Working Historians

History Speaker Series with Margaret MacDonald and Caroline Beatrice Parker

In this History Speaker Series event, Dr. Margaret MacDonald discusses her professional and academic career, her advocacy work as a public historian, and her research on Carolyn Beatrice Parker, the first Black woman known to receive an advanced degree in physics and worked on the Dayton Project, part of the Manhattan Project, during World War II. 

Dr. Peggy Macdonald is a public historian and adjunct professor. She has taught at Southern New Hampshire University, Stetson University, Indian River State College and the University of Florida, where she received a Ph.D. in history. A native Floridian, Dr. Macdonald has written about local and Florida history for FORUM Magazine, Gainesville Magazine, Our Town Magazine, and Senior Times. In 2014, the University Press of Florida published her book, Marjorie Harris Carr: Defender of Florida's Environment. 

 

Recommendations: 

Jack Davis, The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea (W. W. Norton, 2017)

Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (Anti-Slavery Society, 1845) 

History Speaker Series with Matt Schandler and Generative Artificial Intelligence in the History Profession

At this event, Dr. Matt Schandler discusses the effects of artificial intelligence on the study, research, and writing of history. Topics of discussions include the origins of Generative AI; emerging historical applications beyond text, image, and video; working with bots; AI in academic settings; AI output as source material; academic integrity and AI use; best practices and dangerous practices; and future-proofing one's skillset.

Matt Schandler is a historian of technology, data scientist, and political scientist who studies the histories of domestic digital technologies, environmental technological systems. artificial intelligence, digital gaming, and information technologies. In addition to teaching the undergraduate capstone course at SNHU, he teaches courses on The History of Everything; Data Science for the Social Good; World History and Technology; and Technology, Society, and Public Policy at Chestnut Hill College.

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.

How Do I Develop a Thesis Statement?

In this fifth episode of our series on how historians research and write on historical topics, the panel tackles thesis statements: What are they, why they are important, and how do you develop them? 

Speaker timeline:

00:51 - Matt Schandler
04:56 - Eric Greisinger
05:17 - Rob Denning
06:05 - CB Repass
06:15 - Rob Denning
06:38 - Eric Greisinger
06:44 - Rob Denning
07:26 - Ryan Tripp
08:15 - CB Repass
08:49 - Allison Millward
09:46 - Rob Denning
11:07 - Eric Greisinger
11:39 - Rob Denning

How Do I Find Primary Sources for a History Research Project?

In this fourth episode of our series on how historians research and write on historical topics, the panel explains how they identify relevant primary sources that will help them go beyond the existing secondary source literature. We will discuss different ways to search for relevant and useful primary sources, how to determine which primary sources might be more useful or important than others, and the historian’s ethical responsibility to be familiar with as much of the primary source base as possible.

Speaker timeline:

02:15 - CB Repass
04:14 - Eric Greisinger
05:11 - Ryan Tripp
06:00 - Matt Schandler
10:40 - Rob Denning
13:23 - Matt Schandler
15:20 - Allison Millward
17:18 - Eric Greisinger
17:32 - Rob Denning
19:08 - CB Repass
21:11 - Ryan Tripp
21:34 - Rob Denning
22:28 - Eric Greisinger

How Do I Find Secondary Sources for a History Research Project?

In this third episode of our series on how historians research and write on historical topics, the panel explains how they tackle the potentially vast body of existing secondary sources that will help them provide context on the research project. We discuss different ways to search for secondary sources, how to determine which secondary sources might be more useful or important than others, and the historian’s ethical responsibility to be familiar with the entire existing literature on the topic. 

 

Speaker timeline:

02:42 - CB Repass
03:20 - Matt Schandler
07:31 - Allison Millward
08:14 - Eric Greisinger
09:11 - Matt Schandler
11:08 - Allison Millward
11:45 - CB Repass
13:07 - Allison Millward
14:14 - Ryan Tripp
15:02 - Eric Greisinger
15:21 - CB Repass
15:34 - Rob Denning
18:13 - Matt Schandler
20:27 - Ryan Tripp
21:35 - Rob Denning

Researching Puerto Rican History: 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.

Teaching Careers for Historians: Pat O’Hara - Teacher, Wilkes-Barre Area School District

Patrick O'Hara is an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University and a middle-school teacher in history and social studies for the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Here he discusses his educational background, his research into the Palmer Raids and other historical topics, and the process and the requirements of becoming a K-12 teacher.