Join us for three end-of-the-year sessions as we read and discuss articles that connect historical events to current events in our country. Articles will be emailed to participants who RSVP. By RSVPing to the book club, you are committing to attend all three sessions.

For our first session, we will be reading articles written this past year by historian Greg Grandin. Grandin has been writing about the current political climate of our country with his assessment based on his newest book America, América: A New History of the New World (2025). Through a hemispheric lens, Grandin examines the history of the United States by looking at its relationship with the Spanish speaking countries of the Americas. How have these historical connections influenced our current politics? Let’s read and discuss it together.  

The first article – Trump Is Waging War on His Own Citizens – is an opinion piece written by Grandin for the New York Times. He examines the use of the word “America” by the Trump administration to decide who does and doesn’t deserve to be a citizen of our country. By looking to the history of the Americas, Grandin questions who gets to identify themselves as American.  

The second article – The Revolutionary Idea That Remade the New World – was written by Grandin for The Atlantic. Grandin examines the historical roots of birthright citizenship in the Americas in response to the Trump administrations attempt to eliminate this significant right.  

Here is also a supplemental reading/interview of Grandin for The Nation in which he discusses his book. There is also an audio option to listen to the interview as well. This provides more context for his historical approach in these articles.  

UPCOMING SESSIONS
Wednesday, November 19
Wednesday, December 3