Category Archives: The Past Alive: Teaching History

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

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

Historians Address the Attacks on Education in the U.S.

Posted on April 5, 2025 by briansandberg

The Organization of American Historians (OAH) is meeting in Chicago this week and many historians have been addressing the Trump administration’s attacks on education in the United States. The OAH is the premier academic association of historians who work on … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Authoritarianism, Civil Rights Issues, Democracy, Higher Education, History in the Media, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Legal history, Political History of the United States, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

American Federation of Teachers Lawsuit vs. Dept. Ed.

Posted on February 26, 2025 by briansandberg

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Democracy Forward, and their allies have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education and its Trump-appointed leaders. “A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the Trump administration of trying to radically rewrite well-established civil rights … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, High School History Teaching, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Legal history, Political Activism and Protest Culture, Political Culture, Political History of the United States, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrating Black History Month in a Time of Crisis

Posted on February 1, 2025 by briansandberg

History professors, teachers, and students across the United States are celebrating Black History Month in a time of crisis. “Feb. 1 is the beginning of Black History Month, which for decades has recognized the contributions of Black people to American … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Freedom, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, History of Slavery, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political Culture, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Historians and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Posted on January 20, 2025 by briansandberg

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Historians across the United States are remembering Martin Luther King, Jr., today (20 January 2025) and interpreting the significance of the Civil Rights Movement. University professors and high school teacher are confronting politicized debates … Continue reading →

Posted in History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Illinois History and Society, Museums and Historical Memory, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AHA and History Teaching in the News

Posted on September 20, 2024 by briansandberg

The American History Association and high school history teaching are in the news once again as the so-called “Culture Wars” continue to rage across the nation. History and Social Sciences teachers and their curricula often find themselves in the crosshairs … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Humanities, Education Policy, High School History Teaching, History in the Media, History of the Western World, Humanities Education, Public History, The Past Alive: Teaching History, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching Western History

Posted on August 30, 2024 by briansandberg

I am teaching HIST 110 History of the Western World I this fall semester at Northern Illinois and am once again revamping the readings. I have decided to go with a new interpretive essay, Josephine Quinn’s How the World Made … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient History, European History, Historiography and Social Theory, History of the Western World, Idea of Europe, Medieval History, Mediterranean World, Northern Illinois University, The Past Alive: Teaching History, Undergraduate Work in History, World History | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment