Blogging at Exploring the Past is important to me because it provides me a platform in which to share my thoughts and knowledge while also learning from the many people who take time out of their schedule to comment on my posts. This “Resources” page aims to place some of my better essays into a central location for visitors to read, adapt, and share with others. Please feel free to leave comments, feedback, and questions at the bottom of this page if you are so inclined.
Be sure to check back for occasional updates to this page.
Resources for Digital History and the Digital Humanities
- Putting Yourself Out There: Tips and Tricks
- Academic Publishing Should Encourage Access and Knowledge Sharing
- There is No Such Thing as a “Digital Native”
- Promises and Perils of Blogging
- Does Digital Technology Encourage Data Democratization?
- What Constitutes Historical Scholarship in the 21st Century?
- Discussing Gender and Digital Technology Usage
- Some Tools to Add to Your Digital Toolbox
- On Crowdsourcing
- Promises and Perils of Online Archives
Resources for Public History
- Challenges in Explaining Public History to My Friends and Family
- Public History: History for Everyone
- Public History: Temple or Forum?
- Public History: Craft or Profession?
- Praxis and Theory in Public History Graduate Programs
- Interpretive Challenges with Portraying Slavery in Film
- Inclusive Narratives and Changing Demographics in the United States
- Analyzing Visitor Attendance to Civil War Sites During the Sesquicentennial
- Sharing Authority is More Difficult Than You Think
- My First Professional Speaking Engagement [Talking about Public History]
- Job Hunting [For Public History Employment]
- Bridging the Gaps Between “Academic” and Public” Historians
- History, Journalism, and Sharing Authority
- Interpreting Indiana’s 1907 Eugenics Law
- The Public History Elephant in the Room
- The Paradoxical Nature of the “Enslaved Person vs. Slave” Name Debate
- Inclusive Narratives and Changing Demographics in the United States
- Thinking About Orientation Films at Public History Sites
- Pros and Cons of Historical Markers
- Bridging the Gap Between “Nature” Sites and “History” Sites in the National Park Service [Part 1]
- Bridging the Gap Between “Nature” Sites and “History” Sites in the National Park Service [Part 2]
- A Call to All Public History Employers
- The Appropriateness of Entertainment and Profit at Public History Sites
- When Fun and Entertainment Overshadow Understanding at Historical Sites
- Fun and Entertainment at Historic Sites: A Response from Museum Hack
- What is the Future of Historical Reenacting in Public History?
- Is TripAdvisor an Effective Tool for Evaluating Public History Sites?
Resources for Museum Studies
- Designing an Interpretive Strategy for Museums
- Making History Museums More Participatory
- Museum Interpretation and the Myth of “Drawing Conclusions” from Facts Alone
- Reflections on Museum Interpretation and Audience Agency
- The Civil War Sesquicentennial and the Challenge of Measuring “Success” in Free-Choice Learning Environments
- “Your Museum’s Content is Inflammatory”
- Replacing Mission Statements with “Why Should I Care?” Statements
- Museum Exhibit Design 101: Keep it Simple, Stupid!
- Louisiana’s “Uncle Jack” Statue and the Problem of Interpreting Iconography in History Museums
- “Will Teach 4 Food”: Museum Education and the Politics of Labor
Resources for Historical Methods
- The Importance of Historiography
- How Sports Broadcasting Helps Us Understand the Nature of Interpreting History
- Progress and Nostalgia in History
- Counterfactuals and Anniversaries in History
- Why Historians Don’t Predict the Future
- …Those Liberal Historians
- The Importance of Continually Reading About Historical Content AND Methods
- National Geographic and Historical Progress
- Historical Fiction as a “Gateway Drug” to the Past
- Richard Evans on Truth, Objectivity, and the Boundaries of Reasonable Historical Interpretation
- Hope and History
Resources for the Classroom
- Teaching Historical Methods in the K-12 Classroom
- The Teachable Moment in “Accidental Racist”
- Kids Can Handle Tough History If You Expose Them To It
- Is “A People’s History” Useful for Classroom Instruction?
- Some Thoughts on the Future of Civil War History
- Multiple Choice Tests: A. Good B. Bad C. Somewhere in Between?
- School Choice, But Only for Some
- Good History Classes Need Primary AND Secondary Sources
- Notes on the Alleged “Skills Deficiency” Crisis in U.S. Education and Employment
- Taking a Balanced Approach to Lecturing and Student-Centered Learning
- Wanted in America: Good U.S. History Teachers
Resources for Civil War Era History
- Analyzing Mediocre, Good, and Great U.S. Grant Biographies
- Where in the World is Ulysses S. Grant During Reconstruction?
- President Ulysses S. Grant and The Panic of 1873
- Did Ulysses S. