By Donald R. Kelley (NHC Fellow, 1984–85) In this book, one of the world’s leading intellectual historians offers a critical survey of Western historical thought and writing from the pre-classical era to the late eighteenth century. Donald R. Kelley focuses on persistent themes and methodology, including questions of myth, national origins, chronology, language, literary forms, … Continued
By John Hope Franklin (Trustee; NHC Fellow, 1980–81; 1981–82) In Race and History, John Hope Franklin, one of the nation’s foremost historians, collects twenty-seven of his most influential shorter writings. The essays are presented thematically and include pieces on southern history; significant but neglected historical figures; historiography; the connection between historical problems and contemporary issues; and … Continued
Edited by Anne Firor Scott (Trustee; NHC Fellow, 1980–81)
Edited by Donald R. Kelley (NHC Fellow, 1984–85)
In recent years, historians have increasingly taken to social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to engage with each other, with journalists, and with the general public too. But the social media landscape can be tricky to navigate. In this webinar, historian Kevin M. Kruse will guide participants through a discussion of best practices for … Continued
Historians are fond of saying that the past doesn’t repeat itself; it rhymes. To understand the present, we have to understand how we got here. Taking up some of the same questions, concerns, and analyses put forth in the newsletter Letters from an American, this webinar will demonstrate that you can’t get a grip on … Continued
I think I’ve always been an oral historian, but I didn’t always know to call myself one. When I was a young kid, I used to spend countless evening hours bombarding my father—always at the end of his long workdays—with questions about his life in India. He was the only person in my family who … Continued
Graduate student Justina Licata explains how a junior high school teacher’s passion and influence led her to embrace the study of history as a lifelong vocation. Transcript Hello, my name is Justina Licata, and I am a Ph.D. student studying history at UNC-G. And my humanities moment relates to how I became a history major … Continued
As a young girl visiting Vicksburg, Mississippi, Julia Nguyen encountered a Civil War statue. It altered not only the way she understands history, but the way she thinks about that very concept. Transcript I’m Julia Nguyen and my Humanities Moment, or at least this one because my life has been full of Humanities Moments, as … Continued
Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism compelled Alexander Knirim, then a young historian, to re-think the role of imagination in history. Knirim recounts how his original misunderstanding, that we can reconstruct historic truth, was challenged by Anderson’s book and evolved into an appreciation of Anderson’s exegesis.