Working Historians

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 of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany, 50th anniversary ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011), https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-Third-Reich/William-L-Shirer/9781451642599

Daniel Immerwahr, How to Hide an Empire A History of the Greater United States (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019), https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374172145

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, Hanoi’s War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam (University of North Carolina Press, 2012): https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469628356/hanois-war/ Rob’s review of Hanoi’s War for Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective (April, 2013): https://origins.osu.edu/review/hanoi-central