[H-Pad] Brief reports on Historians for Peace and Democracy at the AHA

[Andor Skotnes]

Colleagues,


Disrupted by weather-related transportation problems, H-PAD nonetheless was
a presence at the American Historical Association Meeting last weekend. * Below
are two brief reports on our activities at the conference, plus two links
to History News Network interviews with three H-PAD colleagues. *(Jim
O’Brien earlier sent these links out, but we are resending them in the
context of conference reporting.)


In the wake of the AHA conference, H-PAD is gearing up to join the *national
campaign for teach-ins, forums, and actions during the South Korean
Olympics this February around the US-Korean crisis*.  Over forty-five
national and regional organizations, including us, have signed on to this
campaign.  We will be sending out more information on the campaign by email
this Saturday, and posting it on our web site (
https://www.historiansforpeace.org/ ).

It is, though, important to state that, while we see the US-Korea crisis
campaign as our main current focus, HPAD remains committed to resisting
reaction on all fronts, including attacks on immigrants, undermining the
economic security of working people, and gender and racial oppression.

*The two HNN interviews* with H-PAD colleagues at the AHA are available at:

   - H-PAD co-chair Margaret Power,
   http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/167909
   - H-PAD SC member Rusti Eisenberg and historian Chris Appy,
   http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/167907

*Here are the two reports* on AHA conference activities:



*1, H-PAD at the 2018 AHA meeting - *Margaret Power


On January 5, 2018, Barbara W., Kevin, Marc, and Margaret staffed the H-PAD
table at the AHA. We were situated right outside the Book exposition, in a
prime location, but not many people stopped to look at our literature.
Those who did generally took samples of what we had on display, including
the broadsides, which look great. About 18 people signed up on the mailing
list, although some of them (i.e. Barbara W.) are already members. All of
the literature was white (copied at the last moment, weather issues
compounding the problem) and we agreed, more variety in the future is a
must.


On January 6, 2018, H-PAD held our first meeting at the AHA. About thirty
people attended. Andor, Barbara W., Kevin, Marc, Margaret, Rusti, and Van
were there from the Steering Committee. Among the other people were some
members of H-PAD and some new people. The meeting followed the agenda. We
gave a brief history of HAW, with an emphasis on the two AHA resolutions we
passed; and the transition from HAW to H-PAD. The atmosphere was overall
congenial.


Much of the discussion focused on the Korea Campaign. We were fortunate to
have several people from New York involved in the work: Van and Molly
Nolan. Nan Kim (U Wisconsin) was particularly helpful, since she shared her
involvement in the work and the Korean networks.

One other highlight was the presence of an undergrad history major from
George Mason, who recommended we work with student groups. She strongly
urged us to work with students/student groups and especially with SDS if
there is one on the campus. It was also good to see Chris Appy, who had
just given a great presentation on the previous panel discussing the Ken
Burns/Lynn Novak series on Vietnam, attend the meeting and participate in
the discussion.

Several members of the SC had lunch afterwards and discussed the meeting.
The general feeling was upbeat, we are relaunching the organization and we
have had a positive response.



*2. Report on the AHA Panel on the US-Vietnam War Documentary - *Andor
Skotnes


During the 8.30 Saturday morning session at the AHA on January 6, the H-PAD
supported panel, “A Fateful Misunderstanding: A Discussion of the Film
Documentary ‘The Vietnam War’ by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick,” considered the
strengths and weaknesses of this 18-hour documentary. The panel
included Christian
G. Appy (Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst), Mark Philip Bradley (University
of Chicago), Heather Marie Stur (University of Southern Mississippi), and
Carolyn Rusti Eisenberg (Hofstra University); Michael Kazin (Georgetown
University) was chair. About 70 people attended.



All of the panelists affirmed, to varying degrees, evident strengths of the
documentary: the power of the visuals, the engaging personal testimony that
included the voices of Vietnamese figures from both the south and the
north, the wealth of information, and the skilled, if rather traditional,
filmmaking.  On the other hand, the panelists offered a number of strong
criticisms of the film. Several argued that Burns’ and Novik’s stated
desire “to heal wounds” and to portray the war as a tragic mistake, masked
uncomfortable, imperial realities.  The overwhelming emphasis on battle
marginalized questions of policy and politics.  The preoccupation with US
soldiers as both the heroes and victims of the war obscured civilian
actions and suffering, and forestalled questions of responsibility.  Women’s
roles in the war and women’s testimony about the war were all but
ignored.  Links
between the US war in Vietnam and later 21th century US wars went entirely
unexplored.  And the impact of the anti-war movement was severely
minimized--sometimes depicted as ineffectual, and on occasion demonized.


At the beginning of the session, one commentator talked of continually
grappling with the question, is this documentary “better than nothing?”  By
the end of session, it seemed that most of the panelists, and most of those
who spoke from the audience, would have had a hard time answering yes.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.historiansforpeace.org/private.cgi/h-pad-historiansforpeace.org/attachments/20180110/f4e01fd5/attachment.htm>