This new faculty-graduate student discussion group addresses the political agendas of the uses and abuses of history throughout the world, both historically and today. We meet semi-monthly in the NIU Library (typically in the Rare Books and Special Collections Department, Room 403) to discuss article-length works relevant to the topic in any aspect of world history. Please contact Aaron Fogleman at aaronfogleman@niu.edu or Bradley Wiles at bwiles@niu.edu for more information or suggestions for topics and readings. Meeting times, places and readings will be shared via email.
Past Topics
- James Grossman, "African American History in Florida: AHA Response to New Standards of Instruction," Perspectives on History, September 2023.
- The 1619 Project and the Origins of the American Revolution: Nikole Hannah-Jones (New York Times Magazine, Aug. 14, 2019, and copied Tweet, March 12, 2020), with response from Leslie Harris (Politico, March 6, 2020) and correction from Jack Silverstein, New York Times Magazine, March 11, 2020.
- Vladimir Putin, "The Historical Unity Between Russians and Ukrainians" (2021) and two criticisms of his misuse of history in the New York Times and Time.
- The Ramseyer Controversy on Korean Comfort Women and Japan, addressed in Tessa Morris-Suzuki, "The ‘Comfort Women’ Issue, Freedom of Speech, and Academic Integrity: A Study Aid," The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 19, Issue 5, Nr. 12, March 1, 2021.
- Andrew Gillett, "The Fall of Rome and the Retreat of European Multiculturalism: A Historical Trope as a Discourse of Authority in Public Debate," Cogent Arts & Humanities, Vol. 4:1, 2017.
- Brian Sandberg review of Zemmour contre l’histoire and David Blight, "The Fog of History Wars."