Of Plagues and Papers: COVID-19, the Media, and the Construction of American Disease History

In their attempts to make sense of the novel coronavirus, media outlets frequently invoke the past, comparing COVID-19 to the Black Death, the "Great Influenza" of 1918-19, and other historical disease outbreaks. The act of connecting "then" and "now" has produced two countervailing historical narratives: one that emphasizes medical progress over time, and another that highlights America's failure to learn the lessons of past pandemics.

May 1, 2020 0

Public History and Dark Tourism

This article looks at what it’s like to work at a dark tourism destination, in this case the Old Idaho Penitentiary. From a public history perspective, it details the challenges of practicing history responsibly, while also catering to visitor demand for paranormal programming such as macabre prison stories. Ultimately, lucrative paranormal investigations allow for more historically based, educational programming that may not be as popular, but fulfills the site’s mission of informing the public of Idaho and prison history.

April 25, 2020 0

Teaching in a Time of Pandemic: Distance Teaching Resources for Historians

When navigating an exceptionally demanding moment for history educators, the simplest tools are the best.

March 20, 2020 0

Teaching Writing Efficiently: Strategies for the early-career historian

By making writing a centerpiece of teaching history, time spent preparing for class functions in service of, rather than in competition with, one's own writing projects.

March 17, 2020 0

HUMN 222: Black Humanities: The New York Times 1619 Project

HUMN 222 takes on The New York Times challenge to reframe American history, to consider the possibility that the origin of this country can be traced to 1619, the year that marks the arrival of the first Africans (from the land that would become Angola) to the land that would become America in all its defining contradictions.

February 14, 2020 0

No Valentines for Women’s Rights: Why No Man Should Marry a Suffragist

Life Magazine Promises “$300 to the Winner” Throughout the fall and winter of 1910, Life magazine called upon readers to submit three hundred-word manuscripts to their New York office. Each issue of the magazine would contain a selection of the best submissions and, in early 1911, the editors would declare a winner. That author would receive $300—equivalent... Continue Reading →

February 13, 2020 0

Why LGBTQIA+ History Needs to be Part of “The History”

LGBTQIA+ history deserves a place in the modern K-12 curriculum. This piece includes a rationale and resources for educators working to make their courses more inclusive by incorporating LGBTQIA+ voices.

January 8, 2020 0

HIST 280G/LACS 210: Latinxs in the United States

This course explores the historical experiences of the peoples from Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, and those of their descendants, in the modern United States. The primary focus of the course will be to compare and contrast the twentieth-century experiences of the five largest Latino populations: those who can trace their heritage to Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

January 6, 2020 0

From an R1 to a SLAC: Notes from the First Year on the Tenure Track

For those of us trained as a historians in a Research I University (R1) graduate program who choose a career in a small liberal arts college (SLAC), the first year can be a culture shock. New faculty should expect to make significant adjustments.

December 5, 2019 0