Category / Public Scholarship

by abritt

‘SaportaReport’ Features New Works by Carl Suddler and Colson Whitehead

Presumed Criminal

SaportaReport recently featured two new books about black youth experiences in the justice system published by History Department Assistant Professor Carl Suddler and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead, respectively. Managing Editor David Pendered wrote the piece, titled “Justice for black youths, reparations in Atlanta’s conversations this summer.” Pendered discusses Suddler’s Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York, which was published by NYU press last month. Suddler offers a reading of Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, which was also published last month. Whitehead recently presented at the Atlanta History Center. Read the full piece in SaportaReport here.

by abritt

Dr. Carl Suddler Places ‘Central Park Five’ in Historical Context for the ‘AJC’

Presumed Criminal

Incoming Assistant Professor of History Carl Suddler recently contributed to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Yusef Salaam of Central Park Five: ‘Born with a target on our backs.'” Shelia Poole wrote the piece, which centers on Yusuf Salaam, one of the so-called Central Park Five. Read the excerpt that quotes Dr. Suddler below as well as the full article.

“I think when we see these cases, especially wrongful convictions, it does kind of beg the question just how many of these cases have happened over time,” said Carl Suddler, author of “Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York” and professor of history, who will join the faculty at Emory University this fall. “In the United States, we do not have a justice system, we have a legal system. We have a system that followed the letter of the law, not necessarily fairness.”

by abritt

Deborah E. Lipstadt in ‘The Atlantic’: “Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in America”

Deborah E. Lipstadt, the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, recently authored an article in The Atlantic. Lipstadt discusses increasing violence against Jews in the United States, including at the Chabad synagogue in Poway, California, and the escalation of anti-antisemitism in public discourse. She is, most recently, the author of Antisemitism: Here and Now (Schocken, 2019). Read an excerpt from her piece in The Atlantic below, as well as the full article: “Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in America: I assumed that, after the Holocaust, the world recognized where anti-Semitic rhetoric can lead. I was wrong.”

“In the wake of the Poway attack, law-enforcement officers, government officials, and the media kept stressing that the gunman had acted alone. They may have been trying to reassure the public, and in the narrowest technical terms, they may have been correct. 

“But this assailant was no lone wolf. He is part of a nexus of haters. The shooters in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Christchurch, and now Poway all relied on similar language and memes. The Christchurch and Poway shooters both posted manifestos prior to their rampages. They referred their social-media followers to some of the same websites and offered similar justifications for their actions.”

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Carol Anderson Discusses History of Voter Suppression with Stacey Abrams and Leading Scholars at Library Company of Philadelphia

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies, recently participated in a roundtable on the history of voter suppression at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Anderson is Associated Faculty in the History Department. Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost the 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia and who attributes the outcome to voter suppression, also participated in the conversation. Anderson is, most recently, the author of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2018). Read The New York Times‘ article about the gathering here: “For Stacey Abrams, a Date With History — or at Least the People Who Write It.”

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Dr. Carol Anderson on Election Fraud and Voter Suppression in ‘The New York Times’

Dr. Carol Anderson recently published an opinion piece, “Our Democracy Is Being Stolen. Guess Who the Thieves Are,” in The New York Times. Anderson is Associated Faculty in the History Department and Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies. Her piece addresses claims and realities of voter suppression and election fraud with a focus on the recent midterm election in North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District. Anderson is, most recently, the author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation’s Divide (Bloomsbury, 2017). Read an excerpt below along with the full piece here.

“The real theft of American democracy happens through election fraud and voter suppression. And Republicans are the thieves.

“What happened in North Carolina during the 2018 midterms was a textbook case of election fraud. That’s when a candidate’s campaign sets out to manipulate vote tallies to steal an election.”

by abritt

Yanna Yannakakis and Co-Author Bianca Premo Discuss Forthcoming Article in the ‘American Historical Review’

The February edition of the American Historical Review will feature an article co-authored by Yanna Yannakakis and Bianca Premo entitled “A Court of Sticks and Branches: Indian Jurisdiction in Colonial Mexico and Beyond.” Yannakakis is Associate Professor of History and currently holds the Winship Distinguished Research Professorship in History. Premo is Professor of History at Florida International University. The American Historical Association recently published a podcast with Yannakakis and Premo about the article, which will appear as part of a forum titled “Indigenous Agency and Colonial Law.” Listen to the episode here: “Bianca Premo & Yanna Yannakakis: ‘A Court of Sticks and Branches.‘”

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Graduate Fellow Alexander Cors in ‘HASTAC’: “Doing History from the ‘Skies'”

Graduate fellow Alexander Cors recently published a blog post on the promises and practices of digital humanities for the interdisciplinary online community HASTAC. Cors’ principal research concerns the Mississippi Valley and Atlantic World, however his work with digital humanities has ranged from 3D visualizations of 1930s Atlanta to mapping legal networks of indigenous communities in New Spain (Mexico). Cors is currently one of the HASTAC Fellows at Emory’s Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry Read the full post here: Doing History from the “Skies.”

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Deborah E. Lipstadt Discusses New Book and Antisemitism in Interview with ‘The New Yorker’

The New Yorker recently published an interview with Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department. Staff writer Issac Chotiner conducted the interview with Lipstadt, who recently published Antisemitism: Here and Now with Schocken. Read the full article on The New Yorker website: “Looking at Anti-Semitism on the Left and the Right: An Interview with Deborah E. Lipstadt.”

 

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Doctoral Fellow Shari Wejsa on Grant Writing and Digital Projects in ‘HASTAC’

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?”

by abritt

Mary L. Dudziak Summarizes 2018 – “The Year of Cruelty” – for ‘Politico Magazine’

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.”