Reconsidering "The Historian in the World"

"Reconsidering 'The Historian in the World':
A John Hope Franklin Legacies event featuring Laurent Dubois, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Romila Thapar
Moderated by Ranjana Khanna

9:30 - 11:00 a.m. EST
Monday, February 7, 2022
Virtual: Zoom Webinar
Registration required: https://duke.is/gkdg4

On October 27, 2007, two pre-eminent historians had a wide-ranging and remarkable conversation at Duke University. Among other topics, they discussed the commonalities shared by historians in such different fields as ancient Indian and modern American history; the role of interpretation and method in the writing of history; the constraints presented by periodization, nationalism, and Eurocentrism; and how they found themselves embroiled in controversies over school curricula and history textbooks that emerged as cultural flash points.

These historians were the late John Hope Franklin, pathbreaking scholar of African American history, and Romila Thapar, world-renowned expert on ancient India, who was in residence at the Franklin Humanities Institute for the 2007-2008 academic year. The event was "The Historian in the World."

On February 7, 2022, the Franklin Humanities Institute will revisit the "The Historian in the World" with remarks from distinguished historians Laurent Dubois (UVA), Robin D. G. Kelley (UCLA), and Romila Thapar herself, whose work continues to complicate nationalist narratives.

This event is part of the John Hope Franklin Legacies Series and part of an ongoing effort to reexamine archival materials from FHI's past through the lens of the present.