Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins: Dark Times: The Uses and Abuses of History in an Authoritarian Era
Albin O. Kuhn Library GalleryUntil recently, the history profession has expressed skepticism about using history to understand contemporary events. At the same time, many historians have excelled at using historical comparisons to illuminate the current order of things. The annual Robert K. Webb Lecture, part of the Fall 2025 Humanities Forum, explains the origins of the recent turn to the present in the professional study of history, while looking at its promises and perils for the field.
