To the Editor:
Re “The End of Political History?,” by Fredrik Logevall and Kenneth Osgood (Op-Ed, Aug. 29):
It is indeed a pity that American political history is disappearing from the course offerings of the history departments of American colleges and universities. It has been replaced and superseded, as the writers suggest, by sometimes exemplary specialized courses in social history, ethnic and race studies, and gender and identity studies, as well as by lowbrow and middlebrow culture studies.
The writers note, parenthetically, that the same fate has been suffered by diplomatic and military history. I would add a third major victim: American intellectual history, a once powerful and popular field. At the mid-20th century, historians like Richard Hofstadter, who combined political and intellectual history with critical sociology, provided our citizens with rich insights into our political culture. Such insights as “status revolt” and “paranoid style” continue to inform our best contemporary journalists and critics.
The end of political, diplomatic, military and intellectual history involves foreboding consequences for our future as a democracy.
GARY MAROTTA
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
The writer is emeritus professor of history and former provost at SUNY-Buffalo State.
