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This is Democracy - Political Disillusionment - Not Even Past
In this episode of This is Democracy, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Art Markman to discuss the growing epidemic of political disillusionment and despair in modern society and what can be done about it. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled “A Pessimist’s Apocalypse” Dr. Art Markman is the Annabel Irion Worsham […]
Review of The Floating World: Masterpieces of Edo Japan at The Blanton Museum of Art - Not Even Past
The Floating World: Masterpieces of Edo Japan from the Worcester Art Museum, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Over one hundred ink-and-paper survivors from “the floating world” of Edo-period Japan are on display at the Blanton Museum in Austin, Texas. This diverse collection of woodblock prints, many of them strikingly colorful […]
Review of The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee by Stewart Lee Allen (1999) - Not Even Past
Inspired by a never-finished ceremonial cup of coffee in Ethiopia and a Jules Michelet quote attributing the Enlightenment to the advent of coffee, author Stewart Lee Allen dives head-first into a voyage across the world to trace the path coffee took out of Africa. In The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to […]
Alexei Navalny’s Legacy and Anti-Putin Resistance - Not Even Past
Moscow’s southeast neighborhoods of Maryino and Lyublino always seem to be where the authorities locate controversial events. On March 1, 2024, it was Maryino who hosted the funeral of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. The church that held the ceremony is a post-Soviet building and dominates the center of a neighborhood otherwise filled with high-rise apartments, […]
This is Democracy – Disinformation - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by guest Ellen McCarthy to discuss the problems of disinformation in the world today. Zachary sets this scene with his poem entitled, “Like a Ball of String” Ellen McCarthy is the ChairWoman and CEO of the Truth in Media Cooperative and Noodle Labs. Ms. McCarthy has […]
This is Democracy – Ukraine War - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss the current status of the Ukraine war in 2024. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “If I Were at War” Dr. Michael Kimmage is a history professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He is […]
This is Democracy - Humanitarian Intervention - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Julia F. Irwin to discuss American Humanitarian Assistance in the 20th and 21st centuries. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled “The Old Colossus.” Dr. Julia F. Irwin is the T. Harry Williams Professor of History at Louisiana State University. She is a […]
This is Democracy – Indian Elections - Not Even Past
On this episode of This Is Democracy, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Milan Vaishnav to discuss the scale and future impact of India’s 2024 general election. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled “A Democratic Quest” Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment […]
This is Democracy – Media and Politics - Not Even Past
In this episode of This is Democracy, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by documentary filmmaker Paul Stekler to discuss media and politics in the modern age. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled “An Appeal for Clarity” Paul Stekler taught at the University of Texas at Austin for many years. He is a nationally […]
The 1878 Total Eclipse and Texas Curiosities - Not Even Past
On July 29th, 1878, Texas skies went completely dark for about two minutes. The last total eclipse in the Lone Star State instigated excitement among scientists from all across the nation who traveled to Texas cities and towns, hoping to capitalize on the rare opportunity to observe the sun directly. But in the days leading […]
Review of Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy (2022), by Inga Saffron. - Not Even Past
Inga Saffron’s Caviar presents a well-rounded history with deep insight into the lives of various parties involved in caviar production, trade, and regulation. The book beautifully details the volatile caviar industry, painting a picture of a world where the sturgeon no longer jumps freely in the waters of the Volga River—or anywhere, for that matter. […]
3 Great Books (and a Podcast) About Animal History - Not Even Past
From the editors: Since its creation, Not Even Past has published hundreds of reviews covering various periods, places, and issues. In this series, we draw from our archives to suggest three great books focused broadly on a single topic. This article presents three fascinating and essential studies related to Animal History. Whereas most historical narratives focus exclusively […]
Flawed Assertions and Questionable Evidence: A Critical Examination of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States - Not Even Past
In his seminal work, A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn presents a compelling alternative perspective on American history. In an important article, Professor Aaron O’Connell, who teaches at UT, made a powerful case for using Zinn in the classroom: To take my students through the long history of violence in America, I […]
Introducing CineMAP: Visualizing Places of Japanese Film: A talk by Jonathan E. Abel - Not Even Past
