Working Historians

Bruno Brulon Soares, Chair of ICOFOM, hosts the 2020 annual assembly, discussing the organization’s activities and finances.

Deborah Ziska presents “Museums of the Americas Facing Crises in the 21st Century: The Rise of Relevance and Community Empowerment” and Minnie Coonishish presents “Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, Agents and Actants in a Regional Cultural Institute.” Luciana Menezes de Carvalho moderates.

Sarah Estee teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Rob and Sarah discuss the use of film as a teaching tool in history courses, and touch on some of the more notorious history-based films in recent decades (ahem, 300…). This episode’s recommendations: Robert Rosenstone, History on Film/Film on History (Pearson, 2006) Disgraceland Podcast: https://www.disgracelandpod.com/ Noble Blood Podcast: http://noblebloodtales.com/ Hardcore History Podcast: AHA job report: https://www.historians.org/ahajobsreport2020

Dr. Gregory Robinson teaches history for Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we discuss his career teaching high school students, his research into Native American trickster gods and other aspects of mythology, his brief stint as a playwright, and the connections he has drawn between history and motorcycles. This episode’s recommendations: Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (Harper Collins, 2015), https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-howard-zinn Seamus Heaney, Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Farrar, Strous, and Giroux, 2000), https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374111199 Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam (Pluto Press, 1994), http://www.plutobooks.com/9780745309477/atomic-diplomacy/ Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., A Thousand Days: JFK in the White House (Houghton Mifflin, 1965) Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Violence: America in the Sixties (New American Library, 1968) Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., “Origins of the Cold War

Larry Tye is a journalist and the Director of Health Coverage Fellowship, which helps print, radio, TV, and online journalists and editors better cover health care issues. He also recently published Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Joe McCarthy. In this episode, we discuss the book, Larry’s background, and his perspective on the state of journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Larry Tye, Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Joe McCarthy (Houghton Mifflin, 2020): https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Demagogue/9781328959720 Health Coverage Fellowship: https://www.bluecrossmafoundation.org/programs/health-coverage-fellowship

Benjamin Carr teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Rob, James, and Ben discuss Joseph Norton, the first Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. It’s such a San Francisco story. This episode’s recommendations: Albert Dressler, Emperor No.rton: LIfe and Experiences of a Notable Character in San Francisco, 1849-1880 (Sacramento: News Publishing Company, 1927), https://archive.org/details/emperornorton1927dres Neil Gaiman and Shawn McManus, “Three Septembers and a January,” The Sandman, vol. 2, no. 31 (October, 1991)

In this episode, Jeff Czarnec and Rob Denning belatedly introduce themselves, provide some background on the Policing a Free Society podcast, and attempt to define and preview many of the concepts that will pop up in future episodes of the series, including the changing interpretations of history and human behavior and the complexity of policing a free society.

Dr. Richard Driver is an Assistant Professor of History at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas. In this episode, Richard discusses his research into twentieth-century musicians and his career teaching history. This episode’s recommendations: Lisa Brooks, Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip’s War (Yale University Press, 2019), https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300244328/our-beloved-kin and https://ourbelovedkin.com/awikhigan/index Kenneth Womack, Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles (Cornell University Press, 2019), https://kennethwomack.com/books/beatlesbooks/solid-state-the-story-of-abbey-road-and-the-end-of-the-beatles/ Julian Zelizer and Kevin Kruse, Fault Lines: A History of the United States since 1974 (Penguin Random House, 2019), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/605403/fault-lines-by-kevin-m-kruse/9780393357707 Song Exploder Podcast: http://songexploder.net/ Idiocracy Rob Denning and James Fennessy can be reached at workinghistorians@gmail.com. Fol

Rob, Jeff, and Jonathan talk about the militarization of police forces in recent decades, the goals of community leaders who call for “defunding the police,” and the cancellation of the “COPS” television series after nearly 30 years on the air.

In this first episode of “Policing a Free Society,” a series dedicated to the intersection of history and criminal justice, Dr. Rob Denning, Dr. Jeff Czarnec, and soon-to-be-Dr. Jonathan Wesley bring their backgrounds in history, criminal justice, philosophy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion to bear on the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the public response to Floyd's death.

