FRIENDS of HISTORY PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY (WINTER 1998)

PROFESSOR HOWARD ZINN "THE USE AND ABUSE OF HISTORY"

January 22, 1998, 7:30 pm Vanport Room, Smith Center On January 22, the Friends will present Professor Howard Zinn, who will deliver a lecture titled: The Use and Abuse of History. Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, is one of the country's most distinguished historians. After receiving his doctorate from Columbia University, Zinn first taught at Spelman College in Atlanta where he also joined the Civil Rights movement. Later, teaching at Boston University, he became active in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Professor Zinn is the author of ten books, most notable of which is A People's History of the United States and which is now widely used in many college and university classrooms. His other books include: The Twentieth Century, The Politics of Power, You Can't be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times and The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy. Howard Zinn is one of the country's most controversial historians. But, as The New York Times Book Review points out in its review of A People's History, "open-minded readers will profit from Professor Zinn's account and historians may well view it as step towards a coherent new version of American history." The Philadelphia Bulletin writes: "Howard Zinn's history is a very different one. It's about folks at the bottom, the people." Few other radical histories have reached so many hearts and minds as Howard Zinn's A People's History. This book has gone into over twenty-five printings and sold over 400,000 copies. Almost no other historian of the Left has managed to retain as much credibility while refusing to let his academic mantle change his masterful writing style from being anything but direct, forthright and accessible. Whether his subject is war, race, politics, economic justice, or history itself, each of his works serves as reminder that to embrace one's subjectivity can mean embracing one's humanity, that both the heart and mind can speak with one voice. So please mark your calendar and tell your friends about this important upcoming lecture. Professor Zinn will be on campus at about 4:30 PM on January 22, for a reception and a small group talk in the History Department, and, later, at 7:30 PM, his lecture will be held in the Vanport Room, Smith Center. In addition, there will be a book-signing after the lecture. Zinn's various publications will be presented for signing by The Looking Glass Bookstore. For further information on this event, call Tina at the History Department at 725-3917.

Dr. Bill Speck's Lecture on the Gunpowder Plot

"Please to remember the 5th of November: gunpowder, treason and plot!" Such is the chant of every English school child as he or she dances around the neighborhood bonfire while roasting potatoes and chestnuts. Dr. Bill Speck's lecture on 5 November 1997, co-sponsored by Friends of History and the History Department, placed in perspective this odd ritual for an appreciative audience. Dr. Speck, who is retired from Leeds University, has lectured at PSU on previous visits. This time, he linked the Guy Fawkes celebration to the old Celtic ritual of human sacrifice and the Christian rite of burning effigies of those suspected of perfidious or treasonous behavior (Tom Paine, at one time) on Bonfire Night. Guy Fawkes's misdeed was an attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in 1605, when the king was expected to address the lawmakers, with 1,800 lb. of gunpowder placed in the cellars. He was found under the House of Lords, tortured and executed. "Guy Fawkes guy, stick him in the eye, hang him on the lamp-post and there let him die!" He was, actually, an underling. The main plotter was the head of the disaffected Roman Catholics who, from the time of Elizabeth I, were suspected of owing primary allegiance to Rome - "Home rule is Rome rule" - and of attempting to return England to papal fealty. For two centuries Bonfire Day was known as "Pope's Day;" to this day the cellars of the House of Lords are searched. Dr. Speck recommended Antonia Fraser's book, Faith and Terror, to those who wished to explore the subject further.

The Role of Vengeance in History

The Friends presented a panel discussion on October 23, 1997 designed to help define this year's theme: Vengeance in History. Professor Gordon Dodds served as moderator and was joined by Judge Owen Panner, the Reverend John Rosenberg and professors David Horowitz, Gary Perlstein and Hugo Maynard. Each of these distinguished panelists presented individual views on the subject of vengeance in history by drawing on their expertise from their respective fields of inquiry. In his opening remarks, Dr. Maynard, a professor of psychology at PSU, remarked: "Vengeance is everywhere, even in peaceful and egalitarian societies. It's the dirty laundry of society." Maynard noted that "vengeance is violence that bides its time," and that "getting even" is a theme which is endemic to today's society, whether this be in the fields of art, religion, or science. The Reverend Rosenberg suggested that vengeance, from a historical/religious perspective, can be viewed as a method for both social control and social cohesion. In addition, Rosenberg pointed out "vengeance can help in the restoration of wholeness necessary for [social] healing." However, Rosenberg stressed that "vengeance is reserved for a legitimate sovereign, it belongs to God alone, and [vengeance] restores a sense of justice to the community." Rosenberg clearly maintained, however, that the vengeance to which he was referring was one of divine sanction, and, as such, can never be related to revenge or vindictiveness.

