Jill Lepore Archives - Public Seminar

Feature

National Identities, Popular Histories

Nations are built on both ideals and ugly contradictions – historians have an obligation to both

May 8, 2019 • by Claire Potter

This essay was originally published on May 8 2019. I want to begin with a confession, since it’s always better to admit the embarrassing thing that everybody knows: twentieth century United States historians like me are raised with minimal expectations that become glaringly apparent when we read a book that begins ...

Feature

Are American Indians Part of a United States National History?

This land didn’t just used to belong to indigenous nations — it still does

May 7, 2019 • by Malinda Maynor Lowery

This essay was originally published on May 8 2019. I assume I was invited to participate because my field of study is American Indian history, and this book does not cover a lot of American Indian history. So my role here is to talk about how we could and should deal ...

Feature

Why John Dewey Should Matter to Historians

The role of knowledge and truth in the Constitutional order was Dewey’s central project

May 6, 2019 • by David A. Hollinger

This essay was originally published on May 6 2019. These Truths: A History of the United States is the book that Henry Steel Commager tried to write forty years ago, but did not. Commager’s 1979 volume, Empire of Reason, took seriously the Enlightenment foundation for the nation, but his account of the many ...

Education

Reviving Humanities Education

A counterintuitive suggestion

May 23, 2018 • by Andrew Hartman

A 2017 Pew Research Center poll reveals a majority of Republicans believe American universities have a negative impact on the country. It seems the nation’s system of higher education is falling prey to growing political polarization. Just as Republicans have increasingly come to distrust other seemingly liberal institutions, such as the ...

Multi Media

Standing Rock, the FBI, and Political Pundits

Past Present Episode 58

November 13, 2016 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Neil J. Young and Nicole Hemmer

In this week's episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate the standoff at Standing Rock, the political role of the FBI, and the role of political pundits. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The Standing Rock Sioux and activists are protesting the possible construction of the Dakota ...