For fans of any movie or television show shot on location, there’s always a thrill when visiting, in person, the same places your favorite characters have been. Fans often share the locations in blogs or other forums, and metropolises like New York and Los Angeles have tours that take you to where famous scenes from […]
Resources for Teaching Women's History - Not Even Past
From the editors: To mark Women’s History Month, we collected a range of Not Even Past articles and reviews and assembled them here, on a single page devoted to resources on women’s history. We’ve organized our content around seven topics. The articles grouped under each topic heading highlight groundbreaking research. However, they are also intended […]
The Master in Bondage: Factory Workers in China, 1949-2019 - Not Even Past
In my research on the social history of modern China, I have long focused, first, on how ordinary people lived their everyday life in a local community, such as a village, a production team, a factory or a workshop within it, during times of historical change. And, second, on how their personal experiences differed from […]
Review of From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age(2023) by Xaq Frohlich - Not Even Past
Go to the supermarket, check out the food information detailing the nutritional facts, buy it, and take it home. These everyday actions define our connection with food and shape who we are as consumers. Through social media, we are constantly confronted with information that associates food with health, wellness, and organic products as an endless […]
Review of Up Against the Law: Radical Lawyers and Social Movements, 1960s-1970s, (2022) by Luca Falciola. - Not Even Past
The legal cases of activists, including Angela Davis, Huey Newton, and the Chicago Seven, captured public attention throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Crowds crammed into courtrooms to watch these high-profile cases unfold, and many people became directly involved in efforts to free the defendants. While the United States has a long history of trying and […]
The Fellowship of the Tree Rings: A ClioVis Project - Not Even Past
My grandparents and I looked down onto the vast Sonoran Desert from Mount Lemmon, north of Tucson, Arizona. At nearly 8,000 feet, quaking aspen, cottonwood, alder, and other tree species surrounded us—a stark contrast with the desert below. An audio guide played on my grandma’s Samsung Galaxy as we took in our surroundings. The voice, […]
Review of Catastrophic Diplomacy: US Foreign Disaster Assistance in the American Century (2024) by Julia Irwin - Not Even Past
The United States became an influential global actor during the twentieth century, cementing its role on the world stage through decisive interventions in both World Wars and via a range of US cultural and technological innovations. So pervasive was the US presence that some scholars have since christened this era the “American Century.” In Catastrophic […]
This is Democracy – Evangelicals Today - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Daniel Hummel about the history of American Evangelicalism and its connection to both policy and theology. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “If Your God is a God of Truth.” Dr. Daniel Hummel is the Director for University Engagement at Upper House, […]
This is Democracy – Bush v Gore: The Legacy. - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Sanford Levinson to discuss the 2000 election, the Supreme Court decision that finalized it, and how this decision has had ramifications throughout modern history. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “The Court Has Stopped the Count” Sanford Levinson, who holds the W. St. […]
This is Democracy – Collective Trauma - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Stephen Sonnenberg, MD, to discuss how collective trauma can affect people, groups, and societies. Steve Sonnenberg, MD, is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and medical humanities and ethics scholar. At The University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Medical School he serves as professor in the department of […]
This is Democracy – The Ukraine War - Not Even Past
In this week’s episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled “For a War of Worlds.” Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at […]
Review of Bolivia in the Age of Gas (2020) by Bret Gustafson - Not Even Past
Bolivia in the Age of Gas by Bret Gustafson offers an analysis of debates on the political struggles over natural gas and the ways in which the management of this resource radically transformed Bolivia´s national politics. The book is a long-lasting history that begins in the 1930s with the extraction and commercialization of fossil fuels […]
Review of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (2016), by Ibram X. Kendi - Not Even Past
Ibram X. Kendi’s magnum opus, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, is a transformative work that transcends traditional scholarship to provide a profound examination of the roots and manifestations of racism in the United States. Published at a critical juncture in history–marked by both symbolic progress and persistent racial […]
Review of A Ritual Geology: Gold and Subterranean Knowledge in Savanna West Africa (2022) by Robyn d'Avignon - Not Even Past
Using the goldfields in Kedougou in southeastern Senegal, historian and anthropologist Robyn D’Avignon, in Ritual Geology, explores the instrumentality of African indigenous knowledge systems in developing modern mining economies in French West Africa from the nineteenth century to the present. D’Avignon defines ritual geology as a set of practices, prohibitions, and cosmological engagements with the […]
