LInks to Recent Articles of Interest
By Sean Wilentz, New York Review of Books, August 17 issue
A review essay on Jeffrey Toobin's new book Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism (Simon and Schuster, 2023), which links right-wing anti-government violence to Republican politics going back to the Reagan administration. The author teaches US history at Princeton University and his books include, among others, The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 (Harper, 2008).
By Alan J. Singer, Daily Kos, posted July 23
A concise critique of Florida's new black history standards against the background of the state's racial history during and after slavery. The author is a historian and the director for social studies education programs at Hofstra University.
Interview of Alice Lynd and Luke Stewart by Chris Hedges, The Real News, posted July 21
Insights into the late historian and activist who died last November at age 91. Alice Lynd was Staughton's wife and comrade for over seventy years; Luke Stewart is a Canadian who edited a volume of Staughton's writings and speeches against the Vietnam War, My Country Is the World (Haymarket Books) and earlier served on the steering committee of Historians Against the War along with Staughton.
By Ariel Gold and Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler, Fellowship, posted July 14
Highlights the role of Elliot Abrams, recently chosen by Mitch McConnell to join the State Department Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, as a Reagan administration official in the 1980s, when he glossed over mass murder in El Salvador and Guatemala.
By Anatol Lieven, Common Dreams, posted July 12
Written before the recent NATO summit, this article warns against a firm commitment to NATO membership for Ukraine and describes the consequences of the 2008 language of eventual membership for Ukraine and Georgia. The author is a visiting professor in International Relations and Terrorism Studies at King's College London.
By Juan Cole, TomDispatch, posted July 9
A detailed report on the calamitous environmental results that flowed from the US invasion of Iraq twenty years ago. The author teaches Middle East history at the University of Michigan.
By Lawrence Wittner, Hollywood Progressive, posted July 9
Links the story told by the new Hollywood movie with decades-long efforts to reduce the dangers of atomic warfare. The author is a professor emeritus of history at SUNY Albany.
By Samuel Huneke, The Baffler, posted July 6
A capsule history of the persecution of queer people in Europe. “By harnessing the solidarity and sympathy aroused by persecution, queer activist movements have, in the long run, turned conservative overreach into leverage.” The author teaches modern German history at George Mason University and wrote States of Liberation on gay men in cold war Germany (U. of Toronto Press, 2022).
By Martha S. Jones, The Atlantic, posted July 2
On birthright citizenship and challenges to it. “Calls to undo birthright, though couched in terms of immigration reform, ultimately aim to undo a key precept of our democracy: equitable access to citizenship…. Birthright safeguards those born here from political leaders who would mete out citizenship as a reward or withhold it as a punishment.” The author teaches history at Johns Hopkins University and is the author of Birthright Citizens (Cambridge U. Press, 2018).
By Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne, Harpers, June 2023 issue
A lengthy, detailed exposition of the viewpoint that US policies going back to the 1990s, especially in regard to NATO expansion, were primarily responsible for the Ukraine War. Benjamin Schwarz is a former editor of Harper's and Christopher Layne teaches international affairs at Texas A&M University.
Statement sponsored by appr. 130 civil society organizations in Ukraine, posted May 26
Addressed to “peacebuilding movements worldwide,” the statement presents a critical Ukrainian view of proposals internationally to limit the ongoing provision of weapons to Ukraine and to press for a cease-fire in the war.
Thanks to Mara Dodge, Rusti Eisenberg, and an anonymous reader for flagging articles included in the above list, and to Roger Peace for perceptive comments on articles being considered. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.