Current Courses
I've taught more than a dozen different courses over my career. The classes described below reflect some of my recent teaching and research interests.
Americans in the World: A methods course for sophomore history majors.
Course description: Over the last century, millions of American citizens have lived, worked, and traveled outside of the United States. this course investigates the experiences of soldiers, students, missionaries, ex-patriots, and others as Americans in the world. Using historical monographs and articles, biographies, novels, and films, we will address a variety of questions including: why did Americans choose to go abroad? What attitudes, perspectives, and agendas did Americans bring with them? How did the experience of encountering other cultures change those perspectives?
Do-It-Yourself America: A senior seminar for history majors--my way of making the history of technology less scary for humanists.
Course description: How did Americans in the past learn to sew a dress or drive a locomotive? What did having these skills mean in terms of status and opportunity? How did changes in technology and society alter what people needed to know to get a job, make a home, or travel from place to place? This course will use weekly readings, experiments, field trips, and research assignments to explore multiple aspects of what historians call “technological knowledge” from the 18th century to our own times.
Historiography of Technology: A graduate course designed to introduce students from a variety of sub-fields to the history of technology.
Course description: This course is an introduction to historiographies and methodologies related to the study of material objects and ways of making and doing things in the physical world. We will be focusing on books and articles which emphasize the interaction between cultural meanings, social structures, and material objects and processes. These readings will also introduce students to the sub-fields of the history of technology, material culture studies, and historical archeology. Requirements include reading a book or its equivalent in articles each week, individually assigned supplementary readings, two book reviews, and an analytical paper.
Research and Writing: America since 1865: The UD History Department's research seminar for modern Americanists and others.
Course description: The purpose of this course is to teach graduate students research methods and writing skills necessary to produce articles and conference papers of professional quality. Students will research and write a paper on a topic of choice (restricted to America more or less since 1865). We will also discuss and/or practice a variety of other skills including oral presentation, editing of others' work, preparing grant proposals, and submitting for publication.
Americans in the World: A methods course for sophomore history majors.
Course description: Over the last century, millions of American citizens have lived, worked, and traveled outside of the United States. this course investigates the experiences of soldiers, students, missionaries, ex-patriots, and others as Americans in the world. Using historical monographs and articles, biographies, novels, and films, we will address a variety of questions including: why did Americans choose to go abroad? What attitudes, perspectives, and agendas did Americans bring with them? How did the experience of encountering other cultures change those perspectives?
Do-It-Yourself America: A senior seminar for history majors--my way of making the history of technology less scary for humanists.
Course description: How did Americans in the past learn to sew a dress or drive a locomotive? What did having these skills mean in terms of status and opportunity? How did changes in technology and society alter what people needed to know to get a job, make a home, or travel from place to place? This course will use weekly readings, experiments, field trips, and research assignments to explore multiple aspects of what historians call “technological knowledge” from the 18th century to our own times.
Historiography of Technology: A graduate course designed to introduce students from a variety of sub-fields to the history of technology.
Course description: This course is an introduction to historiographies and methodologies related to the study of material objects and ways of making and doing things in the physical world. We will be focusing on books and articles which emphasize the interaction between cultural meanings, social structures, and material objects and processes. These readings will also introduce students to the sub-fields of the history of technology, material culture studies, and historical archeology. Requirements include reading a book or its equivalent in articles each week, individually assigned supplementary readings, two book reviews, and an analytical paper.
Research and Writing: America since 1865: The UD History Department's research seminar for modern Americanists and others.
Course description: The purpose of this course is to teach graduate students research methods and writing skills necessary to produce articles and conference papers of professional quality. Students will research and write a paper on a topic of choice (restricted to America more or less since 1865). We will also discuss and/or practice a variety of other skills including oral presentation, editing of others' work, preparing grant proposals, and submitting for publication.
