Working Historians

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

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

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

Teaching Careers in History: Donald Shaffer - Online History Instructor, SNHU

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 

Teaching Careers for Historians: Susan Keefer - Substitute Teacher and Adjunct Instructor

Susan Keefer is a substitute teacher, assessment exam grader, and adjunct instructor for history at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we discuss Susan’s academic and professional background, the difference between regional history and national history, historiography, the value of pursuing a K-12 teaching credential, and the use of music in history courses.

This episode’s recommendations:

Music!

The Band, "The Weight" (from The Last Waltz), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSzL5-SPHM

Dead Moon, "54/40 or Fight", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPXSgpe0AVA

Nirvana, "Rape Me," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TsqlT0rfJI

They Might Be Giants, "James K. Polk," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSdgjP8os7U

They Might Be Giants, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFaRklAYanY 

Teaching and Advising Careers for Historians: Jeff Ramsey - Adjunct Instructor and Academic Adviser

Dr. Jeffrey Ramsey is an academic adviser and an instructor at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode we talk about academic and professional background, his research into the introduction of Title IX in the Big 10 sports conference, and his work as a college instructor and academic adviser.

This episode’s recommendations:

Michael Kimmel, Guyland: The Perilous World where Boys Become Men, updated (Harper, 2018), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062885739/guyland/

New York Times 1619 podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/podcasts/1619-slavery-anniversary.html

Teaching Careers for Historians: Erik Johnsen - Adjunct Instructor

Erik Johnsen is teaches history at Portland Community College, University of Portland, and Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Erik discusses his academic and professional background, his research into Austrian nationalism between World War I and the early Cold War, and life as a full-time part-time instructor.

This episode’s recommendations:

Gary Gerstle, American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century, updated ed. (Princeton University Press, 2017), 

Edward E. Baptist, The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism (Basic Books, 2016)

Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration (Penguin, 2011)

Richard White, The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford University Press, 2017),  

Teaching Careers for Historians: Adolfo Mendez - Teacher, Galveston Independent School District

Adolfo Mendez is a history and social sciences teacher at a middle school in Galveston, Texas. In this brief episode of Filibustering History, Adolfo talks about the hiring and training processes for grade schools in Texas and the skills essential for a successful middle school teacher. 

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. 

Chris Kline - Learning Community Facilitator

• 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.