Roosevelt Neither Hero Nor Villain for the Jews Department Of
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Department ofHISTORY College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter 2013-2014 Banner Year for History Faculty Books Contents his past year, American University’s Department of History made history of its Chair’s Letter • Page 2 own. Ten faculty published eight books—three monographs, two co-authored new faculty • Page 3 books, and three co-edited books. Accomplishments • Page 4 THow to explain it? “Not only are our faculty remarkably productive,” says Pamela Bookshelf • Page 5 Nadell, History Department chair, “but the department also has an exciting synergy. Faculty News • Page 6 Richard Breitman and Allan Lichtman’s FDR and the Jews, for example, came out of Student news • Page 7 a friendship and meeting of the minds of colleagues over more than three decades.” American University department of History Turn to page 5 for a brief rundown of the Department of History’s crowded shelf (p) 202-885-2401 (f) 202-885-6166 of recently published books. [email protected] Adapted from web article by Charles Spencer. www.american.edu/cas/history Roosevelt Neither Hero Nor Villain for the Jews n their new book, FDR prisingly limited. “We describe libraries to locate previously Breitman and Lichtman re- and the Jews (Belknap of him as one of the most private unused documents. Ultimately, veal how limited information, Harvard University Press), leaders in American history,” they reconstructed a nuanced bureaucratic languor, and do- IAmerican University Distin- Breitman said. “FDR wrote portrait of FDR’s response mestic political pressures can guished Professors of History no memoirs and precious to Jewish struggles, showing prevent a president from re- few revealing letters, notes, how his attitudes and policies sponding to foreign atrocities or memos.” FDR also did not evolved over time. as forcefully or as quickly as regularly tape conversations “While most of FDR’s peers circumstances demand. in the Oval Office. He even and their families would have “We have seen examples prohibited minutes at cabinet espoused antisemitic beliefs, of this with other presidents meetings or other presidential FDR did not,” Lichtman said. known as liberal humanitar- meetings so as to encourage “His parents inculcated toler- ians, such as Jimmy Carter and people to speak freely. ance in him and led by exam- Bill Clinton,” Lichtman said. While Breitman was work- ple. His mother was involved “And now, President Barack ing on another project, he and in Jewish charitable work and Obama is challenged with what Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roos- his colleagues discovered a pre- received an award for her ef- role the United States should evelt Library and Museum. viously unknown document forts.” have in addressing the crisis in reconstructing an April 1938 Breitman and Lichtman de- Syria. All presidents deal with Richard Breitman and Allan J. conversation in which FDR bunk several claims of Roos- competing priorities and com- Lichtman show that previous said he would like to get all the evelt’s indifference to Jewish plex situations that vary with accounts of Franklin Roos- Jews out of Europe. Struck by refugees and concentration the times. And the answer of evelt’s responses to Jewish suf- the document’s implications, camp deaths. The book also how or whether to respond is fering during World War II, Breitman joined with his friend provides fresh insight into never simple.” which paint him either as in- and American University col- FDR’s position on Palestine different or as a savior, fail to league Lichtman, a renowned and his relations with Jewish Adapted from web article by reveal the full complexities of presidential historian. advocates and world leaders. Maggie Barrett. Roosevelt and his presidency. Together, the two historians In a discussion with impor- FDR’s paper trail was sur- scoured numerous archives and tant implications for today, MAKING HISTORY IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL meeting our new classes, and starting off accomplishments here. We congratulate Chair’s the new year, which I remain convinced, Professor Max Paul Friedman on winning despite the Gregorian calendar, begins in a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship Letter September and not in January. for his new research project, “The Con- tainment of the United States: The Latin Pamela S. Nadell This year’s faculty photo shows several American Diplomatic Tradition and the new faces: Michael Brenner arrived as AU’s Limits of Principle.” The Department Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in also takes great pride in the election of hen you, our readers, look at Israel Studies. Theresa Runstedtler joined our colleague University Professor Alan this year’s History Department us as our expert in African-American his- Kraut as president of the Organization of photo, you see a long line of tory, and Elke Stockreiter as our first-ever American Historians. broadlyW smiling faculty and staff. What I faculty member in African history. wish you could have seen was how long it Our department sponsors an array of took our estimable AU photographer Jeff The Department