@IllinoisStateU
. Write books: Education & the Cold War; A War for the Soul of America; Karl Marx in America (in progress w/
@UChicagoPress
)
Adolph Reed Jr on the Obamas-produced biopic on Bayard Rustin: "it was so banal and wrong-headed that immediately after it ended, I watched 'The Battle of Algiers' as a purgative." LOL
We lost our sweet boy Amos this morning. We adopted him late in his life but it always felt like he adopted us. Having him as a companion for our boys, especially this last year of hell, was the best gift. RIP to a very good boy.
A student just emailed me a paper that she called her "historical theory mixtape pertaining to Big Daddy Marx and the Notorious E.P. Thompson." She signed off, "Don't let your memes be dreams!" Automatic A!
Yes!
@BernieSanders
&
@RepJayapal
are sponsoring bill that would make college free for all households under $125k/year & require those colleges to have 75% of their faculty be tenure track, hired mostly from existing adjunct pool. Faculty sign support here
Teaching a grad seminar this summer, geared for high school history teachers, that I call: "A Ruthless Critique of the American History Survey." We will take the controversy over 1619/1776 as our starting point.
City of Quartz. Prisoners of the American Dream. Late Victorian Holocausts. Planet of Slums. Old Gods, New Enigmas: Marx's Lost Theory, & on. Not sure any historian has written so many different kinds of fascinating books that have taught me so much. Mike Davis is an original.
“All I care about is Medicare for All and free college and a living wage and ending the wars and a Green New Deal and legalizing marijuana." SAME! Great
@jacobinmag
interview with
@KyleKulinski
.
Trump’s attack on liberal indoctrination in the history classroom is consistent with right-wing anxieties that go back at least a century. I can recommend lots of books for those interested, including two of my own.
Just reading Any Rand's essays on philosophy in which she frequently quotes John Galt as if he's a reliable source & as if quoting your own fictional character is a totally normal thing to do.
"If you want to be a historian there must be things that matter enough for you to get angry about them; & those same things must matter enough for you to discipline your anger to the task of understanding for yourself & explaining to others."Barbara Fields
The essential question in my US history survey today: Reconstruction did not fail, it was killed--in what ways are we still paying for the murder of Reconstruction?
New book from my friend
@RobertFitz74
, coming soon with
@UNC_Press
. As a punk fan and Reagan hater, this book is tailor-made for me--and I assume I am not alone.
AP has always been a negative force in public education. The College Board’s persistent caving to reactionaries over its history curricula is only the latest, albeit stark example of this.
Fact that matters above all others, but which
@DineshDSouza
bots will deny at all costs, is that party identification & ideology was transformed in 20th century such that the party of Lincoln became party of white backlash against civil rights. Full stop.
The classic account of what is in fact the opposite--that US history textbooks are full of distortions that point in the direction of American exceptionalism--is James Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me." It's sold millions of copies, for good reason.
I go back & forth on merits of dragging right-wing charlatans like
@DineshDSouza
. But fact that Michigan right-winger trying to revise state social studies standards cited D'Souza as major influence makes me think
@KevinMKruse
is right to do what he does.
What They Didn't Teach You About the Civil War--great new
@GravelInstitute
video featuring
@karpmj
, about how the US Civil War was a left-wing revolution. This was Marx's well-considered opinion as well.
An American Story: Olympic gold medalist in swimming --> Homeless, living in his car --> Arrested for storming the Capitol as part of a right-wing, conspiracy-theory driven mob.
Well the good news about the GOP tax reform that will massively redistribute wealth upwards is that all the brilliant Robber Baron political cartoons from the Gilded Age will come back into fashion.
Saddest thing about Mayor Pete is his Dad is a Gramsci scholar. Unless his lame centrism is a bait and switch long march through the institutions, this is an example of steep familial decline.
After an arduous, humbling, but necessary peer review process, I submitted what I hope to be the final version of my book manuscript to my editor today. Fingers crossed that KARL MARX IN AMERICA will be available in Spring 2025.
VP Richard Nixon went to Accra to represent the US as Ghana celebrated independence in 1957.
Nixon to a black man at a dinner: “How does it feel to be free?”
Man: “I don’t know. I’m from Alabama.”
During the interminable wait between finishing a book and publication date, tiny signs that the thing is indeed on its way are like lifeboats.
