Working Historians

Legal Careers for Historians: Mathew Merz - Conflicts Analyst, Akerman LLP

Mathew Merz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Southern New Hampshire University in 2020 and works as Conflicts Analyst at Akerman LLP. In this episode, Mathew discusses the research, writing, and analytical skills that he learned as a history major which have been particularly useful to his job as a researcher for a law firm.

 

Recommendations and Links:

Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Random House, 2014) - recommended by Mathew Merz

Derry Girls, created by Lisa McGee, Netflix - recommended by Jimmy

“American Historical Association Action Alert Concerning Proposed History Standards for Virginia (February 2023)” - recommended by Rob

David Gilbert, “Inside a US Neo-Nazi Homeschool Network With Thousands of Members,” Vice News, January 29, 2023

Nilanjana Roy, “How Teen Vogue Got Political,” Financial Times, January 24, 2017

Library Careers for Historians: Nina Thomas - Manager, Westerville History Museum

Nina Thomas is the manager of the Westerville History Museum, which is part of the public library system in Westerville, Ohio. In this episode, Nina discusses her academic and professional background, life as a museum manager, the nature of the museum’s public outreach efforts, and what a museum manager might look for in job applicants.

 

Recommendations:

Westerville History Museum

Clint Smith, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America (Little, Brown, 2021) - recommended by Nina

Philomena Cunk - recommended by Nina

Jennifer Schuessler, “As Historians Gather, No Truce in the History Wars,” New York Times, January 8, 2023 - recommended by Rob

Business Careers for Historians: Deb Gogliettino - Associate Dean of Business Academics, SNHU

In this episode, Rob talks to Deb Gogliettino, Associate Dean for online Business Academics at Southern New Hampshire University, about the ways that her undergraduate degree in history has helped her business-oriented career, which included positions in human resources, business administration, and academics. We also discuss how history students can market themselves to non-academic employers.

Careers in History: Rob Denning - Associate Dean for History, SNHU

In this episode, re-broadcast from the Passion and Practicality podcast series, Rob discusses the skills that students learn while in pursuit of a history degree that will be valuable on the job market after graduation (even in fields that don't include the word "history"). He also describes some of the ways that students can prepare for the job market before graduation.

Special bonus feature: To see Rob present this on camera, click here!

Digital Careers for Historians: John Bertland - Digital Librarian/Content Specialist, Presidio Trust

John Bertland is the Digital Librarian and Content Specialist for the Presidio Trust in San Francisco, California. In this episode, we discuss John’s academic and professional background, his work at the Presidio Trust, and we end with a story about mules.

 

Recommendations

Harwood P. Hinton and Jerry Thompson, Courage Above All Things: General John Ellis Wool and the U.S. Military, 1812-1863 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) - recommended by John Bertland

“Exclusion: The Presidio’s Role in World War II Japanese American Internment” at the Presidio Officers’ Club, recommended by Jimmy

Lizzie Johnson, Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire (New York: Penguin Random House, 2021), recommended by Rob

Writing Local History: Joe Flickinger - High School Teacher and Local Historian

Joe Flickinger teaches high school history outside Cincinnati, Ohio, and is the Vice President of the Green Township Historical Association. In this episode, Rob, Jimmy, and Joe discuss how to research and write local history, with examples from Joe’s writings on the Bridgetown Cemetery, suburbanization in Colerain Township, and the bicentennial of Green Township.

 

Recommendations:

Joe Flickinger, A History of Bridgetown Cemetery: Quietly Serving Cincinnati’s Western Hills for over 50 Years (Berwyn Heights, MD: Heritage Books, 2021) - recommended by Rob

Alexis Coe, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington (New York: Penguin Random House, 2020) - recommended by Joe Flickinger

Rachel Wolgemuth, Cemetery Tours and Programming: A Guide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) - recommended by Joe Flickinger

Gideon Defoe, An Atlas of Extinct Countries: The Remarkable (and Occasionally Ridiculous) Stories of 48 Nations that Fell Off the Map (New York: Europa Editions, 2021) - recommended by Rob

All the Streets are Silent: The Convergence of Hip-Hop and Skateboarding, 1987-1997, Jeremy Elkins, dir. (2021) - recommended by Jimmy

Preserving History: Jennifer Bryant - Preservation Compliance Officer, Colorado State Historical Preservation Office (encore)

Encore presentation (and therefore outdated in just about every way): Jennifer Bryant is an instructor at SNHU and a preservation compliance officer with the Colorado State Historical Preservation Office. In this conversation, we talk about some aspects of the history of the American West, blindspots in history regarding violence against minority groups, and her career as a volunteer and professional agent for historic preservation.