The Weight Around My Neck - Not Even Past
Pick up the camera. Aim, kneel, shoot. He hides behind a pair of rough hands. Inscribed in the knuckles: “Lupita.” Another shot followed by instant regret. Somehow, taking that photograph reminded you of the power dynamics—the violence—immersed in the asymmetrical act of representing others. Let the camera hang around your neck again. It never felt […]
Review of The Age of Dissent: Revolution and the Power of Communication in Chile (2023), by Martín Bowen - Not Even Past
Martín Bowen’s most recent book, The Age of Dissent: Revolution and the Power of Communication in Chile, explores the turbulent period between 1780 and 1833 in which the inhabitants of the Captaincy General of Chile, a sparsely populated Spanish colony on South America’s Pacific Coast, witnessed an unprecedented scale of political experimentation and mobilization. Beginning […]
Recuerdos de guerra: experiencias japonesas en la frontera durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial - Not Even Past
Para llegar a un público más amplio, volvemos a publicar en español el artículo de Lucero Estrella, Memories of War: Japanese Borderlands Experiences during WWII. Le agradecemos a Lucero por la traducción. Cuando visité el hogar de Rosy Galván Yamanaka en Piedras Negras, Coahuila, me tenía preparado un plato de udon al estilo mexicano. Me senté […]
AudiAnnotate: Amplifying Audio & Video in Research, Scholarship, and Teaching (IHS Talk Report) - Not Even Past
Historians take a lot of notes, especially when it comes to our primary sources. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have access to digitized sources, our notes keep a record of our thoughts on the material in question and its use in our research. For those using sources that are not digitized […]
Notes from the Field: Reflections on Dictatorship and Democracy in Argentina - Not Even Past
In January 2023, I traveled nearly three hundred miles from my apartment in Buenos Aires to meet a stranger in Paraná, Argentina. We had chatted sporadically via WhatsApp, but I had agreed to spend a long weekend in her home months before we ever met. As I stepped off the bus, I had little sense […]
Capstone Research - Afro-Latino Maroons: 1530 - 1700 - Not Even Past
At Not Even Past, we are always delighted to highlight superb undergraduate research. Below we feature a project drawn from Dr. Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra‘s capstone undergraduate seminar which was taught in Fall 2023. The course was a hybrid with roughly half focused on reading secondary and primary sources and half devoted to an independent research project. […]
IHS Discussion: "Cosmology of Early Buddhism - A Mobile Hierarchy" by Xinru Liu, College of New Jersey - Not Even Past
In her talk “Cosmology of Early Buddhism – A Mobile Hierarchy,” Dr. Xinru Liu discussed her book Early Buddhist Society: The World of Gautama Buddha (SUNY Press, 2022; and Permanent Black/Ashoka University, 2022), a richly scholarly yet accessible and imaginative account of society in the time of the Buddha. What might daily life have been like in India in […]
This is Democracy - Middle East in the 1970s and Today - Not Even Past
This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Professor Salim Yaqub to discuss how the 1970s changed the Middle East, and how those changes are still relevant in the modern day. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “To Israel, a Widow.” Salim Yaqub is Professor of History at the University of California, Santa […]
This is Democracy - College Campuses - Not Even Past
In this special 250th episode, Jeremi and Zachary discuss the current state of discourse and civil debate on college campuses, as well as how recent events have impacted the climate of these spaces. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “To Study.”
Memories of War: Japanese Borderlands Experiences during WWII - Not Even Past
When I visited Rosy Galván Yamanaka’s home in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, she had a bowl of Mexican-style udon prepared for me. I sat down in her dining room and listened as she told me stories of her grandfather, José Ángel Yamanaka, a Japanese migrant who arrived in Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. […]
15 Minutes History – Sex, Race, and Labor in French Colonialism - Not Even Past
Traditionally, we think about European power being built with ships and swords. However, new scholarship uncovers a more nuanced and complex picture. Today, 15 Minute History is joined by Mélanie Lamotte, Assistant Professor of History and French at the University of Texas at Austin. Lamotte is a historian of the French Empire whose work demonstrates […]
15 Minutes History - Jean-Paul Sartre In The Arab World - Not Even Past
To kick off the new season of 15 Minute History, we talk to Yoav di-Capua, a Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of “No Exit Arab Existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Decolonization.” Professor di-Capua talks about French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1967 trip to Egypt and Israel on a quest […]
This is Democracy: Race & Opportunity in America - Not Even Past
This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Ruth Simmons to discuss her experiences and attitudes toward learning in the context of her new book, “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey.” Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, “If The Leaves Could Speak.” Dr. Ruth Simmons is the former president of Smith College, Brown […]