Fall 2020

The Ends of History

The past is always with us - even when governments try to alter or erase it. How does contested history shape our politics and culture?

in this issue:

Russia's Lost War

– Izabella Tabarovsky

The official narrative of Soviet victory in World War II erases uncomfortable truths. Can Russians reclaim the forgotten human stories of those who defeated Nazi Germany?

The Past's Transformative Power

– Zheng Wang

The politics of historical memory determine China’s present. Will they set the course for its future?

Reversing a Bloody Legacy

– Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja

Belgium plundered the Congo for more than seven decades. The pernicious effects of that colonial rule have lingered long after independence was won in 1960.

Lightning Writing

– Jonathan Holloway and Richard Byrne

How much damage did Woodrow Wilson wreak on racial equality in the U.S.? Historian Jonathan Holloway assesses the 28th President's vexed legacy in government and academia.

Relentless Quest

– Madeleine Wattenbarger

Relatives of Mexican citizens who vanished at the hands of the military in the 1970s still seek answers in a climate of renewed disappearances.

Monuments and Memory

– Dušan Veličković (Text) and Donald Niebyl (Images)

How did hard totalitarianism go soft in Tito's Yugoslavia? Acclaimed abstract commemorations of World War II offer clues to the transformation.