Tuesday, April 14, 2009

How 'historic' was the 2008 election?

A Forum on the 2008 Presidential Election is featured in Perspectives on History, a publication of the American Historical Association, and posted on-line at the Association's blog, AHA Today:

Introductory Remarks
Eric Foner gives the introductory remarks, noting the need for “long historical perspective,” and introduces each panelist.

A Remarkable Election
Jacqueline Jones thinks most of us can admit “that this election was truly remarkable” and focuses her talk on the “idea of race” and how it factored in.
Election 2008: How ‘Historic’ Was It?
David Levering Lewis looks at the 2008 election through three lenses: “the global; the racial; the catastrophic.”

What Makes an Election Historic…And Has That Happened In 2008?
Julian E. Zelizer considers the 2008 election by asking three questions: Did something happen that we have not seen before? Has the election helped to create a genuine opportunity for change to occur? And, is it historic?