Lessons from My Grandfather

by Frans van Liere. Last week, I received an e-mail from a former student. “Professor, I'm really struggling with fear, and I've been looking to history in order to understand how it may repeat itself in the very near future. […] I'd love to hear some of your wisdom on what we as citizens can …

Continue reading Lessons from My Grandfather

Sixty Years Ago, A Different Refugee Crisis

by Doug Howard. My teacher, Gustav Bayerle, died in October. Watching the unfolding refugee crisis this winter has reminded me of Gustav’s experiences, sixty years ago in another refugee crisis, brought on by the 1956 Hungarian revolution. When the revolution was suppressed by the tanks and troops of the Soviet army, nearly 200,000 people left …

Continue reading Sixty Years Ago, A Different Refugee Crisis

Thinking About History as a Christian: Jay Green’s Outstanding Work

by Ron Wells. I am a member of the founding generation of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH). It was exciting when, as a very junior scholar, I was able to be present when the CFH was launched. Back then, no one in the American Historical Association (AHA) or elsewhere was talking much about …

Continue reading Thinking About History as a Christian: Jay Green’s Outstanding Work

Reflections on the life and legacy of Fidel Castro (Part 2)

by Dan Miller. (Read Part 1 here.) Fidel’s astonishing luck continued over the next two years. Resistance to Batista boiled over in the urban centers and was bloodily repressed. Thousands of mostly young revolutionaries gave their lives to the cause of restoring democracy on the island. The urban guerrilla campaign failed to dislodge Batista but …

Continue reading Reflections on the life and legacy of Fidel Castro (Part 2)

Reflections on the life and legacy of Fidel Castro (Part I)

by Dan Miller. The announcement of Fidel Castro’s death on Friday, November 25, was a bit of an anticlimax. Had it occurred twenty years ago or even ten, it would have been much bigger news. But Fidel relinquished his duties as head of government to his brother Raúl in 2006 and from that time onward …

Continue reading Reflections on the life and legacy of Fidel Castro (Part I)

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: …

Continue reading What to binge watch over break