The past is present
While the history of Cold War intervention rightly shapes international responses to Nicolás Maduro’s kidnapping, the emphases of US policymakers today are more in line with those of the early 20th century, especially the aftermath of Cuban independence from Spain and President Wilson’s occupation of Haiti.
In 2023, UF president Dr. Ben Sasse called for "less indoctrination" of students by their professors. This course explores the historical debates over indoctrination to understand how such undue influences may have threatened or seemed to threaten freedom of thought, personal autonomy, and self-determination—the touchstones of liberal democracy.
Recent attacks on Tom Hanks and American universities highlight parallels between 2025 and the McCarthy era. But our moment has something the Cold War Red Scare didn't: the benefits of hindsight and mass resistance.
"Meeting Across the River" routinely lands last when fans rank their Born to Run favorites. But its noir mood was where the country was heading in the mid-1970s.
As the Trump administration calls for the return of domestic manufacturing, there is one industry that managed to resist the outsourcing process of the late 20th century. It only required the destruction of its labor unions.
The first 100 days of President Trump's second term marks a departure from established US foreign policy, focusing on dismantling international aid and agreements. His administration’s actions, including cuts to USAID and skepticism toward NATO, jeopardize global partnerships. Trump's approach favors unilateralism and transactional relations over multilateral cooperation, risking America's leadership and security in an increasingly authoritarian world.
See how to schedule and organize a Reacting to the Past Game, with examples from After a Long Battle: Congressional Responses to the AIDS Epidemic, 1982-1985.
This course surveys the history of illness and medicine in the US with a focus on viral pandemics, the developments of treatments and prevention, and the experiences of patients, families, medical professionals, researchers, activists, and politicians.
Interested in adding a historical game to your history class but don't know where to start? Adding a Reacting to the Past game can be a great way to engage students and delve into specific historical events.
This course traces hip hop culture's emergence and development in the United States and globally from the 1970s to the present. With a strong emphasis on rap music, the course investigates the culture's intersections with local, urban, and regional histories, as well as technology, politics, capitalism, race, gender, sexuality, and class.
Clio and the Contemporary 