Working Historians is a podcast series that showcases the work and careers of historians in a wide variety of career fields. We hope to introduce history students and the general public to the career paths available to people who study history, introduce and promote historians to students and the public, and showcase the work that historians do on a regular basis. Hosts Rob Denning and Jimmy Fennessy can be reached at workinghistorians@gmail.com.
Episodes
Wednesday Jan 22, 2020
Wednesday Jan 22, 2020
Wherein we take a break from our normal interview podcasts for a breaking news announcement on a sequel to 2018’s symposium on the definition of museums. Here Rob describes the upcoming symposium on “Theoretical Museology in U.S. and Tribal Contexts,” an online meeting of the minds in conjunction with the International Committee for Museology, the International Council on Museums, and the Association of African-American Museums. Presentation proposals are due February 28, and the symposium will be held on August 27 and 28, 2020. Click here for more information: https://spark.adobe.com/page/Xodh9D32c3KHE/.
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
Thursday Jan 09, 2020
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
Wednesday Dec 25, 2019
Wednesday Dec 25, 2019
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
Monday Dec 16, 2019
Monday Dec 16, 2019
Chris Savio teaches history, criminal justice, and special education at the high school and college levels. In this episode we discuss his academic and professional background, his teaching interests, and his diverse teaching experiences.
This episode’s recommendations:
Library of Congress American Memory Collection: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/updatedList.html
Elliott West, The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998), https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-1029-7.html
Thursday Nov 28, 2019
Thursday Nov 28, 2019
Dr. Susan Dawson is a military and diplomatic historian and is the Branch Chief Historian for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Customs and Border Protection. In this episode, Dr. Dawson discusses her academic and professional background, how to get started in a career as a historian in the federal government, and what life is like as a historian for a government agency.
This episode’s recommendations and links:
Peter Jackson, dir., They Shall Not Grow Old (Warner Bros., 2018), https://www.theyshallnotgrowold.film/
Society for History in the Federal Government: http://www.shfg.org/
Federal Government Job Application website: https://www.usajobs.gov/
And your local library!
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Friday Nov 15, 2019
Vasilios Kostakis is an academic adviser and adjunct instructor for Southern New Hampshire University. In episode, Vasilios talks to James and Rob about his academic and professional background and how the skills he learned as a historian help him relate to university students as an academic adviser.
This episode’s recommendations:
Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Penguin Random House, 2005), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/187628/genghis-khan-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world-by-jack-weatherford/
Lizzy Goodman, Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City, 2001-2011 (HarperCollins, 2018), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062233103/meet-me-in-the-bathroom/
“Meet Me in the Bathroom: The Art Show,” curated by Hala Matar and Lizzy Goodman, The Hole, September 4-22, http://theholenyc.com/2019/06/29/meet-me-in-the-bathroom/
John R. McNeill, “AHA Interviews, Good Intentions, and Unexpected Consequences,” Perspectives on History (August 28, 2019), https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/september-2019/aha-interviews-good-intentions-and-unexpected-consequences
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
Thursday Oct 31, 2019
Dr. Jamie Goodall is Assistant Professor of History at Stevenson University in Maryland. In this episode, Dr. Goodall discusses her academic and professional background, her research on pirates, life as an assistant professor, and advice for history students entering the job market.
This episode’s recommendations:
Mark G. Hanna, Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740 (University of North Carolina Press, 2015): https://uncpress.org/book/9781469636047/pirate-nests-and-the-rise-of-the-british-empire-1570-1740/
Ghost tours; any ghost tours. They’re really fun.
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Dr. Allen York retired from the United States Army as a First Sergeant and is an adjunct instructor for the history programs at Southern New Hampshire University and elsewhere. In this episode, Allen discusses his research on the home front during the Civil War, how the field of military history has evolved over recent decades, how his experience in the military contributed to his academic career, and his current life as an academic.
This episode’s recommendations:
Peter N. Stearns, “Why Study History,” (American Historical Association, 1998), https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/historical-archives/why-study-history-(1998)
Julia Brookins and Sarah Fenton, eds., “Careers for History Majors” (American Historical Association, 2018), https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/why-study-history/careers-for-history-majors
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
Tuesday Oct 01, 2019
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),
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Monday Sep 16, 2019
In this episode commemorating Constitution Day, three scholars discuss the importance of the United States Constitution to their own academic work and the Constitution’s importance to American citizens. Christopher Kline, who teaches historical methods and American history in the graduate program, discusses the Whiskey Rebellion in the context of the early national era. Dr. Robert Irvine, a consultant for Parc Resources in Oregon who teaches American history in the graduate program at Southern New Hampshire University, discusses his work with Native American groups. Dr. Jeffrey Czarnec, Associate Dean for Social Sciences at SNHU who oversees the Criminal Justice program, discusses the importance of the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment, to everyday police work.
