This post is an essay by one of my favorite historians, Johann Neem, which appeared two years ago Hedgehog Review. Here's a link to the original. His topic is the critically important question of how we can create a shared narrative for the American people -- one that incorporates the bad parts without denying the good … Continue reading Johann Neem — A Usable Past: Providing a Narrative to House the Facts of American History
This post is an essay by Eliot Cohen, which was published recently in the Atlantic. Here's a link to the original. He's making the argument that universities have no business taking stands on major issues of public policy and international affairs that are outside the scope of their institutional domain. It's in line the Chicago position … Continue reading Eliot Cohen — The Great Academic Squirm
This piece was published in Inside Higher Ed in June, 2020. Here’s a link to the original. It speaks for itself. The argument here seems particularly pertinent in light of the current conflicts on campuses across the country over free speech and the war between Israel and Hamas. DOCTORAL DYSFUNCTION Many doctoral students today are tending to fall into … Continue reading Doctoral Dysfunction
This post is an essay by George Packer from the April issue of Atlantic. Here's a link to the original. I find a thoughtful rumination on the problems posed by shifting to equity language in an effort to reduce discrimination and disparagement. The problem, he says, is that the effort tends to lead to euphemisms, which … Continue reading George Packer: The Moral Case Against Equity Language
This post is my response to student comments about a piece I wrote called "We're Producing Academic Technicians and Justice Warriors: A Sermon on Educational Research, part 2." Both were published in the Swiss journal Bildungsgeschichte: International Journal for the Historiography of Education. The "We're Producing" paper was in turn a follow-up to another piece I … Continue reading Response to Student Comments on My “Academic Technicians and Justice Warriors” Essay
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 