Where Historians Work: Q&A with Alea Henle of Western New Mexico University

July 13, 2017 By Katy Lasdow in Public History, Special Features, Where Historians Work Tags: Archives, blogs, career diversity, Historical societies, interviews, jobs, libraries, scholarship Leave a comment

“It doesn’t hurt to have some self-knowledge about what works for you [and] what kind of environment works for you.” ~ Dr. Alea Henle, Head of Public Services Librarian, Western New Mexico University.

henle image Welcome back to “Where Historians Work: The View from Early America!” This week Katy chats with Dr. Alea Henle, Head of Public Services Librarian at the J. Cloyd Miller Library at Western New Mexico University. The pair discuss the importance of “knowing your audience” as a historian and “self-knowledge” when it comes to thinking about next steps for a career. Continue reading →

Early America Comic Con: Drawing the American Revolution

November 23, 2015 By Christopher F. Minty in Academia, Methodology, Pedagogy Tags: academia, American Revolution, British Atlantic world, British perspectives, caricatures, cartoons, Comic Con, Comic Con early America, digital pedagogy, Eighteenth Century, images, James Gillray, Long eighteenth century, pedagogy, Print Culture, Satire, scholarship, teaching 1 Comment

Chan Lowe/Tribune Content Agency

“Welders make more money than philosophers,” Marco Rubio said in a recent G.O.P. debate. “We need more welders and less philosophers,” he continued, proudly. It was a decent line from the presidential hopeful. But not long after these words echoed around the Milwaukee Theatre, it was shown to be a somewhat clumsy statement, not least when seen alongside figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (comparative wages: philosophers & welders). Thus over the days following Rubio’s line, it was caricatured, with one cartoonist picking up on Rubio’s wording. This G.O.P. presidential candidate is not alone: All of the 2016 presidential candidates, Democrat and Republican, have been caricatured. So, too, are their worldwide equivalents on a regular basis. Continue reading →

Recap: Old Friends/New Editors: A Conversation about Early American Publishing

September 19, 2014 By Katy Lasdow in Academia, Commentary Tags: Atlantic History, Catherine Kelly, Columbia Seminar on Early American History and Culture, digital technology, JER, Joshua Piker, JSTOR, Project Muse, Publishing, scholarship, The William and Mary Quarterly 2 Comments

This post is co-written by Katy Lasdow and Eric Herschthal, contributors to The Junto and Rapporteurs for the Columbia University Seminar on Early American History and Culture.

Earlier this month at the Columbia University Seminar on Early American History and Culture, scholars in New York City got a glimpse of the most pressing issues facing the field as seen through the eyes of the new editors of early American history’s flagship journals. Joshua Piker, the recently named editor at The William and Mary Quarterly, joined Catherine Kelly, now in charge of the Journal of the Early Republic, to discuss what concerned them most as they entered their freshman year on the job. Their concerns ranged from the challenge Atlantic history posed to what it traditionally has meant to be an early American journal, to the way technology—JSTOR, Project MUSE, even blogs like us here at The Junto—has forced academic publications to rethink their role in a more egalitarian digital world. Continue reading →