Resources for teaching and activism

Teaching Resources

The teaching resources below were authored by members of Historians against the War in response to the crises of the early 21st century. H-PAD has retained a small selection of them here; the full set is available at the archived website of that organization: historiansagainstwar.org


US Foreign POlicy

Focuses on United States foreign policy and wars from a principled, peace-oriented perspective.  Launched in October 2015, the website is sponsored by Historians for Peace and Democracy and the Peace History Society.  Each of the fourteen essays contains a wealth of images, citations of primary and secondary sources, and extensive discussions of debates and antiwar movements.  Written for students and the general public, the essays may be assigned all or in part by teachers and professors.  See also the website Resources page for books, articles, films, and websites on each topic.

Clio, the Greek Muse of History, prepares to record the next chapter of U.S. history (Udo Keppler 1899, adapted, Library of Congress)

More Teaching Resources:

Palestine and Israel

Peace movements

  • Bombs and Budgets: Tools for Reclaiming Communities from Militarism.  Created by the War Resisters League in cooperation with the South Asia Solidarity Initiative, this popular education curriculum explores how organizing against federal military spending relates to and can forward local campaigns for economic justice.
  • Teaching Tolerance. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Teaching Tolerance” curriculum.
  • Peace History Society. Rich source of primary document collections and research guides related to the U.S. peace movement.
  • Bibliography for Peace (May 2012, DOC format download). Lists and contact information for peace and justice organizations, academic centers, audio-visual resources, and notable people, including singers, poets, playwrights, and religious leaders.

Iraq War

  • The Bush – Cheney Years, A Historians Against the War Roundtable at the American Historical Association Annual Meeting, January 3, 2009, New York, NY, with contributions by Alice Kessler – Harris (Columbia University), David Montgomery (Yale University), Vijay Prashad (Trinity College), Ellen Schrecker (Yeshiva University), Barbara Weinstein (New York University).

RECOMMENDED ARTICLES AND BOOKS:

  • Gendzier, Irene. “Invisible by Design: U.S. Policy in the Middle East.” Diplomatic History Fall 2002 (26:4).
  • Gettleman, Marvin E. and Schaar, Stuart, eds. The Middle East and Islamic World Reader. New York: Grove Press, 2003 “Round Table: History and September 11.” Journal of American History. (89:2) September 2002.
  • “Special Section on Iraq.” Logos: a journal of modern society & culture Winter 2003 (2:1).  Worldwatch Institute. State of the world, 2002: A Worldwatch Institute report on progress toward a sustainable society. New York: W. W. Norton & Co; 2002.
  • Stuart Schaar and Marvin E. Gettleman, Annotated Bibliography of English-Language Sources and Studies on The Middle East and Muslim South West Asia, HAW Pamphlet 1 (revised edition, Spring 2007). Available in HTML (better for online viewing) and Word and PDF (better for printing).
  • John J. Fitzgerald, Some Books on the Iraq War and Related Topics (Oct 2006)

Newsletters

We occasionally produce a short newsletter to summarize H-PAD’s recent activities in a more readable, shareable format. We hope you’ll enjoy and share them with others who support our work for peace and democracy. You can view the most recent newsletter by clicking the image below, and scroll down to browse our newsletter archives.

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September 2024 Newsletter



“Broadsides for the Trump Era”

These are one-page, printable handouts that summarize important historical events, movements, crises, and more that form the backdrop for our current political situation. They are designed to be printed, folded, and shared.

  1. Ellen Schrecker, “McCarthyism, 1947-1960
  2. Jeremy Kuzmarov, “The U.S. War on Drugs
  3. Linda Gordon, “The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s
  4. Robert Oppenheim, “North Korea and Nuclear Weapons
  5. Geoff Eley, “Is Trump a Fascist?
  6. Felice Batlan, “Building a Regime of Restrictive Immigration Laws, 1840-1945
  7. Margaret Power, “Puerto Rico: A U.S. Colony in the Caribbean”
  8. Van Gosse, “Why The United States Is Not A True Democracy, Part One
  9. Kevin A. Young, “Our Debt to Central American Refugees” also available as a text version with hyperlinks
  10. Van Gosse, “Why the United States Is Not a True Democracy, Part Two”

Videos

H-PAD is excited to offer a series of short videos, titled Liberating History. Subscribe to our youtube channel to check for more!

Episode 1: “Trump Administration Policy in the Middle East: A Cruel Continuity.” Watch historian Irene Gendzier explain the historical roots of Trump’s policies toward Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel/Palestine, and the rest of the region.

Episode 2: “The Structure of Punishment: Crack and the Rise of Mass Incarceration.” Historian Donna Murch traces the historical origins of the U.S. “war on drugs” and the system of mass incarceration that accompanies it, focusing on the racist and hypocritical policing of Black crack cocaine users.

Episode 3: “McCarthyism, Old and New.” Joseph McCarthy was a classic demagogue. He led the post-World War II assault on labor and progressive ideas by claiming that his opponents were agents of the Soviet Union. Historian Ellen Schrecker compares McCarthy to Donald Trump. She highlights the ways that both men were “facilitated and assisted by the mainstream political world,” because pro-business politicians were aware of “how useful these demagogues were in getting their own program through.”

Episode 4: “India’s Far Right in Historical Perspective.” India’s far right has increasingly dominated the mainstream of Indian politics in recent years. Historian Prasannan Parthasarathi explains its origins in the country’s caste system and the ideology of Hindu nationalism.

Episode 5: “Black Panthers Against Patriarchy.” Black women were involved in the Black Panther Party at all levels: not only as workers who staffed the Panthers’ free community programs, but as theoreticians, strategists, and organizers. Historian Robyn C. Spencer explains why so many women saw the party as a place of empowerment. Though sexism was still a problem in the organization, many Black women found the Panthers far more responsive to their voices than other institutions were.

Watch the Liberating History Series:

Episode 1: “Trump Administration Policy in the Middle East: A Cruel Continuity”
Episode 2: “The Structure of Punishment: Crack and the Rise of Mass Incarceration.”
Episode 3: “McCarthyism, Old and New.”
Episode 4: “India’s Far Right in Historical Perspective.”
Episode 5: “Black Panthers Against Patriarchy.”