Category Archives: Museums and Historical Memory

Effacing History at the Smithsonian

Posted on August 13, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump has launched a coordinated effort to efface the historical record of the United States in the national museums of the Smithsonian Institution. “The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it would begin a wide-ranging review of current and … Continue reading →

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

Trump Orders a Politicized Rewriting of History

Posted on August 12, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump has ordered a politicized rewriting of history at the national museums of the Smithsonian Institution. Trump’s order initiates a new offensive in the ongoing War on History, which represents one front in a broader set of Culture Wars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Activism and Protest Culture, 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

The American Revolution Began 250 Years Ago

Posted on April 20, 2025 by briansandberg

Today is the 250th anniversary of the first shots of the American Revolution at the battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775. The 250th anniversary celebrations of the War of American Independence (1775-1783) have begun. Prepare for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, Historical Re-enactment, History in the Media, History of the Western World, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, Revolts and Revolutions, United States History and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Officials Remove Books from Libraries

Posted on April 14, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration continues its war on knowledge by removing books from the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered staff to remove 381 books from the Nimitz Library. The books removed include novels by Maya … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Civil-Military Relations, Education Policy, Higher Education, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Legal history, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Public History, United States History and Society, Women and Gender History | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NEH Funds to be Diverted to Trump Pet Project

Posted on April 11, 2025 by briansandberg

Last week, hundreds of active grants that were already awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) after rigorous peer review were unlawfully cancelled by Trump administration officials. Many professors, researchers, and graduate students in History and the Humanities … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National Endowment for the Humanities Dismantled

Posted on April 7, 2025 by briansandberg

On Thursday night, the Trump administration placed 80 percent of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) staff members on administrative leave and blocked its grants to state humanities councils. The entire NEH is effectively being dismantled. I deplore these actions … Continue reading →

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

Trump Administration Erases Data, Alters Historical Record

Posted on April 7, 2025 by briansandberg

“Soon after the new administration arrived, things began to go missing from the White House website,” according to The New York Times. “They weren’t just the partisan policy platforms that typically disappear during a presidential transition. Informational pages about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Archival Research, Authoritarianism, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Leave a comment

On the Technocratic and Fascist Ideology of Elon Musk

Posted on April 4, 2025 by briansandberg

Elon Musk may exhibit highly erratic and volatile behavior, but he espouses a coherent Technocratic and Fascist ideology that was articulated in the 1930s. Jill Lepore, Professor of History and Law (Harvard University), traces the history of Elon Musk’s grandfather, … Continue reading →

Posted in Authoritarianism, Civil Rights Issues, Cultural History, Higher Education, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, History of the Western World, History of Violence, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Information Management, Information Revolutions, Intellectual History, Italian History, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Political Theory, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American Historical Association Acts to Save the NEH!

Posted on April 4, 2025 by briansandberg

The American Historical Association (AHA) is organizing actions to defend the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and historical researchers affected by the Trump administration’s and so-called DOGE’s teams attacks on the NEH. Trump administration members illegally halted payments on … Continue reading →

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