A Horrible Look for the American Historical Association
kevinmlevin.substack.com
What was the president of the American Historical Association thinking? On Tuesday James Sweet published what can only be described as a hit piece on the organization’s website. He accused his fellow academic historians of falling victim to presentism, whose interpretations of the recent past do little more than, “collapse into the familiar terms of contemporary debates, leaving little room for the innovative, counterintuitive interpretations.”
Someone forwarded me an article that was in the Wall Street Journal that appeared to discuss in part what James Sweet said. Unfortunately, I don’t have a subscription so I can’t access it but I pass it along for those who do.
I hadn’t heard about the article until you mentioned it but in the last few years there has been a tendency to view the past through the prism of the present which, in my opinion, is a mistake just as is, for example, the tendency of the Supreme Court to decide the problems of the present through the prism of the past. Every age has to be considered in the historical reality in which people then lived. What people did then we consider objectionable today but I can’t judge them by today’s standards.
I’m not a historian! And one of the things about the 1619 Project I liked was the way the essays drew lines from past events to the present. Does that make it a better or worse project? I can only tell you that, as an amateur, it’s what helps engage me. Also, yes, stay off Twitter. <shudders>
I’ve read a good deal about this sad development and you’ve summed it up perfectly. There were people who spoke to these same issues of social Justice from the very beginnings of our country - the Quakers come to mind in particular. Yes, Mr. Sweet has handed the enemies of public education a stick to beat us with. 💔🤬
Someone forwarded me an article that was in the Wall Street Journal that appeared to discuss in part what James Sweet said. Unfortunately, I don’t have a subscription so I can’t access it but I pass it along for those who do.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-unmaking-of-american-history-american-historical-association-james-sweet-presentism-activism-1619-project-academics-professors-11661532876
I cringed as soon as I saw Sweet’s article. Thanks for the review.
White nationalist Richard Spencer picked up on this AHA president's critique of 1619 project and gave it his hearty thumbs up.
I hadn’t heard about the article until you mentioned it but in the last few years there has been a tendency to view the past through the prism of the present which, in my opinion, is a mistake just as is, for example, the tendency of the Supreme Court to decide the problems of the present through the prism of the past. Every age has to be considered in the historical reality in which people then lived. What people did then we consider objectionable today but I can’t judge them by today’s standards.
I’m not a historian! And one of the things about the 1619 Project I liked was the way the essays drew lines from past events to the present. Does that make it a better or worse project? I can only tell you that, as an amateur, it’s what helps engage me. Also, yes, stay off Twitter. <shudders>
History Twitter had a meltdown yesterday, including me, and I don't usually join pile-ons. Good move leaving that platform!
I think there is a nugget of an idea worth considering in his critique, but he put it like this and so lost all credibility. It's the worst.
Yeah, I'm giving a talk to a learned society in DC in a couple of hours and I'm bracing myself for questions about this. I'd really rather not...
I’ve read a good deal about this sad development and you’ve summed it up perfectly. There were people who spoke to these same issues of social Justice from the very beginnings of our country - the Quakers come to mind in particular. Yes, Mr. Sweet has handed the enemies of public education a stick to beat us with. 💔🤬