Dr. Patrick N. Allitt, Cahoon Family Professor of American History, recently authored an annotated list of five essential works on U.S. environmental history for the website Shepherd. Allitt’s most recent book is A Climate of Crisis: America in the Age of Environmentalism (Penguin, 2014), an intellectual history of American environmentalism since World War II. Find the list of recommendations here: “The best books to understand American environmental history.”
Month / August 2021
Camp’s ‘Unnatural Resources’ Reviewed in ‘Journal of American History’
The Journal of American History recently published a review of Dr. Michael Camp’s first book, Unnatural Resources: Energy and Environmental Politics in Appalachia After the 1973 Oil Embargo. Camp is a 2017 alumnus of the Emory History doctoral program. Dr. R. Mcgreggor Cawley, Professor at the University of Wyoming, reviewed Unnatural Resources. Read an excerpt from the review below along with the full piece here.
“Camp’s study provides an accessible and detail-rich narrative about the interactions between national policy goals and the localized political landscape in east Tennessee and nearby areas of West Virginia and Kentucky. On the face of it, this region appeared well suited to contribute to solving the energy crises of the 1970s. It was a major coal-producing area, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was engaged in state-of-the-art nuclear technology, and the Tennessee Valley Authority had established the potential for hydroelectric power. Yet, as Camp deftly demonstrates, union strikes and railroad regulation disputes created obstacles for coal production. Similarly, he uses the struggle over the Clinch River Breeder Reactor to highlight problems with increasing the use of nuclear power. Finally, he explains how the Tellico Dam controversy presented a classic confrontation between energy and environment.”
Biden Nominates Lipstadt as Special Envoy on Antisemitism
President Joe Biden has nominated Emory historian Deborah E. Lipstadt as special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism in the U.S. and abroad. Lipstadt will hold the rank of ambassador if confirmed to the position by the U.S. Senate. She has previously served on the State Department’s Advisory Committee on Religious Persecution Abroad. Lipstadt is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department.
Read an excerpt from The Hill’s coverage of Lipstadt’s nomination below, along with the full article: “Biden nominates Holocaust historian as special envoy to combat antisemitism.” Also read other coverage of her nomination in the following stories:
- The official announcement from the White House
- A statement from Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves.
- “White House announces new religious affairs leaders, first Muslim religious freedom ambassador,” Religion News Service, July 30, 2021.
- Political Insider Blog, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 2, 2021.
- “Biden will name American historian as ambassador to combat antisemitism,” The Miami Herald, July 30, 2021.
- “Biden named historian Deborah Lipstadt as Envoy to Combat Antisemitism,” The Jerusalem Post, July 31, 2021.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and United Nations Gilad Erdan welcomed Lipstadt’s nomination on Friday.
“As an accomplished author and historian, Dr. Lipstadt has dedicated her life to fighting antisemitism and preserving the memory of the Holocaust,” Erdan said in a statement. “Antisemitism is the oldest and most widespread form of hatred and the recent wave of antisemitic attacks against Jews around the world and in the U.S. serves as a reminder that no place is safe from antisemitic hatred.”
Anderson Featured at Decatur Book Fest
Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor, Chair of African American Studies, and Associated Faculty in the History Department, will appear at the Decatur Book Fest in October. Anderson will present on her most recent book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (Bloomsbury, 2021). This year’s Decatur Book Fest, which is presented by Emory, will include a scaled-back, single day of in-person events along with an accompanying live stream. Read more about the upcoming event via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, “Carol Anderson, Robert Olen Butler featured at Decatur book fest,” along with the Emory News Center’s recent piece, “Decatur Book Festival becomes one-day October event, features Emory authors.”