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J.M. Opal

Associate Professor of History, McGill University
Jason Opal teaches history at McGill University and is the author of Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation, published by Oxford University Press.

Jason Opal studies colonial North America, the American Revolution, and the early decades of the United States. His work tries to integrate social, cultural, and intellectual history and to shed light on such broad topics as nationalism, capitalism, and democracy.

Opal did his undergraduate work at Cornell and his doctoral studies at Brandeis, where he worked with historians such as Jane Kamensky, David Hackett Fischer, and James T. Kloppenberg. His first major project was on the cultural transformation of ambition in the post-Revolutionary New England countryside. It resulted in a 2004 Journal of American History article that won the Organization of American Historians’ Binkley-Stephenson Award and in a 2008 book, Beyond the Farm: National Ambitions in Rural New England, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. His second book project focused on the southern borderlands of the American Revolution and on the rise of Andrew Jackson as the leader of an American national concept rooted in the desire for vengeance. Supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant, this project culminated in the 2017 book, Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation by Oxford University Press. His new projects include a global history of Barbados and a collaborative project with his father, Dr. Steven M. Opal, on the history of epidemic diseases in American life.

At McGill, Opal teaches surveys of the early United States and the American Revolution as well as more specialized courses on the history of slavery, U.S. foreign relations, democracy, and the family.

The U.S. Founding Fathers would want us to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Jan 19, 2021 05:48 am UTC| Politics Insights & Views

With the United States Capitol overrun by Trumps deplorables, it was easy to miss the other calamity that hit America last week: the pace of COVID-19 deaths hit a frightful new high. In Los Angeles County, a victim now...

The resilience of Barbados counters Trump's 'sh-thole' remarks

Nov 14, 2018 11:46 am UTC| Insights & Views

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, former attorney and future inmate Michael Cohen revealed some of the uglier things Donald Trump said to him during their many years together. Among the alleged quotes: Name one...

The elimination of smallpox showed how humans can work together to solve deadly global problems

Oct 04, 2018 14:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

If you were to watch a split-screen broadcast with global weather on one side and world politics on the other, you could easily conclude that we are doomed. Prodigious storms and killer heat waves announce the arrival...

Location, location, location: Trump has the best spot in American politics

Sep 10, 2018 13:51 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

How long until hes impeached? Canadian observers of the political dumpster fire down south are right to pose this question, for the list of scandals and offences is long and growing. One week, we learn about...

Economy

Morgan Stanley Warns Against Overestimating EV Demand Boost from Rising Oil Prices

Morgan Stanley is urging caution among investors who believe that surging oil prices will automatically trigger a rapid recovery for South Korean battery manufacturers. While recent headlines have painted an optimistic...

Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again After Brief Reopening, Rattling Global Energy Markets

Hopes for a restoration of normal energy shipping through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed within hours on Saturday after Iran reimposed tight restrictions on the vital maritime corridor, just a day after declaring it open....

Uranium Bull Market Gains Momentum Amid Supply Deficits and Geopolitical Tensions

The uranium market is entering a powerful new phase, with structural supply shortfalls and rising energy security concerns driving long-term bullish momentum. A recent special report from BCA Research confirms that the...

Energy Price Spike Won't Trigger Lasting Inflation, Analysts Say

A new report from BCA Research suggests that the recent surge in energy prices, driven by ongoing Middle East tensions, is unlikely to spark a prolonged period of runaway inflation in major global economies. According to...

Australia Extends Fuel Sulphur Relaxation Amid Iran War Supply Disruptions

Australia has extended its temporary easing of fuel-quality standards through September, as ongoing disruptions from the Iran war continue to strain the countrys fuel supply chains. Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed...

Politics

Iran's Internal Power Struggle Threatens Strait of Hormuz Stability

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have intensified after Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) overturned a government decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most critical energy...

North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles Amid Growing Nuclear Ambitions

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, according to South Korea and Japan, marking Pyongyangs seventh ballistic missile test this year and its fourth in April alone....

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile Eastward Amid Rising Global Tensions

South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday that North Korea launched an unidentified ballistic missile in an easterly direction. Military officials in Seoul are still analyzing the missiles type and flight...

U.S.-Iran Tensions Escalate as Hormuz Crisis Deepens Amid Ceasefire Strains

Fragile ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran are facing serious pressure after a dramatic weekend of escalating confrontations in and around the Strait of Hormuz. New reporting from the Wall Street...

Brazil, Spain, and Mexico Unite to Support Cuba Amid U.S. Blockade

During a high-profile international summit held in Barcelona, the leaders of Brazil, Spain, and Mexico came together to announce a strengthened commitment to providing coordinated humanitarian aid to Cuba. The meeting,...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

NVIDIA Acquisition Rumors Dismissed by Morgan Stanley as Strategically Flawed

Morgan Stanley analysts have moved to cool speculation that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is plotting a major acquisition of a U.S. PC original equipment manufacturer (OEM). According to the investment bank, such a...

Iran’s AI memes are reaching people who don’t follow the news – and winning the propaganda war

A Lego-style Iranian military commander raps over a gangster beat: Our inbox is flooded with Americans saying they dont watch the news. They listen to our songs instead since your media is full of shit. This is the opening...

OpenAI's $20 Billion Cerebras Deal Signals Massive AI Infrastructure Push

OpenAI is reportedly set to spend over $20 billion with AI chip startup Cerebras over the next three years, marking a significant expansion of an already substantial computing partnership. According to The Information, the...

Tesla's Terafab: AI Chip Factory Eyes Taiwan's Semiconductor Talent

Tesla is actively recruiting semiconductor engineers in Taiwan for its ambitious Terafab project a fully vertically integrated AI chip manufacturing facility that aims to consolidate logic, memory, packaging, testing, and...

Japan to Subsidize Sony's Image Sensor Plant in Kumamoto with $380 Million

The Japanese government has announced plans to provide Sony with subsidies of up to 60 billion yen, equivalent to approximately $380 million, to support the construction of an image sensor manufacturing facility in...