Professor David Horowitz proffered many examples of vengeance from American history, citing cases as diverse as the American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln's non-vengeful attitude towards the South at the end of the Civil War, slavery, Father Charles E. Coughlin, and Joseph R. MaCarthy, to address and illustrate his views on vengeance. He explained how social values can encourage group violence by citing examples of traditional violence practiced in the American South during the nineteenth century, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the struggle by the Labor Movement for recognition through the latter part of the nineteenth - and early twentieth - century. Horowitz concluded by saying: "The abuses of the past cannot be truly rectified. I guess you just have to get over it." Judge Panner argued that one of the many problems attendant in any discussion on vengeance concerns its definition. Panner noted that vengeance for one person or group of people may be seen as justice for another group. "Criminal law and the prison system are up for evaluation," Panner stated and that "as Judges....we are trying to prevent further crime, not declare vengeance on the criminal."

During the question and answer segment, one audience member asked the panelists to discuss the difference between justice and vengeance. According to Dr. Perlstein, "justice differs on a case by case basis: It depends upon with whom one is talking." Professor Horowitz argued that "justice has to be specific and related to events in the recent past." The Board would not only like to thank all those who attended to this event, but also the panelists for their thoughtful, insightful and eloquent arguments which went far to insure the success of this event. Lisa Hill, Event Committee

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

One of the interesting features of the new University Studies (general education) program at the University is the senior required course called Capstone. These courses are intended to be interdisciplinary team courses that bring the students into the community. The History Department has been deeply involved in these courses (as in all aspects of University Studies) from the beginning. One of the first Capstone courses (a history of the Portland YWCA) was taught last year by Patricia Schechter. Next term four of our members will teach Capstone courses: Ann Mussey will continue the YWCA course; Friedrich Schuler will teach a couse in which the students will produce a Latin American Trade Council newsletter; Karen Carr's students will create and design on the World Wide Web a collection of information on Roman Civilization; and Gordon Dodds will teach a course on the history of the Lents community in Southeast Portland. Elsewhere in this newsletter is information about various other activities of the faculty and students of our department. As always, if you have any suggestions to improve or supplement our programs, please do not hesitate to let me know. Over the years FOH has become an indispensable part of the department's activities in large part because of your suggestions. Thanks! Gordon Dodds

Faculty News

David A. Johnson has been asked to be a co-author of a book on the history of the California Supreme Court. Johnson, who will write chapter one, dealing with the court from statehood in 1850 to the state's second constitutional convention in 1879, joins four other authors: Harry Scheiber and Charles McClain, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California Berkeley, Lucy Salyer, University of New Hampshire, and Gordon Bakken, California State University, Fullerton. The project, organized by Professor Scheiber, is sponsored by the California Supreme Court Historical Society. In addition to a gift from the Friends of History, a subvention from the Supreme Court Historical Society allowed Johnson to hire PSU graduate student George Eigo as a research assistant on the project during the fall term of 1997.

Congratulations to Professor Karen Carr and her husband, Damian, on the new addition to their family, Ruth Ellen, born on December 27, 1997.

Friends of History Board of Directors

Officers Stephen Heard, President Beryl Dahl, Vice-President Erica Goodwin, Secretary Lynn Mackenzie, Treasurer Noriko Aso.

Gordon B. Dodds History Department Chair

Nicholas Fish

Lisa Hill Oregon Historical Society

Vaughn Hill

Sylvia Gray Kaplan

Danielle Larson, Past President

Julia Lay

George Nash

Dr. Richard Olmsted

Terri Thiesen

Roberta Ulrich

Honorary Directors Bernard V. Burke, Daniel Bernstine

The Friends of History newsletter is published quarterly by the Friends of History at Portland State University. The Friends of History is a group of individuals interested in history who believe that the Department of History at PSU offers a strong program worthy of community attention and support. In an age increasingly dependent on technology, the Friends of History shares a conviction that the disciplines inherent in historical analysis are vital not only to the preservation of the humanities, but to all sound thinking. The Friends of History promotes excellence in the teaching and study of history within the University and strives to increase awareness of this resource in the Portland metropolitan area.

Editor: Tina Tankersley Friends of History Department of History PO Box 751 Portland, OR 97207 503/725-3976