Thinking Historically About

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Andrew Tremel, Visitor Operations Manager at the United States Capitol Visitor Center. Tremel helps us think historically about the historical significance of the United States Capitol during the middle of the 19th century as a place to see the sectional tensions that defined much of the antebellum period, especially regarding the existence of sla...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Joes Segal, Chief Curator and Director of Programming at The Wende Museum in Culver City, California. Segal addresses the importance of culture as a historical artifact and core part of the Wende Museum's mission. Additionally, we discuss the concept of futurism, its origins in art, how it is revealed in Afrofuturism, and how the mindset can shape...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Christal Tongish, Education Program Manager at the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal National Historical Park. Tongish helps us think historically about the importance of canals to the early United States and the particular role that the C&O played in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. Thinking Historically About brings history to life. In...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Lynn Yamasaki, Director of Education at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Yamasaki helps us think historically about Japanese American history in Los Angeles as well as the broader Japanese American experience in the United States, especially in and around World War II. She also talks through the ways that JANM preserves Japanese Ameri...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Paul Ramshaw, a member at Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington D.C. Ramshaw helps us think historically about the origins of Luther Place, the erection of the Martin Luther statue that remains in the front of the church, and how the church and statue can be seen as a United States place-based symbol within the context and historical legacy o...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Eugene Moy, president of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. Moy helps us think historically about Chinatown in Los Angeles as well as the broader Chinese American experience in Southern California. Thinking Historically About brings history to life. In each episode, expert scholars unpack the essential questions students should...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Lloyd Barba, Assistant Professor of Religion at Amherst College. Dr. Barba helps us think historically about the Delano Grape Strike and more broadly, the Farmworker's Movement. Dr. Barba also provides insights into the role of religion in the Farmworker's Movement and the life of Cesar Chavez. Thinking Historically About brings history to lif...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Kevin Bryant, Park Ranger with the National Park Service at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. Bryant helps us think historically about Frederick Douglass, his love and use of portraits, and his Washington, D.C. house, now a national historic site. The conversation explores the many ways in which Douglass saw portrai...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Frank Feltens, PhD, Curator of Japanese Art at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art . Dr. Feltens helps us think historically about the Edo period of Japan, the art produced during this period, and the intersection of art and gender roles. The conversation highlights how the role of women changed over time in medieval to early modern Japan...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Alexandria Wood, Associate Director of Education and Public Programs at Ford's Theatre Society. Ms. Wood help us think historically about the place that is the Ford's Theatre, it's intersection with the Civil War, and it's history as a historic landmark. This episode explores the story of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the power of...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Jennifer Epstein Rudnick, an Education Specialist and Park Ranger with the National Park Service at the National Mall and Memorial Parks. Ranger Jenn helps us think historically about the of memorials in teaching history. In particular we discuss the Korean War Memorial in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This episode explores broader themes...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Jocelyn Kho, Student Programs Coordinator, and David Rodgers, Gallery Educator at the National Portrait Gallery. Ms. Kho and Mr. Rodgers help us think historically about the role the role of portraits and portraiture in early America. This episode explores how portraits provide context, tell stories, and give insight into the lived experiences of...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Alexandra Montgomery, Director of the Center for Digital History at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Dr. Montgomery helps us think historically about the role Mount Vernon played in the American Revolution, as well as how the historic site preserves certain artifacts and documents that better tell that history. This episode explores themes ar...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita at Baruch College & the Graduate Center, CUNY. Dr. Berkin helps us think historically about how women impacted the American Revolution, as well as how the American Revolution impacted women in America. Dr. Berkin also addresses women's history more broadly, discussing part of the proc...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Katharine Gerbner, Associate Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gerbner helps us think historically about the codification of race in early America. Dr. Gerbner discusses the legal, cultural, and religious contexts that cemented race as a tool to divide people and integrate into the institution of slavery in the 17th and...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Sean Jacobson, Assistant Professor of History the University of North Alabama. Dr. Jacobson helps us think historically about American Westward Expansion and its impact on American Indians. Dr. Jacobson discusses the importance of centering an Indigenous perspective in this particular area of study as well as gives insight into the role of a p...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Steve Heimler of the popular AP History Youtube Channel, Heimler's History . Heimler's history is meant to support students success on the AP exam "with a healthy mixture of seriousness and buffoonery." In this conversation, though, we see a thought-provoking and contemplative Heimler, who muses on the system of success created by the College Boar...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Manisha Sinha, Draper Professor of History the University of Connecticut and President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. Dr. Sinha helps us think historically what slave resistance looked like and why it is important to center the study of abolition through the lens of those who were enslaved. This episode is part o...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Denver Brunsman, Professor of History and Department Chair at The George Washington University. Dr. Brunsman helps us think historically about different ideas that shaped the American Revolution and how we can see them in relation to each other. This episode is part of Thinking Nation's curriculum series, "Thinking Historically About." In each...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Alicia Jackson, Associate Professor of History at Covenant College. Dr. Jackson helps us think historically about how political rights changed or stayed the same for African Americans during Reconstruction.  This episode is part of Thinking Nation's curriculum series, "Thinking Historically About." In each episode, a scholar helps us better un...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Michael Kazin,  Professor of History at Georgetown University. Dr. Kazin helps us think historically about different historical perspectives of the famous New York City political machine, Tammany Hall. The conversation demonstrates history's complexity and how more evidence often leads to more nuance. Dr. Kazin is an expert on political histor...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Curtis Austin, Associate Professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Dr. Austin helps us think historically about how Black Americans asserted agency amidst discrimination during the Civil Rights Movement. The conversation covers the importance of defining agency, the broader movement...

With the 2024 election less than a week away, we thought it appropriate to release a recent conversation about the presidency. In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Robert Elder, Associate Professor of History at Baylor University. Dr. Elder helps us think historically about Andrew Jackson's Presidency. Specifically, we how to best evaluate the historical significance of his presi...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Jennifer Cullison, Assistant Professor of History at California State University, Stanislaus. Dr. Cullison helps us think historically about our present. Specifically, we discuss the following question, "How does the current border surge reveal different perspectives about U.S. immigration policy?" Dr. Cullison brings necessary historical cont...

In this episode, we are thinking historically with Dr. Katlyn Carter, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Carter helps us think about the 1798 Sedition Act's relationship to the First Amendment to the Constitution. Specifically, we discuss the extent to which these two laws were incompatible. The interview ends in a discussion over the broader implications of the di...