Historian Kate Masur has published another op-ed piece on Spielberg’s Lincoln in which she responds to unnamed critics of her earlier review of the movie at the New York Times. It’s difficult to see what, if anything, is new in this follow-up piece, but in reading it I think I have a better sense of [...]
Slavery
Just returned from a weekend in Lake Placed, New York where I took part in a conference sponsored by a small grassroots organization called John Brown Lives! The conference brought together historians, teachers, students, and activists working to end modern day slave trafficking. It was an incredibly enjoyable and intellectually stimulating weekend. Many of you [...]
This weekend I head to upstate New York for a conference sponsored by John Brown Lives! On Friday evening I will host a public screening of the movie Glory at the Palace Theater in Lake Placid for the general public and the following day will do a workshop on the movie for area history teachers. [...]
It’s always nice to hear from readers who take the time to share how much they enjoy your work. Though it’s a bit more painful to read, I also appreciate readers who point out my interpretive shortcomings and downright factual errors. That is just what happened in response to my essay about John Christopher Winsmith, [...]
What follows is a guest post by Thom Bassett, who recently took a trip to Virginia to explore Civil War battlefields and other sites. He took the time to visit the new MOC museum at Appomattox and sent along this review. Thom teaches at Bryant University in Providence, R.I. He has written numerous essays for [...]
David Blight’s Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory has dominated the historiography of Civil War memory studies since its publication in 2001. Beyond academic circles, Blight’s emphasis on the triumph of reconciliation over an “emancipationst narrative” can be found in documentaries, news articles, and even historical tours. Rarely do historical interpretations enjoy [...]
I think most of you are going to enjoy this one. Speaking of reenactors, I enjoyed reading this piece about the experience of one extra in Spielberg’s Lincoln movie.
Byron Thomas made a name for himself not too long ago by hanging a Confederate flag in his dorm window at the University of South Carolina – Beaufort. Since then he has utilized YouTube to promote his own vision of a post-racial society. Some of it is worth watching and some of it is not. [...]
