A Columbia Professor Shilled for the Confederacy. Now What?
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TL;DR
- The 'Lost Cause' narrative, romanticizing the Confederacy, was significantly advanced by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and academics like Columbia's William Archibald Dunning.
- Dunning's "Dunning School" of graduate students strategically placed in universities promoted a view that glorified the Confederacy and criticized Reconstruction.
- Ken Burns' "The Civil War" documentary is noted for continuing Dunning's influence through the inclusion of Shelby Foote's views.
- The article contrasts Columbia University's limited response to its historical legacy with more proactive approaches taken by Georgetown University and the University of the South.
- The American Historical Association has acknowledged its role in disseminating racist scholarship and is actively working to correct the historical record.
- Columbia's history department is criticized for its minimal engagement with its "Dunning School" legacy and its perceived lack of transparency.
- The author advocates for Columbia to prioritize addressing its historical distortions over renaming projects, encouraging open dialogue and financial support for communities grappling with Confederate monuments.