Senior Thesis Presentations

As the end of the semester approaches, so do senior thesis presentations. There are quite a range of different types of theses this semester from the American-focused research seminar, all of which should be interesting. Anyone interested in hearing one or more of these presentations is more than welcome to attend. For majors who have yet to write their thesis, this should be an especially valuable opportunity to see classmates in action with their own research.

All of the thesis presentations will be held at 11 AM in Wyatt 204.

Monday, November 30
Panel I: Wars Across American History: Remembering the Civil War and Recreating the Consumer in Wartimes
Jason Schumacher: Education and Historical Interpretation: American Viewpoints on Antebellum Slavery through Fifty Years of American History Textbooks, 1890-1940
Hannah Nicholes: Save Your Money to Save Your Country: A Look at the Consumer Cultures in the Revolutionary War and World War II

Wednesday, December 2
Panel II: Quarantine, Exile, and Race in Tacoma
Glynnis Kirchmeier: Authority, Race, and Outbreaks: A Case Study of Disease and Ethnicity in Tacoma, 1885-1918
Alex Leavitt: Prisoners at the Fair: The Effects of the Japanese-American Internment on the Tacoma Area

Friday, December 4
Panel III: Pursuing and Representing the "Other" across the Pacific Rim
Joan Ilacqua: Northwest Regionalism: Investigating Salmon and Sasquatch Symbolism
Brad Untereker: Japan Demonizes the West: Perceptions During the Nineteenth Century

Monday, December 7
Panel IV: Nature and Activism: Environmental Education and Food Politics
Kristin Steedman: A Walk in the Woods: A Study of Community Driven Environmental Education
Elizabeth Mintz: Narratives as a Method of Activism

Wednesday, December 9
Panel V: Turning Points in American Political Economy: Transportation and the New Deal
Matt Beman: The End of Railroad Predominance in the Early Twentieth Century
Daniel Burge: The Keynes Effect: The Roosevelt Administration and the New Deal

11/19 Talk: Barry Carr on Latin American Politics

Red, Pink or Tutti Frutti: Where is Latin America Heading Politically?

Reflections on the Shift to the Left by Barry Carr
Visiting professor of Latin American History at the University of
California, Berkeley, and emeritus professor of La Trobe University.
Author of Marxism and Communism in Twentieth-century Mexico.

Thursday, November 19 at 4:00 in Wyatt 101

Sponsored by Latin American Studies, History, and Politics and Government

Google Internet Policy Fellowship

While not strictly related to the discipline of history, this summer fellowship opportunity struck me as something that some history majors may want to consider as they go forward in their studies.

Google Policy Fellowship

As lawmakers around the world become more engaged on Internet policy, ensuring a robust and intelligent public debate around these issues becomes increasingly important. That’s why we're announcing our third summer for the Google Policy Fellowship Program—to support students and organizations working on policy issues fundamental to the future of the Internet and its users.

Who should apply?

We’re looking for students who are passionate about technology, and want to spend the summer diving headfirst into Internet policy. Students from all majors and degree programs who posses the following qualities are encouraged to apply:

• Demonstrated or stated commitment to Internet and technology policy
• Excellent academic record, professional/extracurricular/volunteer activities, subject matter expertise
• First-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently, and to work smartly and resourcefully in a fast-paced environment

Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks during the summer of 2010 (June-August). Exact dates of the fellowship will be worked out by the fellow and host organization. Applications are due by midnight on Monday, December 28, 2009.

While this may seem like more of a Politics and Government kind of fellowship, "first-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills" all seem like qualities Puget Sound history majors possess. If any of this sounds interesting, check the Google Policy Fellowship main site for more details.

We're on Fox News!

It's good to know that we're getting a little publicity in the world. Professor Doug Sackman is quoted in the linked video, as a part of Fox News' "Fox and Friends" show.

http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/21785372/leaning-left.htm#q=teaching+american+history

From Professor Sackman:

"The book referred to is: Gary Kornblith and Carol Lasser, eds., Teaching American History: Essays Adapted from the Journal of American History, 2001-2007 (New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. The quote that elicited the loud Doocy "huh" is drawn from some of my comments in "Part One: Teaching the American History Survey in the Twenty-First Century: A Roundtable Discussion," in which I wrote that I wanted students to come to see that "American history is not a fixed set of facts, figures, and events, that it is not a done deal. History was contested all along and continues to be contested. Conveying this is for me a big part of trying to make history come alive for students who consider it inert, dead, and distant from themselves and their world" (p. 8). "

British People in Pictures

Professor David Smith has a new research project in the wings and is going to England next summer to get a good start on it.

'THE BRITISH PEOPLE IN PICTURES' : NATIONAL CHARACTER AND PROPAGANDA IN WORLD WAR TWO

The aim of my project is the study of “’the British People in Pictures” (BIP) a series of books conceived to counter Nazi propaganda during the Second World War by providing a comprehensive view of British life in all its aspects when Britain’s independence as a nation was under threat. Between March 1941 and 1950, 113 (BIP) books were published by eminent authors, novelists, journalists, and authorities. These volumes which were limited to 48 pages contained some 4,000 paintings, drawings, prints and photographs, sold at a reasonable cost to the public. The series encompassed wide range of subject areas – History and Achievement, Arts and Craftsmanship, Literature, Education and Religion, Science and Engineering, Social life, Sport, Natural History. Some two million copies were sold primarily to readers in the USA, Latin America and the Empire and Commonwealth. Rather than directed to readers on the Home Front, the publishers saw the series as a means to counteract negative perceptions of Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth that were held abroad. The editors hoped that the series “will contribute to the better understanding of Great Britain and the British Commonwealth,” as the aim was for individual writers to present all aspects of the British way of life, accomplishments and heritage. However the contributors possessed the editorial freedom to interpret the subject they had chosen as they liked.

The series was originated by Hilda Matheson, a pioneer of radio talks on the BBC in the 1930’s, working on propaganda for the Ministry of Information. After Matheson’s death in 1940, Walter Turner took charge of the project and suggested the titles and enlisted the writers. Turner remained the driving force behind (BIP) until his death in 1946. Collins and Adprint published and produced (BIP). Wofgang Foges and Walter Neurath, both émigrés from Austria, designed the layout of the books.