Working Historians

Susan Keefer is a substitute teacher, assessment exam grader, and adjunct instructor for history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we discuss Susan’s academic and professional background, the difference between regional history and national history, historiography, the value of pursuing a K-12 teaching credential, and the use of music in history courses.

This episode’s recommendations:

Music!

The Band, "The Weight" (from The Last Waltz), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSzL5-SPHM

Dead Moon, "54/40 or Fight", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPXSgpe0AVA

Nirvana, "Rape Me," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TsqlT0rfJI

They Might Be Giants, "James K. Polk," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSdgjP8os7U

They Might Be Giants, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFaRklAYanY 

Dr. Jeffrey Ramsey is an academic adviser and an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we talk about academic and professional background, his research into the introduction of Title IX in the Big 10 sports conference, and his work as a college instructor and academic adviser.

This episode’s recommendations:

Michael Kimmel, Guyland: The Perilous World where Boys Become Men, updated (Harper, 2018), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062885739/guyland/

New York Times 1619 podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/podcasts/1619-slavery-anniversary.html

Chris Savio teaches history, criminal justice, and special education at the high school and college levels. In this episode we discuss his academic and professional background, his teaching interests, and his diverse teaching experiences.

This episode’s recommendations:

Library of Congress American Memory Collection: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/updatedList.html

Elliott West, The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998), https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-1029-7.html 

Dr. Susan Dawson is a military and diplomatic historian and is the Branch Chief Historian for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Customs and Border Protection. In this episode, Dr. Dawson discusses her academic and professional background, how to get started in a career as a historian in the federal government, and what life is like as a historian for a government agency.

This episode’s recommendations and links:

Peter Jackson, dir., They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros., 2018), https://www.theyshallnotgrowold.film/

Society for History in the Federal Government: http://www.shfg.org/

Federal Government Job Application website: https://www.usajobs.gov/

And your local library!

Vasilios Kostakis is an academic adviser and adjunct instructor for Southern New Hampshire University. In episode, Vasilios talks to James and Rob about his academic and professional background and how the skills he learned as a historian help him relate to university students as an academic adviser.

This episode’s recommendations:

Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Penguin Random House, 2005), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/187628/genghis-khan-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world-by-jack-weatherford/

Lizzy Goodman, Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City, 2001-2011 (HarperCollins, 2018), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062233103/meet-me-in-the-bathroom/

“Meet Me in the Bathroom: The Art Show,” curated by Hala Matar and Lizzy Goodman, The Hole, September 4-22, http://theholenyc.com/2019/06/29/meet-me-in-the-bathroom/

John R. McNeill, “AHA Interviews, Good Intentions, and Unexpected Consequences,” Perspectives on History (August 28, 2019), https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/september-2019/aha-interviews-good-intentions-and-unexpected-consequences 

Dr. Jamie Goodall is Assistant Professor of History at Stevenson University in Maryland. In this episode, Dr. Goodall discusses her academic and professional background, her research on pirates, life as an assistant professor, and advice for history students entering the job market.

This episode’s recommendations:

Mark G. Hanna, Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740 (University of North Carolina Press, 2015): https://uncpress.org/book/9781469636047/pirate-nests-and-the-rise-of-the-british-empire-1570-1740/

Ghost tours; any ghost tours. They’re really fun.

Dr. Allen York retired from the United States Army as a First Sergeant and is an adjunct instructor for the history programs at Southern New Hampshire University and elsewhere. In this episode, Allen discusses his research on the home front during the Civil War, how the field of military history has evolved over recent decades, how his experience in the military contributed to his academic career, and his current life as an academic.

This episode’s recommendations:

Peter N. Stearns, “Why Study History,” (American Historical Association, 1998), https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998)

Julia Brookins and Sarah Fenton, eds., “Careers for History Majors” (American Historical Association, 2018), https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/why-study-history/careers-for-history-majors 

Erik Johnsen is teaches history at Portland Community College, University of Portland, and Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Erik discusses his academic and professional background, his research into Austrian nationalism between World War I and the early Cold War, and life as a full-time part-time instructor.

This episode’s recommendations:

Gary Gerstle, American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century, updated ed. (Princeton University Press, 2017), 

Edward E. Baptist, The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (Basic Books, 2016)

Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration (Penguin, 2011)

Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford University Press, 2017),  

In this episode commemorating Constitution Day, three scholars discuss the importance of the United States Constitution to their own academic work and the Constitution’s importance to American citizens. Christopher Kline, who teaches historical methods and American history in the graduate program, discusses the Whiskey Rebellion in the context of the early national era. Dr. Robert Irvine, a consultant for Parc Resources in Oregon who teaches American history in the graduate program at Southern New Hampshire University, discusses his work with Native American groups. Dr. Jeffrey Czarnec, Associate Dean for Social Sciences at SNHU who oversees the Criminal Justice program, discusses the importance of the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment, to everyday police work.

Recommendations and Links:

Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (New York: Hill and Wang, 2008)

Library of Congress Documents on Constitution Day

Zeb Larson earned his doctorate in diplomatic history from The Ohio State University in 2019 and is a freelance writer. He also records interviews for the New Books Network’s American history podcast. In this episode, Rob and Zeb discuss what it means to be a freelance writer and advice for history students entering the job market.

Links:

“We Need to Systematize Alt-Ac Career Guidance,” Inside Higher Ed (November 21, 2018) https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/11/21/advisers-and-institutions-should-systematize-guidance-students-about-alt-ac.

“The Need for Outside Jobs in Grad School,” Inside Higher Ed (July 3, 2019), https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/07/03/more-grad-students-should-be-allowed-take-jobs-outside-academe-opinion.

Zeb’s interviews for the New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/?s=zeb+larson.