Then & Now

• Donald Trump’s Uses (and Abuses) of History: A Conversation with Bruce Schulman.

  This week’s episode of then & now is part of an occasional series exploring the past, present, and future of U.S. foreign policy and the U.S.-led international order. Guest host Dr. Ben Zdencanovic is joined by Bruce Schulman, Professor of History at Boston University, to discuss the Trump administration’s selective use of history, especially its nods to the McKinley era’s embrace of tariffs and imperialism. President Trump’s invocation of slogans like "Make America Great Again" reflects a broader effort to revive a tried-and-true Gilded Age cultural vision, framing America as a nation betrayed by outsiders and internal dissenters. Bruce argues that Trump’s idiosyncratic historical references signal a return to an older, culturally resonant political strategy. To conclude, Bruce examines the roots and ramifications of this vision, challenging the nostalgia surrounding late 19th-century U.S. policy and its relevance today.Bruce Schulman is the William E. Huntington Professor of History at Boston University. Bruce also directs the Institute for American Political History at Boston University. The Institute seeks to establish Boston University as a leading center for the study of America’s political past. He is also a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, as well as websites such as Politico and Reuters. Bruce’s teaching and research concentrate on the history of the modern United States, particularly on the relationships between politics and broader cultural change. He is currently at work on a volume for the Oxford History of the United States covering the years 1896-1929.Ben Zdencanovic is a Postdoctoral Associate at the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. Ben is a historian of the United States in the world, domestic and international politics, and economic and social policy. He has a particular interest in the relationship between U.S. global power and the politics of redistribution and welfare state. Ben earned his doctorate with distinction from the Department of History at Yale in 2019, where his dissertation was the winner of the Edwin W. Small Prize for outstanding work in United States history. Prior to coming to UCLA, Ben was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Jackson School for Global Affairs and an Assistant Instructional Professor at the University of Chicago. Further ReadingTime Magazine, "Tariffs Don’t Have to Make Economic Sense to Appeal to Trump Voters"

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• Preservation amidst Devastation: Salvaging Historic Tiles after the Los Angeles Wildfires. A Conversation with Conservator Amy Green.

  This week’s episode of then & now is part of a series co-sponsored by the L.A. History Collaborative, in which we explore the impact of the catastrophic wildfires that affected Los Angeles in early 2025. We are joined by Amy Green, Principal of Silverlake Conservation and one of Los Angeles’ most seasoned historical conservators. She discusses her efforts to preserve intricately crafted tiles from the early 20th century that have been salvaged from homes in Altadena impacted by the fires as well as the importance of these tiles to the historical context of Altadena and Southern California more broadly. In the aftermath of the extensive destruction caused by the Eaton Fire, historic Batchelder tiles—recognized as one of Los Angeles' most significant contributions to the American Arts and Crafts movement—have been discovered, sometimes as the only markers of where homes once stood. To preserve these pieces of history, Amy, along with the volunteer organization Save the Tiles, endeavors to protect this essential aspect of cultural heritage. Salvaging these architectural fragments not only preserves elements of the affected homes but also serves as a connection between what has been lost and the future that lies ahead. Amy calls attention to the fact that, in the midst of profound devastation, there emerges a remarkable display of kindness. Amy Green is a Principal of Silverlake Conservation and has a broad range of experience in the conservation of a variety of materials, including ceramics, glass, metal, stone, concrete, and modern materials. Amy came to the field of conservation as a ceramic artist with a strong working knowledge of clay and glaze chemistry, and she has gravitated towards the treatment of historic tile and architectural terra cotta. Amy has a certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Southern California, a Master’s of Art in Tile Conservation from Antioch University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.Further ReadingLos Angeles Times, ‘The only thing still left.’ Volunteers race to save Altadena’s vintage tiles from the bulldozersThe New York Times, After the L.A. Wildfires, a Race to Save the Tiles, and the Soul, of AltadenaSilverlake ConservationThe Batchelder Tile Registry

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• Why History Matters in an Age of Polycrisis