celebrated several lectures and symposia, including our well- Watts to corral the department for this milestones this past year. Max Paul Fried- received Holocaust Studies Forum. In shot in early September. man and Eric Lohr were promoted to Pro- the year ahead, we invite you—students, fessor, and Kate Haulman was promoted alumni, and friends—to join us at our Faculty, who had not seen one another to Associate Professor with tenure. We public events and to like us on Facebook since May, were chattering loudly and also welcomed Kelsi Schagunn as our new at the American University Department enthusiastically catching up on summer senior administrative assistant and Sarah of History. news—the book manuscripts submitted, Adler as our new administrative assistant. contracts scored, articles drafted, papers As always, if I may be of any assistance, presented (at home and abroad, often The pages ahead describe just some of please do contact me: pnadell@american. combined with well-deserved vacations). what we did last year, but, at the risk of edu. But, most of all, we were smiling so broad- singling out some colleagues and not oth- ly because we were returning to campus, ers, I want to highlight two very special History Department Faculty and Staff Pictured left to right: Pedram Partovi, Justin Jacobs, Theresa Runstedtler, Gautham Rao, Peter Kuznick, Kelsi Schagunn, Pamela Nadell, Anton Fedyashin, Sarah Adler, Laura Beers, April Shelford, Eric Lohr, Michael Brenner, Elke Stockreiter, Mary Frances Giandrea, Dan Kerr, Allan Lichtman, Eileen Findlay, Mary Ellen Curtin, Katharina Vester, Richard Breitman, Max Paul Friedman. Not pictured: Kathleen Franz, Kate Haulman, Alan Kraut, Lisa Leff. Page 2 • Department of History Newsletter 2013-2014 Welcome New Faculty! Michael Brenner Seymour and Lillian Abensohn His current research “deals with the ten- Chair in Israel Studies sion between the original Zionist vision to bring normalcy to the Jewish people by ichael Brenner, an interna- establishing a state of their own and the tionally respected scholar who challenges Israel faces today to be regarded started Germany’s first Jewish as a ‘normal state,’” he says. Mhistory and culture program, joins AU as His goals at AU include bringing in the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair visiting scholars from Israel to demonstrate in Israel Studies. the spectrum of opinions and research Brenner is the author of six books, co- there. This semester he brought distin- author of numerous journal articles, and guished scholars in Israel’s history for the editor of a major Jewish studies book series, “The Founders of Israel and Their series. After studying in Heidelberg and Relevance Today.” Jerusalem, he received his PhD in Jewish Brenner’s lifetime fascination with Jew- explore the history and fate of Jews in history from Columbia University. ish studies starts with a rich personal his- different parts of the world. Having lived Brenner has taught at Indiana Univer- tory. and studied in many places, I feel that this sity, Brandeis, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, “I grew up in a small town in Germany history is so rich and diverse that you need University of California–Berkeley, the as the only Jewish kid of my age,” he says. a few lifetimes to fully understand it.” University of Haifa, the Central Euro- “My parents were both Holocaust survi- Adapted from web article by Charles Spencer. pean University of Budapest, and l’École vors. I learned early on what it meant to des hautes études in Paris. be an outsider and was curious to further Theresa Runstedtler Associate Professor as Sydney, London, Cape Town, Manila, Paris, Havana, and Mexico City. She has former professional dancer/actress published scholarly articles and chapters from Canada, Theresa Runstedtler in the Radical History Review, Journal of joins American University after World History, Escape from New York: The teachingA at the State University of New New Negro Renaissance Beyond Harlem, York at Buffalo. Shifting her passion and In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports for popular culture from the studio and in the Twentieth Century. Her research fo- stage to the classroom, she is the author cuses on the intersection of black popular of Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner: Boxing culture and the African American freedom in the Shadow of the Global Color Line struggle, and the historical connections (University of California Press, 2012). between African American transnational- Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner explores the ism and anticolonial politics abroad. She first African American world heavyweight teaches courses on race and popular cul- champion’s legacy as a black sporting hero ture and African American history. and anti-colonial icon in places as far-flung Elke Stockreiter Assistant Professor five others, including Arabic—she stud- ies Arabic-language Islamic court records lke Stockreiter earned her PhD at revealing that they did not uniformly the School of Oriental and African discriminate against African women and Studies at the University of London that, in fact, the courts could be used to Ein 2008 and joins American University af- advance women’s status.