The popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical is undeniable. It won a Grammy (Best Musical Theatre Album), will likely be nominated for (and win) multiple Tony Awards, and has been discussed by scholars and the popular press. It has been lauded and critiqued by scholars of history, theatre, and literature. But the popularity of…… Continue reading What Comes Next?
Category: America
Teaching History to Captain America
I started thinking about this post in 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger came out. The movie came out the summer before I started my PhD program, and Clio Wired in particular made me think about how digital tools could make history education more accessible on the move. It was a sort of thought experiment:…… Continue reading Teaching History to Captain America
Talk About Memory
I’ve posted before about the events of 9/11/2001, my experience(s) of it, and how my undergraduate studies emphasized another 11 September, in 1973 in Chile. It seems every year when this day rolls around I’m in a situation with new people and we all share the “where were you stories.” It’s a ritual, a bonding…… Continue reading Talk About Memory
History in Unanticipated Places
Yesterday my priest started her sermon with a version of the origin of Labor Day. She focused on the life and work of George Pullman, particular those actions which contributed to the 1894 strike. The sermon was also rooted in the readings, particularly James 1:17-27. (( She likened Pullman to someone who has turned from…… Continue reading History in Unanticipated Places
Old Haunts, New Views
This summer I’m working on a project which has to do with the history of the National Mall. It has been fun to learn more about a part of town with which I’m so familiar. Although I’m not a DC/Northern VA native, members of my family have lived in and around DC since the 1960s and…… Continue reading Old Haunts, New Views
Historical Hypochondria
I have begun to wonder if historians, or at least history students, don’t suffer from a similar problem to that experienced by medical students. Medical students often start to self-diagnose with various ailments during the course of their studies, especially when confronted with list after list of symptoms. They find themselves ticking off symptoms and…… Continue reading Historical Hypochondria
Heard on the radio
As I was running errands today, I had my radio tuned to the local NPR station, listening to This American Life. Today’s program was about the new Alabama immigration laws and how they have, in addition to whatever else, increased the racism experienced by/targeted at the Latino population. An instance mention by the reporter involved…… Continue reading Heard on the radio
Everyday History
I’ve met a number of people for whom history is apparently something in the classroom or textbook, a dry (possibly dusty) academic subject. I don’t blame them for thinking these things, any more than I would blame people who likewise relegate chemistry, physics, math or literature to the school building. But just as we encounter…… Continue reading Everyday History
What you save
I declared my undergraduate major in History on the first day of classes of my sophomore year of college, September 2001. A handful of days later, what might have been an ordinary Tuesday became a historic event. I knew it was going to be what children in the next generation would ask me about, saying…… Continue reading What you save
Living with Hurricanes at the Louisiana State Museum
Last month I was in New Orleans for a joyful family occasion, and I had the chance to see a new exhibit at the Presbytere building of the Louisiana State Museum titled Living With Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond. I was intrigued by the exhibit to see how a museum in the heart of an affected…… Continue reading Living with Hurricanes at the Louisiana State Museum