The Stories We Tell

In an age when the humanities are struggling to defend their utility, history tremors at the tip of the spear. It doesn’t seem to explain the way things are, it’s not, well, current, and it doesn’t tickle our endless fascination with ourselves. Yet this spring issue exists to demonstrate that a prismatic study of history may be among the most important disciplines we can undertake for the recovery of a healthier public discourse and the beginnings of mutual accountability. We’ve invited an array of contributors to tell some histories with fresh integrity, explore the role of memory, and discern how much weight to give the past in discerning the contours of our present.