Thread by @torstenkathke

Hi new followers!

I'm glad you found what I tweet of value.

It's been a busy couple of days on Twitter at a time of year usually reserved for reflection and slowing down.

You've seen me talk about Nazism and historical interpretation.

As a German and a historian, I'm happy to do this whenever it comes up.

But I like to emphasize the 'how' of doing history and why that leads historians to certain conclusions over simple fact-checking.

A lie that stands on its own can be proven wrong by facts.

A lie that is part of a strategy to undermine accepted beliefs can only really be countered by showing why it's effective and how it fits into a larger story.

That's why I keep talking about methods historians use.

Like any profession, historians have expertise gained through long study and practice. But we often rely on ways of arriving at conclusions that aren't exclusive and unknowable, but can be used by anyone. If more people are armed with some of these methods, we're all better off.

A few quick things about me: My day job is teaching U.S. history at JGU Mainz, @uni_mainz_eng, with a focus on the 19th century and the second half of the 20th century.

I wrote a book on the American Southwest: cup.columbia.edu/book/wires-tha…

Right now, I'm writing up research into popular books on societal issues in the U.S. and West Germany in the 1970s, asking: How did scholars, journalists, and others describe society and its problems? What does that mean?

Different, but just as relevant to our present moment.

I'll occasionally tweet in German, but mostly this account is in English.

I'm very much looking forward to interacting with you on here in the future!