Interpreting American History Lecture Series 2025-2026
Myth, Memory, and Mirage: Rethinking American History in Times of Crisis
Co-Conveners: Sydney Smith and Hugh Goffinet
Sponsored by the Department of History
American history is in a state of crisis. What constitutes American history has been fiercely debated since the nation’s founding nearly 250 years ago. However, the past few years have witnessed a dramatic rise in public battles over the legacy and future of American history. School districts, public libraries, and local politicians have banned thousands of books that explore race, gender, and sexuality in the U.S. and abroad. K-12 and college-level educators struggle to teach histories of American slavery, Native American land dispossession, and LGBTQ+ activism under the threat of dog whistle terminology such as “gender ideology extremism” and “critical race theory.” Since taking office eight months ago, the current presidential administration has systematically cut funding and resources for agencies like the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Department of Education. Most recently, the administration launched a campaign to censor the Smithsonian for content that challenges American exceptionalism and demanded the removal of any mention of slavery from the country’s national parks. The upcoming 250th birthday of the United States provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the stories we tell about the nation’s history and the impact these narratives have on public policy, international relations, and grassroots social and political movements.
The theme for the 2025-2026 IAH Lecture Series is Myth, Memory, and Mirage: Rethinking American History in Times of Crisis. This year’s theme invites scholars to reflect on the following questions: What is American history? What are the responsibilities of—and concerns for—scholars of American history in the present moment? What kinds of methodologies, theories, and modes of collaboration can historians utilize to combat the censorship and surveillance of our craft? At its core, this year’s IAH Lecture Series aims to foster dialogue between faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and members of the larger Rutgers community about the form, function, and future of American history.
This year’s IAH series will invite two visiting scholars to campus during the fall and spring semesters. The scholars will lead small workshop luncheons with graduate students and deliver evening lectures that are open to the entire Rutgers community. The IAH Lecture Series Committee seeks visiting scholar nominations from graduate students. We are particularly interested in scholars whose work recasts traditional chronologies and geographies of American history, engages publics beyond the academy, and grapples with the contemporary legacies of colonialism, imperialism, and racial slavery.
Fall 2025
Monday, December 8, 2025
Oilseed Archives: Plants and Chemicals as Material Witnesses of the African Diaspora and Violence in Guerrero, Mexico
Jayson Maurice Porter, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park
The graduate student workshop will he held from 12:30-2pm followed by an evening lecture from 5-7pm.
Academic Building West Wing Room 6051
Flyer
Spring 2026
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
TBD