Category Archives: Museums and Historical Memory

Salvaging the Voice of America

Posted on March 8, 2026 by briansandberg

A federal judge in the United States has invalidated the mass firings at the Voice of America that were carried out in 2025 by Kari Lake, a Trump administration appointee. “A federal judge on Saturday ruled that the appointment of … Continue reading →

Posted in History of News, Information Management, international relations, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Public History, United States Foreign Policy, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Histoire Contestée – Les usages du passé

Posted on February 10, 2026 by briansandberg

Histoire Contestée : Les usages du passé et libertés académiques Pour cette première session collective du cycle de rencontres Ouvertures, Brian Sandberg, historien et Senior Fellow 2025-2026, propose un après-midi dédié à la contestation de l’Histoire et aux guerres culturelles. … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, 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, Intellectual History, Mediterranean World, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, Strategy and International Politics, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Commemorating MLK Day in Troubled Times

Posted on January 19, 2026 by briansandberg

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Historians across the United States are commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr., today (19 January 2026) in troubled times. Historians are reinterpreting the Civil Rights Movement and its significance, even as civil rights and human … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Cultural History, Education Policy, High School History Teaching, Higher Education, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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