@UChicagoPress
has put the marketing text on its website, which means the book must be real, right?
I would love to include this image in my book--of a CPUSA meeting in Chicago in 1939. But I can't seem to find who owns the rights in order to obtain permission. Long shot here--any ideas?
Based on tons of archival research, including interviews w/ former right-wing campus activists, RESISTANCE FROM THE RIGHT shows that our current campus wars are rooted in 60 years of right-wing organizing against real & perceived progressivism on the nation’s campuses. Must read!
It’s pub day!!!…
and I just got a message that RESISTANCE FROM THE RIGHT is already SOLD OUT ON AMAZON! You can still order from UNC Press, B&N, Target, Bookshop, and a few other places online
This is just.. 😭🫶
"The time during which the worker works is the time during which the capitalist consumes the labour-power he has bought from him. If the worker consumes his disposable time for himself, he robs the capitalist." --some guy
Now that I've completed this excellent book by Nick Witham (published by
@UChicagoPress
), a thread about the content, argument, & merits of this book is in order. (Warning: This is kind of long, more like a book review.)
RIP Gary Nash. Such a generous scholar. He read my culture wars manuscript far more carefully than I had a right to ask of him, patiently walking me through his experience with the controversy over the National History Standards. Red, White, & Black is a social history classic.
On this beautiful
#twittertuesday
morning thought I'd share some of my favorite
#twitterstorians
who are all worth a follow. I'd recommend first & foremost
@KevinMKruse
but seeing as how he is the Grand Puba of History Twitter, everyone already follows him. Some others though....
Reading a solid book by Matthew Downey and Kelly Long, "Teaching for Historical Literacy,” and came across this great little table that connects essential historical questions to a particular way of historical thinking.
"If Soleimani deserves condemnation for arming Iraqi insurgents, then George W. Bush and Dick Cheney deserve 10 times as much for starting the war in the first place." -- Truth by
@ryanlcooper
The McDonald’s workers in Denmark (who earns $22/hour) get six weeks of paid vacation a year, life insurance, a year’s paid maternity leave & a pension plan. Like all Danes, they enjoy universal medical insurance & paid sick leave."
After telling my students about my current research, one of them excitedly told me about the fact that Karl Marx once wrote a letter to Abe Lincoln! So hilariously endearing that he thought I needed to know that. I love teaching history.
I have grave concerns about how higher education will survive this pandemic if it's too dangerous to reopen campuses this fall. I haven't voiced these concerns in detail here because discourse is understandably so fraught. A true Catch-22. But we need to think seriously now.
My 10-year old son is obsessed with WW2 history & is dismayed to learn that a person can become a professional historian without knowing much about the B-29.
My friend & teacher Marty Sherwin has passed. An amazing historian. A World Destroyed about the secret diplomacy of the Manhattan Project broke important ground. The Oppenheimer biography he spent 20 years researching, & wrote with
@Kaibird123
, is simply an astounding book. RIP.
I just want to thank Congress & all of America’s other hallowed institutions for a abandoning me and my family for doing our part during this crisis. $600 doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is for us.
We in the History Department at
@IllinoisStateU
are hiring a historian of science at the assistant prof level on the tenure track. I am chairing the search so feel free to direct questions to me.
In interests of fairness, perhaps
@newtgingrich
supports the historical takes of
@DineshDSouza
? Dr. Newt did write a dissertation arguing that Belgium's educational policies in the Congo were largely noble. Seems like a Dinesh-type historical argument.
@FlyingWithSara
@merlinc2
This argument against universal healthcare is so disingenuous. Imagine if unions could spend their time organizing and bargaining for something other than healthcare?
@ezraklein
Because Medicare for All & other universal programs will be very difficult to get through Congress, we should just capitulate & allow the fascists & neoliberals to duke it out for control of the oligarchy.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz complained “for us to have to close our stores during the peak season, the holiday Christmas season just beginning, really is an injustice.” LOLed at this tidbit in great
@jacobinmag
essay on Seattle 1999 by
@DanielDenvir
.
My dept (
@ISUHistoryEd
) is HIRING tenure-track (asst/assc) prof of history & social studies education. Candidates should have PhD in history, secondary teaching experience, & ability/willingness to teach methods to aspiring history teachers. Share widely please!