A recent book ("That Noble Dream: The 'Objectivity Question' and the American Historical Profession") suggests that historians should not claim far-ranging objectivity, challenging the widely held belief that different accounts of the past can be integrated into a coherent picture and that history is less subjective than other…

At the annual meeting of the American Studies Association, scholars deplored the lack of attention paid to the history and culture of ethnic and minority groups. Scholars have recently expanded their understanding of "American" to include Canada, Central and South America. (MLW)

Multicultural scholarship was critiqued by proponents at a meeting of the American Studies Association for a "politics of style" substituting for analysis of society; a "particularism" that has divided researchers into separate camps; and a "political correctness" that has avoided self-criticism. One issue raised was that multiculturalism further…

At a meeting of academic and public humanists, scholars agreed and expressed a need for scholars, the public, and the sponsors of public humanities programs to come together to encourage the humanities in society at large, and to find specific ways to bring humanities to the public's attention. (MSE)

Historians have extended the study of religion into the 20th century, and in social sciences many scholars are reassessing their theories about the secularization of American society. Recent trends in scholarship have also facilitated the rediscovery of the Bible and other religious texts. (MLW)

The study of moral development has established itself firmly in American social science and produced some broad areas of scholarly consensus. However, many of education's most vocal critics charge that such scholarship, flawed by liberal biases, is what has led the nation's schools and children astray. (MSE)

The annual meeting of the American Historical Association is reported, including the "history in crisis" vs "history being revitalized" debate. In the 1960s, a younger generation of scholars pioneered the "new social history"; in the 1980s, political divisions have contributed to the debate. (MLW)

Pornography has become an issue of wide-spread concern outside academe and is the focus of disputes over censorship, feminism, and sex. The feminist claim that pornography is not a First Amendment issue, but a civil rights one, is discussed. (MLW)

The Harvard "Program in Ethics and the Professions" focuses less on abstract moral reasoning than on practical problems, the concrete decisions and dilemmas of the real world. Another key question that has been discussed is whether or not it is possible to teach moral reasoning without teaching moral values. (MLW)

While the bicentennial of the Constitution is beginning to have public impact, it has made little impression on research in the fields of history, law, and political science. Books about the Constitution are listed and a calendar of conferences on the U.S. Constitution is provided. (MLW)

Scholarly publishers are experimenting with the "electronic monograph," a scholarly book offered on the Internet. Several converging trends (declining university subsidies, increasing research specialization, tightening library budgets) are putting pressure on academic publishing in the humanities and social sciences. Publishers are not convinced…

Interest in black feminist scholarship is growing and changing the discipline. The new questions being addressed are more self-reflective and self-critical than previously. Some scholars are concerned that the new black feminism is too scholarly and not close enough to real-life problems; others fear a separation from white feminism. (MSE)

Woman scholars at the annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians called for a new "multi-cultural approach" that would weave the lives of Hispanic, Black, Asian-American, and American Indian women into women's history and into United States history. (MLW)

As scholars explore the way factors like race, class, gender, sexual preference, and geographic location alter Chicano identity, they are being forced to modify reigning interpretations of Chicano history and culture. Feminists were first to challenge existing perceptions, and their interdisciplinary perspective strengthened the force of their…