Recommendations and Links:
Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell, The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation (New York: Hill and Wang, 2008)
Thursday Jul 11, 2019
Thursday Jul 11, 2019
Zeb Larson earned his doctorate in diplomatic history from The Ohio State University in 2019 and is a freelance writer. He also records interviews for the New Books Network’s American history podcast. In this episode, Rob and Zeb discuss what it means to be a freelance writer and advice for history students entering the job market.
Links:
“We Need to Systematize Alt-Ac Career Guidance,” Inside Higher Ed (November 21, 2018) https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/11/21/advisers-and-institutions-should-systematize-guidance-students-about-alt-ac.
“The Need for Outside Jobs in Grad School,” Inside Higher Ed (July 3, 2019), https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/07/03/more-grad-students-should-be-allowed-take-jobs-outside-academe-opinion.
Zeb’s interviews for the New Books Network: https://newbooksnetwork.com/?s=zeb+larson.
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
Wednesday Jun 26, 2019
Marc Reyes and Bill Black are editors of Contingent Magazine, a non-profit online publication dedicated to the radical idea that historians deserve to be paid for their work. In this episode we discuss their academic and professional backgrounds and also talk about the magazine itself, which invites pitches from all historians that may not fit with more traditional academic history publications.
This episode’s recommendations:
You’re Wrong About… podcast
Kings, Kitchens, and their Stories
John O’Malley, Urethane Revolution: The Birth of Skate, San Diego 1975 (The History Press, 2019)
Karin Wulf, “What Naomi Wolf and Cokie Roberts Teach Us About the Need for Historians,” Washington Post, June 11, 2019
Thursday Jun 13, 2019
Thursday Jun 13, 2019
Henry Crawford is the retired Curator of History for the Museum of Texas Tech University and is currently affiliated with the Science Spectrum in Lubbock, Texas. He is the owner and operator of History by Choice, where he serves as a living history consultant.
This episode’s recommendations:
The Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Thursday May 30, 2019
Thursday May 30, 2019
Dr. Adrian Calamel is a professor at Finger Lakes Community College. In this five-episode series, Dr. Calamel is discussing the recent Arab Spring phenomenon in the Middle East. In this final episode, we discuss developments in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Syria up to the present day.
Further Readings
Books
1. Eric Trager, Arab Fall: How the Muslim Brotherhood Won and Lost Egypt in 891 Days (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2016).
2. Fouad Ajami, The Syrian Rebellion (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 2012).
3. Robert F. Worth, A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS (New York: Macmillan, 2016).
4. Ibrahim Fraihat, Unfinished Revolutions: Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia after the Arab Spring (Yale University Press, 2016).
5. Christopher Phillips, The Battle for Syria: International Rivalry in the New Middle East (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016).
6. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn, The Libyan Revolution and its Aftermath (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015).
Articles
1. Anthony H. Cordesman, “Stability and Security in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and the Rest of the MENA Region”, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Nov. 8, 2011
2. Fouad Ajami, “The Arab Spring at One A Year of Living Dangerously” Foreign Affairs, Mar 1, 2012.
3. “Planning for a Post-Gadhafi Libya”, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), July 25, 2011
4. Kamal Eldin Osman Salih, “The Roots and Causes of the 2011 Arab Uprisings” Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Spring 2013), pp. 184-206
5. Fouad Ajami, “Tracking the Arab Spring: The Best Day After a Bad Emperor is the First,” Center for International and Regional Issues” CIRS Newsletter, Fall 2011, No. 11
6. DB Research Deutsche Bank, “Two years of Arab Spring Where are we now? What’s next?” Emerging Markets, Jan. 25, 2013
7. Eric Trager, “Egypt's Looming Competitive Theocracy” The Hudson Institute, Dec. 27, 2012
8. Alexis Arief, Carla E. Humud “Political Transition in Tunisia” Congressional Research Service, Feb. 10, 2015 R
Thursday May 16, 2019
Thursday May 16, 2019
Dr. Adrian Calamel is a professor at Finger Lakes Community College. In this five-episode series, Dr. Calamel is discussing the recent Arab Spring phenomenon in the Middle East. In this fourth episode, he discusses how the Arab Spring played out in Syria.
Thursday May 02, 2019
Thursday May 02, 2019
Dr. Adrian Calamel is a professor at Finger Lakes Community College. In this five-episode series, Dr. Calamel is discussing the recent Arab Spring phenomenon in the Middle East. In this third episode, he discusses the event’s significance for Yemen and Libya.
