Do You Teach History? December Spotlight

Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, will say proudly that we are a nation of immigrants. In this bold new book, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz asserts this ideology is harmful and dishonest because it serves to mask and diminish the US’s history of settler

Cathy Park Hong will be awarded the American Book Award for Minor Feelings, a ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness. With sly humor and a poet’s searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and

  An inconvenient truth lies beneath the promises of opportunity and prestige that higher education degrees offer. US academic institutions are built upon legacies of stolen labor on stolen land. Through history, this settler-colonial foundation has trapped us in history and perpetuated race, class, and gender inequalities on campus. Social protests, often led by youth,

Contributed by Lisa Miller, PhD, author of The Awakened Brain: The New Science of Spirituality and Our Quest for an Inspired Life As an undergraduate psychology major at Yale, I always sat in the front row so that I might study not only the material but my professor as well. Like many students who sign

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, and we are sharing books from AAPI creators to be read and celebrated by students all year long.   Minor Feelings Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. A

We are Celebrating Lesbian Visibility Day by sharing books that delve into lesbian and LGBTQ+ experiences, including fiction, biography, and history.   Cantoras  Winner of the Stonewall Book Award, Cantoras is a revolutionary novel about five wildly different women who, in the midst of the Uruguayan dictatorship, find one another as lovers, friends, and ultimately,

For Autism Acceptance Month, we are sharing books that give the history of understanding autism and the personal stories of those who are autistic.   Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man’s Voice from the Silence of Autism In short, powerful chapters, Naoki Higashida explores school memories, family relationships, the exhilaration of

Lisa Genova is a Harvard-trained neuroscientist and the acclaimed author of novels such as Still Alice. She travels worldwide speaking about neurological diseases and has appeared on Today, PBS NewsHour, CNN, and NPR. Her new book, Remember, is a deep dive into the science of human memory and the intricacies of the brain that help us

Today we are celebrating International Women’s Day by talking about books that center the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.   Becoming In her memoir, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her time spent at the

Benjamine Spencer was convicted of murder in 1987—a crime he did not commit. Due to the tireless advocacy of Centurion Ministries over the past twenty years, his conviction has finally been reevaluated, and he is expected to be released after 34 years. His case is one of several that is profiled at length in Jim

The United Nations recognizes February 20th as World Day of Social Justice. This year’s theme is a Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy. Read more about the importance of social justice for peace and security in today’s world. Penguin Random House Education has provided a few books centered on social justice issues including

Contributed by Neal Gabler, author of Catching the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975 What happened to America?  What happened to bring us to this moment of deep and perhaps unbridgeable polarization, of disorder and chaos, of skepticism about science, institutions, even the very idea of fact itself, of rising white supremacy, of