Tag Archive

In the Academy

Centering African American history in a public history course

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I first became interested in public history as a child. My church often had events that celebrated Black history. And at least once a year, my schools would create bulletin boards highlighting the achievements of African Americans. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I knew that I wanted to teach courses that explored how this history has been taught in public spaces. Read More

Commemorating the Tulsa Massacre: A Search for Identity and Historical Complexity

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When HBO’s Watchmen aired on October 20th last year, it introduced millions of Americans to the explosive episode of racial terror that gripped the black residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma from May 30th to June 1st, 1921. The TV show dramatizes how white Americans used guns and even makeshift bombs to destroy millions of dollars in property and murdered an estimated 100 to 300 African Americans over the course of three days (the “aftermath” of which is pictured here). Read More

Excavating subterranean histories of Ringwood Mines and the Ramapough Lunaape Nation, part 1

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The Ramapough Lunaape Turtle Clan have called Ringwood, New Jersey, home for centuries. The surrounding landscape features iron mines, Native American rock shelters, and a forest that provides food for hunters and foragers. But it also contains a stew of different chemical toxicants from the former Ford manufacturing plant, deep pockets of contaminated soil, streams that now flow with orange water, and the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site. Read More

Incorporating “Growth Mindset” into public history teaching

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Last summer, when offered a rare opportunity to receive funding for course development, I applied for a university grant to test the value of incorporating growth mindset theories into my public history course. At first glance, these two pedagogies did not seem particularly compatible, but I was curious to see if I could combine them to a positive effect. Read More

Teaching History Communication: Early results

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Readers of History@Work may recall that four years ago in this space a group of historians introduced the concepts of “History Communication” and “History Communicators.” Inspired by the investments that the sciences made in science communication, the group theorized that investing in, and strengthening, media skills and communications strategies among historians might prove beneficial to the profession’s future. Read More