History

"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history that man can never learn anything from history." — George Bernard Shaw

The “Correlation” Between Statistics and Eugenics
In the second essay of the Legacies of Eugenics series, Aubrey Clayton excavates the troubling correlation between the birth of statistical methods...
Aubrey ClaytonJul 18
The “Empty” Is Always Already Inhabited
Elvia Wilk interviews Jennifer Kabat about her new book, “The Eighth Moon: A Memoir of Belonging and Rebellion.”
Elvia WilkJul 18
Poor Reading, Weak Theory: An Excerpt from “The Amateur”
LARB presents an excerpt from Saikat Majumdar’s “The Amateur: Self-Making and the Humanities in the Postcolony.”
Saikat MajumdarJul 9
“Chinatown” at 50, or Seeing Oil Through Cinema
Michael Rubenstein writes on the 50th anniversary of “Chinatown” and the beginning of the end of petromodernity.
Michael RubensteinJul 8
An Unforgettable Miscarriage of Justice
Laurie Levenson reviews Ronald Collins’s “Tragedy on Trial: The Story of the Infamous Emmett Till Murder Trial.”
Laurie L. LevensonJul 7
The Lie of the Land: June Fourth, Censorship, and “On the Edge”
Thomas Chen reviews Margaret Hillenbrand’s “On the Edge: Feeling Precarious in China.”
Thomas ChenJul 6
- Cultural Studies
- History
What’s Left of Originalism? On Jack M. Balkin’s “Memory and Authority”
Andrew Koppelman critiques Jack Balkin’s ”Memory and Authority.”
Andrew KoppelmanJun 28
Hunger-Time
Alma Igra shows how caloric management of Gaza is one of the ways that Israel and the international community weaponize food.
Alma IgraJun 16
What Is the Point of Such Inhumane Programs? On Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska’s “Microhistories of Memory”
Harry Waksberg reviews a new book about a German television series about the Holocaust, written by Magdalena Saryusz-Wolska.
Harry WaksbergJun 7
The Trouble with the French Republic: On Two Recent Books About French Colonization
Charles Emmerson reviews two recent books on France’s colonial legacy, Nabila Ramdani’s “Fixing France” and Pierre Singaravélou’s “Colonisations.”
Charles EmmersonJun 7
- History
Intended to Be Cruel: On Ana Raquel Minian’s “In the Shadow of Liberty”
Sara Campos reviews “In the Shadow of Liberty: The Invisible History of Immigrant Detention in the United States” by Stanford professor Ana Raquel...
Sara CamposJun 2
California Communism and Its Afterlives: On Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds”
Matt Ray and Matthew Wranovics review Robert W. Cherny’s “San Francisco Reds: Communists in the Bay Area, 1919–1958.”
Matt Ray and Matthew WranovicsMay 27
- History
- Politics