Preserving History: Jen Bryant - Facility Management Compliance Specialist, National Park Service (update)

Jennifer Bryant appeared in our third episode back in 2017, and in this episode Jimmy and Rob catch up with Jen to discuss her new job and then wander down a variety of historical footpaths to discuss environmental history, the American West, historical memory, and the future history to be written about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consultant Careers for Historians: Bob Irvine - Consultant, PARC Resources (encore)

Dr. Bob Irvine teaches history in the Master of Arts in History program at SNHU and is a consultant for Parc Resources in Oregon. In this episode, Dr. Irvine talks about his research and teaching interests, water reclamation projects in Kansas during the twentieth century, and the historical skills he uses in his job as a consultant.

Consultant Careers for Historians: Bob Irvine - Consultant, Parc Resources (update)

Bob Irvine teaches history in the Master of Arts program at Southern New Hampshire and is a consultant for Parc Resources in Eastern Oregon. In this episode we discuss what Bob has been up to since his last interview in 2017, including new projects in collaboration with Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.

Jennifer Moxley - Owner, Sunshine Media Network

Jennifer Moxley is a media consultant, producer, videographer, and the owner of Sunshine Media Network, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this episode we discuss the importance of a Liberal Arts education to her professional career as a journalist and communicator.   Learn more about Jennifer and the Sunshine Media Network at https://www.sunshinemedianetwork.com/.

Teaching Careers for Historians: Chris Kline - Learning Community Facilitator (encore)

Christopher Kline, an instructor and Learning Community Facilitator for Southern New Hampshire University, discusses his research and teaching interests, why the Whiskey Rebellion broke out in post-Revolutionary Pennsylvania, the evolution of his career, and advice for students looking to break into careers in history. Professor Kline has worked as a history tutor, a member of a museum board, and an adjunct instructor at community colleges and universities.

Teaching History: Chris Kline - Senior Manager of General Education Evaluation Faculty, Western Governors University (update)

Chris Kline is the Senior Manager for General Education at Western Governors University. In this episode, Rob, Jimmy, and Chris discuss Chris’s decision to start a doctoral program, the online student experience, the real estate market, the changing work habits that came with the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6 Insurrection, the need for better education in source analysis and critical thinking, and the lessons we learned about the American government after the 2020 election and the insurrection

Peter Milich - Historian

Dr. Peter Milich is a historian who specializes in Russian, Soviet, and Eastern European history. As a witness to the collapse of modern nations like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, Rob and Pete discuss the state of modern international affairs.

This episode’s recommendations:

Alfred McCoy, “The Rise and Decline of US Global Power” (October 25, 2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GygmGSwvcI

Dominic Lieven, “The Tsar Liberates Europe? Russia against Napoleon, 1807-1914” (October 8, 2009), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzElqomAATI

Daniel Junge and Steven Leckart, dirs., “Challenger: The Final Flight” (2020), https://www.netflix.com/title/81012137 

Paul McKenzie-Jones - Historian

Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones teaches history, focusing on political activism among Native Americans and other indigenous peoples around the world.

This episode’s recommendations:

Nick Estes, Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Resistance of Indigenous Resistance (Verso, 2019), https://www.versobooks.com/books/2953-our-history-is-the-future 

Susan Sleeper-Smith, Juliana Barr, Jean M. O’Brien, Nancy Shoemaker, and Scott Manning Stevens, eds., Why you Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians (University of North Carolina Press, 2015), https://uncpress.org/book/9781469621203/why-you-cant-teach-united-states-history-without-american-indians/

Patricia Nelson Limerick, The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West (W.W. Norton, 1987), https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393304978 

Cassandra Clark - Public Historian, State of Utah, and Adjunct Instructor

Dr. Cassandra Clark teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University and Salt Lake Community College and is a public historian with the State of Utah’s Department of Heritage and Arts. In this episode, we will discuss Dr. Clark’s academic and professional background, her work with the State of Utah, and her research on the history of insanity and the environment in the American West, with discussions of eugenics, phrenology, and the changing scientific understanding of how the human brain works.

This week's recommendations

Utah Department of Heritage & Arts, Salt Lake West Side Stories: https://newnationproject.utah.gov/salt-lake-west-side-stories/

Denver Public Library, “When the KKK Ruled Colorado: Not So Long Ago,” https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/when-kkk-ruled-colorado-not-so-long-ago

Janet Miron, Prisons, Asylums, and the Public: Institutional Visiting in the Nineteenth Century (University of Toronto Press, 2011), https://utorontopress.com/us/prisons-asylums-and-the-public-4

Carla Yanni, The Architecture of Madness (University of Minnesota Press, 2007), https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-architecture-of-madness

Timothy Tyson, Blood Done Sign My Name (Penguin Random House, 2004), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/181459/blood-done-sign-my-name-by-timothy-b-tyson/ 

Guy Ruoff - History Instructor and Town Supervisor, Scott NY

Dr. Guy Ruoff teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University and is Town Supervisor for Scott, New York. In this episode, Guy talks to Rob about his academic and professional background, his present and future political career, and the importance of historical knowledge in the political sphere.

