Congratulations to Eric Goldstein for his recent book On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore (Johns Hopkins Press, 2018), which was named a finalist for the American Jewish Studies Book Award of the Jewish Book Council. On Middle Ground was co-authored with Deborah R. Weiner. Goldstein is the Judith London Evans Director of the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of History and Jewish studies.
Graduate student Shari Wejsa recently authored a post on grant writing and digital projects for the interdisciplinary online community HASTAC. Wejsa is currently one of the HASTAC Fellows at Emory’s Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry. Her research centers of modern Brazil and the Lusophone world, and her dissertation is titled, “Migrant Agency and Racial Identity: Angolan Refugees and Immigration Policy in Brazil, 1974-1988.” Read an excerpt of her post below, along with the full article here: “Grant Writing and Digital Projects.”
“Ode to the beloved grant application–being forced to engage in that awkward dance of showcasing your brilliant project proposal while featuring why you, with all of your skills and experience are the ideal candidate to execute your project without gloating too much or simply regurgitating your CV in narrative form. Though most seem to sigh and groan when thinking about grant applications and find excuses to work on any other looming deadline, some have to enjoy developing and fine-tuning them, right? Maybe? Any takers?”
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Mary L. Dudziak was one of 16 historians who authored a first and brief draft of 2018 history for a piece in Politico Magazine. Dudziak is Associated Faculty in the History Department. Read her appraisal of last year along with those of other leading historians at Politico Magazine: “What Will History Books Say About 2018? 16 top historians predict the future.”
“2018 will be remembered as the year of cruelty. The United States separated thousands of migrant children from their families and created prison camps for them. The country aided Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen resulting in a humanitarian catastrophe seen in images of starving children. Trump refused to sanction or even criticize Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trump told Californians devastated from the loss of homes and loved ones to fire that the tragedy was, in essence, their own fault. He said the same to victims of mass shootings. The list goes on and on—there is too much cruelty for one paragraph. Congress, and the American people, aided the president’s cruelty by failing to do whatever it would take to stop him.”
Jimmy Carter Professor of History and Department Chair Joseph Crespino recently authored a piece in The Washington Post on the Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Crespino, who published Atticus Finch: the Biography with Basic Books in 2018, discusses the current production in the context of the 1962 adaptation of Lee’s novel as an award-winning film. The play is written by Aaron Sorkin and stars Jeff Daniels, and it has set box office records since opening in mid-December. Read an excerpt of Crespino’s piece below and the whole article here: “The ever-shifting hero of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’: How will Broadway change Atticus Finch?”
“…Sorkin has the difficult task of pleasing throngs of Lee devotees while also making the story relevant to contemporary audiences. Can Sorkin avoid writing another white savior narrative? Can he acknowledge the agency of Calpurnia and Tom Robinson, the African American characters in the story? If he muddies the character of Atticus too much, will he run afoul of Lee’s estate, inviting further legal action? And how does he present the racism that was pervasive in the 1930s South to a new generation of Americans accustomed to trigger warnings and safe spaces?
Given the challenges, Sorkin and crew would do well to recall the definition of courage that Atticus gave to his son Jem: ‘It’s when you know you are licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.’”