  In this week’s episode of then & now, we present a recording of a recent event co-sponsored by the Wende Museum and the Luskin Center for History and Policy. This event launched the Meyer and Renee Luskin Public History Program at the Wende Museum, a series made possible through the extraordinary generosity of Meyer and Renee Luskin, with a thought-provoking conversation on the role of history in shaping how we address today’s most urgent problems.Wende Museum Founder and Executive Director Justin Jampol was joined by David N. Myers, Distinguished Professor of History at UCLA and the Director of the Luskin Center for History and Policy, for an illuminating discussion on public history—how we collectively engage with the past to help make sense of the present. In an era defined by what some call a “polycrisis” of entangled geopolitical, economic, and ecological disruptions, historical perspective is more essential than ever. Together, Jampol and Myers explore the ways history can help us navigate complexity, challenge dominant narratives, and foster informed activism.Justin Jampol is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wende Museum. A scholar of Cold War visual culture, Jampol has dedicated his career to uncovering and preserving artifacts that tell alternative histories of 20th-century geopolitics. His innovative approach to public history—merging art, archives, and community engagement—has made the Wende Museum a global model for rethinking how museums interact with the past.David N. Myers is a Distinguished Professor of History at UCLA and the Director of the Luskin Center for History and Policy and the UCLA Initiative to Study Hate. A leading scholar of Jewish history, he has authored six books and edited thirteen others, including The Stakes of History: On the Use and Abuse of Jewish History for Life (Yale University Press, 2018). His research addresses Jewish intellectual and cultural history, with a focus on how historical narratives shape identity, politics, and social movements.Further ReadingThe Wende Museum programs

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• Indigenous Fire Stewardship and Ecological Resilience: A Conversation with Daisy Ocampo Diaz.

  This week’s episode of then & now is part of a series co-sponsored by the L.A. History Collaborative, in which we examine the effects of the devastating Los Angeles Wildfires in early 2025. Dr. Daisy Ocampo Diaz joins LCHP Assistant Director Dr. Rose Campbell to discuss the Fowler Museum’s exhibition Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art, one of the exhibitions associated with the Pacific Standard Time (PST) Art Initiative. The L.A. Wildfires highlighted the urgent need for effective fire management and risk mitigation strategies in the era of climate change. Rarely featured in such discussions, however, are the traditional landscape management methods, such as controlled burns, practiced by many Indigenous communities in North America before European colonization. As head curator of the Fire Kinship exhibition, Daisy underscores the vital role of fire as a regenerative force and explains how a legacy of colonial fire suppression tactics has exacerbated the effects of wildfires in the absence of sustainable landscape management practices. With more frequent and devastating natural disasters intensified by climate change, Daisy asserts that the best way forward is the integration of Indigenous knowledge into large-scale landscape management practices.The Fire Kinship exhibition is on display at the Fowler Museum at UCLA through July 13, 2025. Read more about the exhibition here. Admission to the Fowler Museum is always free!Dr. Daisy Ocampo (Caxcan, or Caz’ Ahmo, Indigenous Nation of Zacatecas, Mexico) earned her PhD in History from the University of California, Riverside in 2019. Her research in Native and Public History informs her work with museum exhibits, historical preservation projects, and community-based archives. She is the author of Where We Belong: Chemehuevi and Caxcan Preservation of Sacred Mountains (The University of Arizona Press, 2023) and is currently working on two major projects: “Pá’čapa: A Mt. Rubidoux Story,” a short documentary film which she co-produced, and “Fire Kinship,” an exhibit she curated at the UCLA Fowler Museum sponsored by Getty.Further ReadingNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)PST ART

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• Reconstructing German-Jewish Cultural Heritage after the Los Angeles Wildfires: A Conversation with E. Randol Schoenberg.

  This week’s episode of then & now is part of a series examining the effects of one of the most powerful and destructive natural disasters in U.S. history: the Los Angeles Wildfires. Co-sponsored by the L.A. History Collaborative— a new consortium of cultural institutions and historians committed to using the tools of history to assist in the reconstruction of the lives and stories of those deeply affected by the L.A. Wildfires—we sit down with E. Randol Schoenberg, an LA-based lawyer and genealogist, to discuss the lives and cultural property lost during this devastating event. As the grandson of Austrian-American composers Arnold Schoenberg and Erich Zeisl, both of whom emigrated to the U.S. to escape the terror of Nazism in Europe and subsequently settled in West L.A, Randy serves as a custodian of his family’s historical legacy. Tragically, Randy's family not only lost several homes in the fires but also the entire inventory of sales and rental materials from Belmont Music Publishers, which included manuscripts, original scores, and printed works. The German-Jewish immigrant community has experienced significant cultural loss due to the wildfires, as the Pacific Palisades has historically served as a social hub for German-speaking cultural figures in the mid-twentieth century. In order to memorialize what has been lost, Randy underscores the necessity of recounting and documenting this critical history.E. Randol Schoenberg is an American lawyer and genealogist, based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in legal cases related to the recovery of looted or stolen artworks, particularly those by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust. Schoenberg is widely known as one of the central figures of the 2015 film Woman in Gold, which depicted the case of Maria Altmann against the government of Austria. He is also the subject of the 2023 genealogical documentary Fioretta.Further ReadingBelmont Music PublishersA treasure house of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s music destroyed in Palisades fireAfter Nazi Plunder, A Quest To Bring Home The 'Woman In Gold'Villa Aurora

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