Post by Roman Szyszko

Harvard historian Jill Lepore diagnoses the profound dangers of a fragmented historical narrative. She argues that as academic historians retreated from writing sweeping national histories—opting instead for hyper-focused local or transnational studies—they left a dangerous intellectual vacuum. This vacuum has not resulted in the death of nationalism. Instead, it has allowed an illiberal, exclusionary form of populism to weaponise the past. Lepore issues a critical warning: when serious scholars abandon the national narrative, nationalism does not disappear—it eats liberalism. To bridge our deep contemporary divides, Lepore calls for a robust "New Americanism." This requires reclaiming a shared, clear-eyed national story that simultaneously confronts America's gravest historical injustices and champions its foundational liberal ideals. A healthy democracy demands a collective, unifying past to anchor its civic future. https://lnkd.in/daZax7BF #JillLepore #ForeignAffairs #AmericanHistory #Nationalism #PublicIntellectual #CivicIdentity #Liberalism #PoliticalPolarization #Democracy #NationalNarrative #Historiography