Working Historians

History Speaker Series with Will McLean Greeley and the Birdman of the Senate

In this episode, Will McLean Greeley discusses his recent book, a Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: Senator George P. McLean, Birdman of the Senate, a biography of politician George MacLean, a Gilded Age and Progressive Era reformer and conservationist whose best known accomplishment was the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Will Greeley holds degrees in political science and archive administration and worked in government and corporate market research before his recent retirement.

History Speaker Series with Kristen Engel and Henrician Spectacle

In this episode, Kristen Engel discusses her experiences in a graduate program at the University of Connecticut and her dissertation research, which uses courtly spectacle to examine the portrayals of political and cultural ideals in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII, which led to political and cultural transformations in early Tudor England. She teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University and is the editor-in-chief of “The Court Observer” for the Society for Court Studies.

History Speaker Series with Dr. Jamie Goodall and Pirate Black Sam Bellamy

In this episode, Dr. Jamie Goodall discusses her new book, The Daring Exploits of Pirate Black Sam Bellamy: From Cape Cod to the Caribbean, which describes the political, cultural, legal, and economic relationships between pirates and the coast of colonial New England. Dr. Goodall teaches American history at Southern New Hampshire University and is a historian with the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C.

How Do I Write a History Research Paper?

In this final episode of our series on how historians research and write on historical topics, the panel tackles the writing process: How do you organize your thoughts and get past that dreaded blank page?

 

Speaker timeline:

00:54 - Matt Schandler 
06:36 - CB Repass
07:55 - Ryan Tripp
10:03 - Allison Millward
12:42 - Eric Greisinger
14:22 - Rob Denning
17:49 - Ryan Tripp
18:59 - CB Repass
20:14 - Matt Schandler
21:43 - Rob Denning

How Do I Find a History Research Topic?

With this episode we are launching a new series on how historians research and write on historical topics, starting with the selection of a research topic and ending with the writing process. In this first episode, a panel of historians discuss the initial selection of a research topic.

 

Speaker timeline:

00:58 - CB Repass
01:58 - Ryan Tripp
02:48 - Allison Millward
04:31 - Eric Greisinger
05:31 - Allison Millward
05:36 - Rob Denning
06:10 - CB Repass
06:47 - Eric Greisinger
07:10 - Ryan Tripp
07:51 - Matthew Schandler
11:05 - Rob Denning
13:24 - Matthew Schandler
15:10 - Rob Denning
16:05 - Matthew Schandler

Scotty Edler presents The Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and Covid-19 (Part 2)

In this second episode on the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and Covid-19, Rob Denning, James Fennessy, and Scotty Edler discuss the long-term political, social, economic, and cultural consequences of the plague and the flu, and they attempt to use those precedents to predict the long-term effects of Covid-19 on our own future lives.

Scotty Edler presents The Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and Covid 19 (Part 1)

During the next two episodes, Rob and James talk to Scotty Edler about his research into the causes and consequences of three major disease epidemics: the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and Covid-19. Here we discuss the historical contexts of each disease and the lessons learned from each outbreak.

Juneteenth: The Second Independence Day

In this episode, Rob presents his research into quick questions from his employer's communications office regarding the history of the Juneteenth Holiday. He does not provide quick answers.

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

Researching Irish Spies: Kate Schaefer - Historian and Adjunct Instructor, SNHU

Kate Schaefer teaches history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Kate discusses her research into female spies during the Irish Rebellion of 1916 and World War II. And then there is some chatter about the Sisters of Mercy and the CIA’s suggestions for disrupting Zoom meetings, kinda.

 

This episode’s recommendations:

Sarah Rose, D-Day Girls: The Spies who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped win World War II (Penguin Random House, 2020).  

Trevor Ristow, Waiting for Another War: A History of the Sisters of Mercy, Volume I: 1980-1985 (GWK, 2019).

Simple Sabotage Field Manual (Office of Strategic Services, 1944), available at Project Gutenberg.

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

Consulting Careers for Historians: Julie Mujic - Owner, Paramount Historical Consulting, and Jason Engle - Historian

Dr. Julie Mujic is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Dennison University and the owner of Paramount Historical Consulting, LLC. Dr. Jason Engle is an adjunct instructor for Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Julie and Jason talk to Rob about their backgrounds, alternative careers for historians, and developing an exhibit for the Columbus Historical Society on “’We Shall Remember Them’: How Columbus Remembered the Great War.” “We Shall Remember Them”: How Columbus Remembered the Great War," exhibit at the Columbus Historical Society, open August 30, 2018 through April 30, 2019, https://www.columbushistory.org/wwi/

Constitution Day 2018 - Presented by Karen Webb

The Working Historians podcast "History Soundbites presents a special Constitution Day 2018 episode with historian Karen Webb.

Maya Rook presents "The Origins of the Witch Trials in Europe"

Maya Rook, a historian, artist, and adjunct instructor with Southern New Hampshire University, provides critical insight into the "Origins of the Witch Trials in Europe." Fun fact: she is the direct descendant of a confessed witch from the Salem witch trials!

LauriAnn Deaver presents "The Mormon Response to the 1976 Teton Dam Collapse"

LauriAnn Deaver presents "The Mormon Response to the 1976 Teton Dam Collapse"

Katherine Perrotta presents "19th Century Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Activist Elizabeth Jennings"

Katherine Perrotta presents "Nineteenth Century Rosa Parks: The Legacy of Antebellum Civil Rights Activist Elizabeth Jennings."

Dr. Joe Faykosh presents "A Party in Peril: The Democratic Party and the Circular Letter of 1924"

Dr. Joe Faykosh presents "A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924"

Dr. Ryan Tripp presents "Ancient Settled and Established Constitution: The Narragansett"

Dr. Ryan Tripp presents "Ancient Settled and Established Constitution:" Enlightened Commentaries on the Narragansett Ancient Constitution by Matthew Robinson, Esq.

History Soundbites: Constitution Day Edition with Patrick Callaway

Patrick Callaway is a doctoral student at the University of Maine and an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. This presentation was recorded to commemorate Constitution Day. In this presentation, recorded for Constitution Day 2017, Prof. Callaway discusses the origins of the United States Constitution, analyzes some of its important clauses, and the diverse responses to the Constitutions among the American people. He also draws some connections between the Constitution and contemporary political and social issues. In this presentation, Prof. Callaway references James H. Hutson, "The Creation of the Constitution: Scholarship at a Standstill," Reviews in American History 12:4 (Dec., 1984), 463-477. URL http://www.jstor.org/stable/2701897. 

Filibustering History Soundbite - Rob Denning Presents the Lemm Ranch Murders

This started out as a correction to an error in a previous episode. It grew into something much larger. There is no interview here. Instead, Rob tells the story of the massacre of Chinese workers near Chico, California, in 1877.

Secondary sources used in this episode:

Sucheng Chan, This Bittersweet Soil: The Chinese in California Agriculture, 1860-1910 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986).

Andrew Gyory, Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998).

Jean Pfaelzer, Driven Out: The Forgotten War against Chinese Americans (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008).

History Soundbites: Halloween Edition with Everett Dague

SNHU's very own instructor, Everett Dague, recorded a podcast for all of you just in time for Halloween! The story involves not only a missing man, but how Everett came to research the topic and why it is so important for us to do our own research! Come and give it a listen!