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Sunday Apr 21, 2019
Dr. Adrian Calamel is a professor at Finger Lakes Community College. In this five-episode series, Dr. Calamel is discussing the recent Arab Spring phenomenon in the Middle East. In this second episode, he discusses the event’s significance for Tunisia and Egypt.
Friday Apr 05, 2019
Friday Apr 05, 2019
Dr. Adrian Calamel teaches history at Finger Lakes Community College. In this five-episode series, Dr. Calamel is discussing the recent Arab Spring phenomenon in the Middle East. In this first episode, he discusses the overall timeline and significance for the Arab Spring throughout the region.
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
Thursday Mar 21, 2019
Shannon Lange is the Curator for Blocks to Bricks in Schaumburg, Illinois and a recent graduate of the SNHU graduate history program with a concentration in public history. In this episode we talk about Shannon’s academic and professional careers.
This episode’s recommendations:
Blocks to Bricks: Constructing Imagination
Michael Stephenson, The Last Full Measure: How Soldiers Die in Battle (Broadway Books, 2013)
Wednesday Mar 06, 2019
Wednesday Mar 06, 2019
Sara English is a graduate assistant and Vice President of Public Relations for the Graduate Student Advisory Council at Eastern Illinois University. In this episode we talk about Sara’s efforts to find out what career-related resources and opportunities exist for graduates of MA History programs.
Resources:
American Historical Association “MA in History” Community (requires AHA membership)
Wednesday Feb 20, 2019
Wednesday Feb 20, 2019
Dr. Stephanie Averill teaches in the graduate history program at Southern New Hampshire University, specializing in historiography and the capstone thesis. In this episode, Dr. Averill is presenting “Our Boys: The First Status of Forces Treaties and the Problem of Jurisdiction.”
Wednesday Feb 06, 2019
Wednesday Feb 06, 2019
Dr. Stephanie McConnell is a historian of sports and the Cold War and is an instructor in the graduate history program at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Dr. McConnell discusses her academic and professional backgrounds, her research interests, and the working lives of historians.
This episode’s recommendations:
The Man in the High Castle, TV series, Amazon, 2015 to present. https://www.amazon.com/Man-High-Castle-Season/dp/B00RSGFRY8
First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, University Pictures Home Entertainment, 2018. https://www.uphe.com/movies/first-man
Wednesday Jan 09, 2019
Wednesday Jan 09, 2019
Dr. Christopher Chan is a writer and Adjunct Instructor for History at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Chris talks a bit about his MA in Library Sciences, the theft of documents from the National Archives, the decline of shopping malls, working for an internet startup, Agatha Christie, the academic job market, and a bunch of other topics.
This episode’s recommendations:
Dorothy Marcic, With One Shot: Family, Murder and a Search for Justice (New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2018), http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/36070
Mark Lemberger, Crime of Magnitude: The Murder of Little Annie (Createspace, 2016), https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Magnitude-Murder-Little-Annie/dp/1537260235/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538504236&sr=1-1&keywords=crime+of+magnitude
Bright Sun Films: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5k3Kc0avyDJ2nG9Kxm9JmQ
Steve James, dir., America to Me (Kartemquin Films, 2018), https://kartemquin.com/films/america-to-me
Sam Wineburg, Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone) (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018), https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo23022136.html
Monday Dec 24, 2018
Monday Dec 24, 2018
Dr. Charles Reed is Associate Professor of History at Elizabeth City State University and it most of the way through his term as President of H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. In this episode, we talk about Chas’s background and his reign as president, but we also wander through other topics, such as declining enrollments in history programs, historically black colleges and universities, history-based role-playing and video games, and why everybody should care about H-Net. This episode’s recommendations: Miles Taylor, Empress: Queen Victoria and India (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018), https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300118094/empress. Richard Zacks, Chasing the Last Laugh: How Mark Twain Escaped Debt and Disgrace with a Round-the-World Comedy Tour (New York: Penguin Random House, 2017), https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220148/chasing-the-last-laugh-by-richard-zacks/9780345802538/. Other items of interest: Clio app: https://www.theclio.com/web/ Reacting to the Past role-playing games: https://reacting.barnard.edu/ Benjamin M. Schmidt, “The History BA Since the Great Recession,” Perspectives on History, November 26, 2018, https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/december-2018/the-history-ba-since-the-great-recession-the-2018-aha-majors-report Rob Denning and James Fennessy can be reached at workinghistorians@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FilibusterHist.
Wednesday Dec 12, 2018
Wednesday Dec 12, 2018
Dr. Brian Cervantez is Associate Professor at Tarrant County College in Texas, where he specializes in the history of the American South. Today he discusses the subject of his forthcoming book, Amon Carter: A Lone Star Life, to be released in 2019 by the University of Oklahoma Press. For more information, visit the publisher’s website: https://www.oupress.com/books/15070738/amon-carter