Mobilising historical knowledge without master narratives: how historians are correcting the record in a complicated political moment

Across the world and particularly in the USA, historical evidence has become increasingly central to certain contemporary political and policy debates. Drawing on a survey of US media sources, Dustin Hornbeck and Joel Malin, discuss this trend and describe the ways in which historical evidence is used in the public sphere. Whilst debates around the use of historical evidence are often contentious, they suggest that they also reflect opportunities for better public engagement with historical research and an increasingly democratised public debate around historical narratives in society.