This episode’s recommendations:

The Memory Palace podcast: https://www.prx.org/memory-palace/?gclid=CjwKCAiA7939BRBMEiwA-hX5J-QrMyhtslsmIXC6xsvyk-9w1DAfKaYkcdra6-w-7losaludcCtFDBoC-e8QAvD_BwE 

Deirdre Lannon - Senior Lecturer, Texas State University

Deirdre Lannon teaches history at Texas State University. In this episode, Deirdre discusses her academic and professional background (including her time fronting a rockabilly band!) and her dissertation research topic, Ruth Reynolds and her role in the fight for Puerto Rican independence.

Scott Black - Historian, Southern New Hampshire University

Scott Black teaches history at numerous colleges and universities, including Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Scott talks about his academic and professional background, his career teaching history, and the challenges and rewards of writing historical fiction.

This episode’s recommendations:

Sabaton: https://www.sabaton.net/

Various Authors, The American Yawp: https://www.americanyawp.com/ 

Karen Sieber - Humanities Specialist, McGillicuddy Humanities Center, University of Maine

Karen Sieber is a Humanities Specialist for the Clement and Laura McGillicuddy Humanities Center at the University of Maine. In this episode we discuss her academic and professional background, the major public history research projects with which she has been affiliated, her work at the Humanities Center, and our history-related recommendations

This week's recommendations:

Visualizing the Red Summer http://visualizingtheredsummer.com/

Goin’ North: https://goinnorth.org/

Chicago Defender: https://www.chicagodefenderarchives.org/ 

African-American Civil War Soldiers Project: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/usct/african-american-civil-war-soldiers

Monroe Work Today: https://plaintalkhistory.com/monroeandflorencework/

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: https://snccdigital.org/

Charleston Syllabus: https://www.aaihs.org/resources/charlestonsyllabus/

Christopher Tomlins, In the Matter of Nat Turner: A Speculative History (Princeton University Press, 2020), https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691198668/in-the-matter-of-nat-turner

Rob’s interview with Christopher Tomlins for the New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/christopher-tomlins-in-the-matter-of-nat-turner-a-speculative-history-princeton-up-2020/ 

Adam Lehman - Assistant Professor, Guilford Technical Community College

Adam Lehman is Assistant Professor of History at Guilford Technical Community College. In this episode we discuss his academic and professional background and his research into the missed privateering opportunities of the War of 1812.

This episode’s recommendations:

Jeff Kinard, “Lectures in History: Civil War Weaponry,” C-Span, https://www.c-span.org/video/?465611-1/civil-war-weaponry

Footnoting History Teaching Guide: https://www.footnotinghistory.com/teach.html 

Shenetha Solomon - Consultant, Researcher, and Teacher

Shenetha Solomon is a historical consultant, a doctoral student, and an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we discuss her academic and professional background, and we focus on her research into the history of the town of Taft, Oklahoma, and her family’s connections to the town. This episode’s recommendations: Daina Ramey Berry, The Price for their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, From Womb to Grave, in the Building of a Nation (Penguin Random House, 2017): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538529/the-price-for-their-pound-of-flesh-by-daina-ramey-berry/ Jamie Goodall, Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars (History Press, 2020): https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467141161 Rob’s New Books Network interview with Jamie Goodall about Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: https://newbooksnetwork.com/jamie-l-h-goodall-pirates-of-the-chesapeake-bay-from-the-colonial-era-to-the-oyster-wars-the-history-press-2020/

Teaching History: Sarah Estee - Adjunct Instructor, Southern New Hampshire University

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: https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/ 

AHA job report: https://www.historians.org/ahajobsreport2020 

Teaching Careers for Historians: Gregory Robinson - Adjunct Instructor, SNHU

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)

Seamus Heaney, Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Farrar, Strous, and Giroux, 2000)

Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam (Pluto Press, 1994) 

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,” Foreign Affairs 46:1 (October 1967)

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Crisis of Confidence: Ideas, Power, and Violence in America (1969)

Vikings (TV Show)

New Books Network

Journalism Careers for Historians: Larry Tye - Author and Director, Health Coverage Fellowship

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.

 

Links:

Larry Tye, Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Joe McCarthy (Houghton Mifflin, 2020)

Health Coverage Fellowship