I Rise to Speak in Favor of the Discipline I Taught

by Bob Schoone-Jongen In the wake of President Trump’s embrace of “patriotic history” at the National Archives on Thursday, I rise to speak in favor of the discipline I taught, studied, researched, and wrote about for decades. I also rise to oppose categorically the debauched definition of history he espoused in that hallowed national space …

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“Digging In” to a Company’s History

by Bob Schoone-Jongen During the spring of 2017, I received a request to help compile the history of the Braen Stone Company, headquartered in Haledon, New Jersey. The company has been in business since 1904, owned by the same family for five generations. The owners hoped to mark their 115th anniversary with a coffee table …

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Moments in History

by Bob Schoone-Jongen. During September 1974 President Ford pardoned President Nixon of all the crimes he committed while in office. This ended two things: Nixon’s legal problems and Ford’s reelection hopes. Today we know two other things: Nixon died reviled; Ford died a profile in courage. History changes things. The Wall no longer divides Berlin, …

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Sometimes History Hits Home

by Bob Schoone-Jongen. Sometimes history hits home. Hurricane Harvey is one of those hits. Watching the devastation along the Gulf Coast, from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur, has been heart wrenching. Following the struggles of folks in the region, some of them my former students from back in Minnesota, puts real faces and real experiences …

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What to binge watch over break

Whether you are a student relaxing after exams, a professor done with grading, or just someone with time off for the holidays, the end of the year can be a great time for binge watching television. Here's some recommendations from the History Department for great shows to add to your streaming video queue: Will Katerberg: …

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More Historical Rhymes and Dissonances

by Bob Schoone-Jongen. The headlines are telling me our next president will be either the shape-shifting incarnation of Satan or a Mussolini from Queens. Boys and girls, can you spell, “Apocalypse of St. John?” My options: stockpile freeze-dried food in the basement, or restore the oxygen balance by breathing deeply into a paper bag. Is …

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