Author Archives: briansandberg

Academic Presses Making Deals with AI Companies

Posted on July 30, 2025 by briansandberg

I am alarmed to discover that Johns Hopkins University Press, one of the leading academic presses in the world is making deals with AI companies to license their titles to “train” LLMs. Here is an urgent question for friends who … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Academic Publishing, Civil Rights Issues, Digital Humanities, Higher Education, History of the Book, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Legal history, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

George Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Modern America

Posted on July 28, 2025 by briansandberg

Charlie English has published an essay in The New York Times on the role that George Orwell’s 1984 played in the Cold War, drawing comparisons to the book being banned in the United States in the twenty-first century. English is … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Academic Publishing, Authoritarianism, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Studies, High School History Teaching, History in the Media, History of the Book, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Intellectual History, international relations, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Theory, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Summer Interns Lose Positions in Trump Cuts

Posted on July 15, 2025 by briansandberg

The massive layoffs and disruptions in federal agencies carried out by Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE team and the broader Trump administration have eliminated thousands of summer internships positions for young Americans. “The Trump administration’s sweeping cuts have pushed many lifetime … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Careers in History, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Humanities Education, Jobs and Positions, Political History of the United States, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society | Leave a comment

“Israel is Committing Genocide” – Historian Omar Bartov

Posted on July 15, 2025 by briansandberg

Historian Omar Bartov, one of the leading specialists on the history of genocides, demonstrates that Israel is indeed carrying out a genocidal military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza. “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” according to Bartov in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atrocities, Civil Rights Issues, Civilians and Refugees in War, Empires and Imperialism, Genocides, History of Race and Racism, History of Violence, Human Rights, international relations, Laws of War, Religious Violence, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Blocks International Students Going to Harvard

Posted on May 22, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration is launching a new attack on Harvard University, one of the premier private academic institutions in the United States. The New York Times reports that “The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Legal history, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“A Gross Usurpation of Power” by Trump Administration

Posted on May 20, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration’s recent takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and firing of its leaders and staff members were unlawful acts. In March 2025, members of Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE team, with the assistance of armed officers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Higher Education, Human Rights, Peacemaking Processes, Political History of the United States, Strategy and International Politics, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taxing Endowments Will Shift Tuition Costs to Students

Posted on May 20, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration plans to tax endowments at many private universities. This policy would shift the cost of tuition on students and their families, depriving many students of access to a university education at many private universities and colleges. Universities … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mellon Foundation Assists Humanities Councils

Posted on April 30, 2025 by briansandberg

The Mellon Foundation has thrown a lifeline to state humanities councils, which were stripped of their federal grant funding by the Trump administration recently as part of its dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). “The Mellon Foundation … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, Public History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Admin Diverts NEH Funds to Sculpture Garden

Posted on April 28, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration has gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), laying off staff members and cancelling current grants awards to humanities researchers and institutions across the nation. I know many historians and humanities researchers who have had their … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Administration Aims to Manipulate History

Posted on April 24, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump and his administration are attempting to manipulate the historical record of the United States and control historical interpretations of its past. President Trump issued an executive order on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” on 27 March … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Contemporary France, Education Policy, French History, Higher Education, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment