Editors’ Note: The following post, a personal reflection from Amanda Moniz, which also introduces themes from her new book, From Empire to Humanity, originally appeared on the OUPBlog under the title “How can history inform public policy today?” As a historian of philanthropy, I have wrestled with how to bring historical perspectives to my own gifts … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Karen Sonnelitter discusses her recently-published book, Charity Movements in Eighteenth-Century Ireland (2016). More specifically in this post, she explains how “joint-stock financing” facilitated the establishment of a wide range of charitable societies in eighteenth-century Ireland. Earlier this summer, she presented part of this work at the 2016 conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR) in Stockholm, Sweden. … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: In 1995, Howard Gardner, a psychologist-turned qualitative social scientist, joined forces with psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and William Damon to start the Good Work Project—an empirical study of the professions in the United States and of how such work could be conducted in an ethical manner. Two decades later, Gardner began a blog, The Professional Ethicist, … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Megan Tompkins-Stange discusses her book, Policy Patrons, which was published by Harvard Education Press this month. Earlier this week, HistPhil co-editor Maribel Morey reviewed the book on this site. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” wrote George Santayana in 1905 – a perennially popular aphorism. But in the case of philanthropy, … Continue reading
The 12th International Conference of the International Society for Third-Sector Research (ISTR) is taking place next week (June 28-July 1) at Ersta Skondal University College in Stockholm, Sweden. The theme is “The Third Sector in Transition: Accountability, Transparency, and Social Inclusion.” Below, I am including events that would be of particular interest to HistPhil readers. Of … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: HistPhil co-editor, Maribel Morey, reviews Megan Tompkins-Stange’s new book, Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Education Press, 2016). In Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence, Megan Tompkins-Stange provides a fascinating peek into staff mentalities at the Gates, Broad, Kellogg, and Ford foundations. This is a … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: David Hammack reviews John Fea’s The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society (Oxford, 2016). Neil Young reviewed the book last week. As a sponsored celebration of two hundred years of the American Bible Society intended for a friendly audience, The Bible Cause is remarkably comprehensive and thoughtful. Its acknowledgement of debates and … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Neil Young reviews John Fea’s The Bible Cause: A History of the American Bible Society. Later this week, David Hammack offers his own perspective on the book. Last year, the American Library Association recorded a new entry on its annual list of the ten most challenged library books. For the first time ever, the … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Alice O’Connor reviews Erica Kohl-Arenas’ The Self-Help Myth: How Philanthropy Fails to Alleviate Poverty (University of California Press, 2016). Kohl-Arenas recently participated in the inaugural HistPhil Exchange with Linsey McGoey. Erica Kohl-Arenas opens her important and sharply-observed new book with a field note from her visit to organized philanthropy’s grand palaver, the Annual Meeting … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: On HistPhil earlier this year, Rhodri Davies discussed his new book, Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain (2016). Here, Andrew Purkis reviews the manuscript. This is a delightful series of wise reflections about key issues for philanthropy, particularly in the UK, informed by a historical perspective. It contributes more to stimulating thinking about the future … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Anelise Shrout contributes a new post on 19th century Cherokee and Choctaw transnational philanthropy and how it re-shapes our understanding of the giving of marginalized groups. The people gathered at Fort Gibson in the Western Cherokee Nation in March of 1847 were a diverse group. Cherokees, U.S. soldiers, local missionaries and traders passing through … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Scholars have often engaged the rise of modern philanthropy in the developing world through the tensions between indigenous traditions and cosmopolitan practices. Mircea Raianu explores the place of Tata philanthropy in modern India to complicate that dichotomy. What is the relationship between corporate philanthropy and the modern nation-state? Or, to put it another way, … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Below, Rhodri Davies discusses his new book, Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain (2016). It is easy to take for granted the idea of charity as an accepted public good and to picture the not-for-profit sector as having incrementally yet inevitably developed towards its current form. However, my new book, Public Good by … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Helen Anne Curry continues HistPhil‘s forum on the Green Revolution. Here, she argues that the history of the Rockefeller Foundation’s involvement in the conservation of crop biodiversity offers insight into how the foundation navigated the science and politics of a problem that it had itself contributed significantly to generating. In 1943, the Rockefeller Foundation … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: HistPhil continues its forum on the Green Revolution with this review of David Rieff’s The Reproach of Hunger from Gilbert Levine and Ruth Levine. The world has done a remarkable job of feeding itself. Despite population growth, the Food and Agriculture Organization reports that the prevalence of hunger in most parts of the developing world … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Benjamin Coates reviews Patricia Rosenfield’s A World of Giving: Carnegie Corporation of New York – A Century of International Philanthropy. As a pioneer of modern philanthropy, Andrew Carnegie was among the first millionaires to face criticism not for his stinginess, but for his largesse. Why should society admire a man for giving away wealth … Continue reading
In his synopsis of last week’s Hudson Institute event for Linsey McGoey’s No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy (Verso, 2015), fellow HistPhil co-editor Benjamin Soskis mentioned that the site will be engaging further with the book. In this vein, here is a link to my review No Such Thing as a Free … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Furthering the site’s ongoing discussion on the history of philanthropy and charity, Adam Davis reviews Peter Brown’s new book The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity (HUP, 2015). It may at first seem curious for a blog on the history of philanthropy to review a new book about the relationship between … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Continuing the site’s forum on philanthropy & education, Frederick M. Hess discusses his and Jeff Henig’s recent book and suggests ways that the philanthropic sector in the United States can play a positive role in education reform. We invite readers to engage with this particular post and the broader philanthropy & education forum, along with the site’s more … Continue reading
Editors’ Note: Last Thursday in Washington D.C., HistPhil co-editor Benjamin Soskis attended the Hudson Institute’s event for Linsey McGoey’s No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy. Below, he provides a synopsis of the event along with an analysis of McGoey’s presentation. Last Thursday, the Hudson Institute hosted an event for … Continue reading
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