Scotty Edler is a student of history and political science and teaches for Southern New Hampshire University and community colleges in Texas. In this episode, Scotty talks about his pursuit of a Master of Science degree in Political Science, his historical research into Kaiser Wilhelm II and the second German Reich, the history of Mardi Gras, his experience with local and state politics, a potential project on political polling, and his college teaching career. This episode’s recommendations: Walter Langer and Peter Stearns, eds., The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged, 6th ed. (Houghton Mifflin, 2001): https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-World-History-Medieval-Chronologically/dp/0395652375/ref=pd_lpo_14_img_0/146-0857733-3651140?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0395652375&pd_rd_r=49796635-9e8d-4f9b-a0bf-9abff15cb957&pd_rd_w=Ng3bd&pd_rd_wg=DWByh&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=B3J6TGBX6RZAR1VNSX23&psc=1&refRID=B3J

Darrett Pullins teaches history for Southern New Hampshire University and for the University of Phoenix. In this episode we discuss his background, the use of photography in history, a bit about World War II, and the closure of the University of Phoenix’s physical campus in Detroit. This episode’s recommendations: The works of William Manchester Ken Burns, dir., Country Music (PBS, 2019): https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/ American Association for State and Local History and the National Council on Public History, The Inclusive Historian’s Handbook, https://inclusivehistorian.com/ J. Michael Straczynski, Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood (HarperCollins, 2019), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062857842/becoming-superman/

Dr. Cherri Wemlinger teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Dr. Wemlinger discusses her academic and professional background, her research process from start to finish, and her work on Ethiopian history.

Brent Bankus is the Program Manager for the U.S. Army Strategic Education Program at the U.S. Army War College and is a graduate student at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, we talk about Brent’s background, his work on state militias and state defense forces during the twentieth century, and his history-related career within the U.S. Army. This episode’s recommendations: U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center: https://ahec.armywarcollege.edu/ Dana Goldstein, “American History Textbooks Can Differ Across the Country, In Ways That are Shaded by Partisan Politics,” New York Times, January 12, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html

Dr. Kate Buchanan is the office manager for an immigration law firm in Bellingham, Washington. In this episode we discuss Kate’s academic and professional background, her work on the relationship between Scottish castles and their physical environment, the importance of proper formatting and citations, and the cozy relationship between the study of history and the study of law. And there’s an utterly repulsive story about Alice Cooper at the end. This episode’s recommendations: History Scotland: https://www.historyscotland.com/ The Presidio of San Francisco: https://www.presidio.gov/ Drew Fortune, No Encore: Musicians Reveal their Weirdest, Wildest, Most Embarrassing Gigs (Simon & Schuster, 2019), https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/No-Encore!/Drew-Fortune/9781642930849

Dr. Matthew Campbell is the Social Studies Curriculum Coach for Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas and an adjunct instructor for SNHU and other institutions. In this episode, Matt discusses his academic research into Southerners’ popular memory of slavery after the Civil War and how we teach history in America’s classrooms. This episode’s recommendations: James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, 2nd ed. (The New Press, 2018), https://thenewpress.com/books/lies-my-teacher-told-me Freedom on the Move; https://freedomonthemove.org/index.html

Dr. Don Shaffer teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University and other institutions. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Shaffer’s research into black veterans of the Civil War and his life as a professor for online history courses. This episode’s recommendations: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (Penguin Random House, 1991): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181591/a-midwifes-tale-by-laurel-thatcher-ulrich/ W. W. Norton’s “What Can I Do With a History Degree?” Infographic: https://cdn.wwnorton.com/marketing/college/images/History_HistoryCareersPoster_Q-441.jpg Donald R. Shaffer, After the Glory: The Struggles of Black Civil War Veterans (University Press of Kansas, 2004): https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-1328-1.html

Matthew Avitabile teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University, is publisher of the Mountain Eagle newspaper, and mayor of Middleburgh, New York. In this episode, Matt discusses his background, his research into European history after World War II and British involvement with the Korean War, and the historical skills that he employs in his careers in journalism and public office. This episode’s recommendations: Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (New York: Penguin Random House, 2005), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292754/the-coming-of-the-third-reich-by-richard-j-evans/9780143034698/ Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich in Power (New York: Penguin Random House, 2006), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292756/the-third-reich-in-power-by-richard-j-evans/ Richard J. Evans, The Third Reich at War (New York: Penguin Random House, 2010), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292755/the-third-reich-at-war-by-richard-j-evans/9780143116714/ William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall

Dr. Matthew Schandler is an adjunct instructor in history at Southern New Hampshire University and other institutions. In this episode, we discuss Matt’s academic and professional background, with a focus on his work on the early days of the videogame industry. This episode’s recommendations: Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greg de Peuter, Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games (University of Minnesota Press, 2009), https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/games-of-empire Historical videogames, good and bad. Some good, some really bad.

Abigail Pfeiffer is the Course Lead for US History at Western Governors University, the Executive Director of the Vietnam War Digital History Project, and an adjunct instructor for Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, we discuss her academic and professional background, her research on prisoners of war during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, her development of the Vietnam War Digital History Project, and her teaching career. This episode’s recommendations: Vietnam War Digital History Project: http://www.vwdhp.org/ Joanne B. Freeman, The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2018): https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374154776 Truong Nhu Tang, David Chanoff, and Doan Van Toai, A Viet Cong Memoir: An Inside Account of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath (Vintage Books, 1986): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/176408/a-vietcong-memoir-by-truong-nhu-tang-former-minister-of-justice-with-david-chanoff-and-doan-van-toai/ Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Hano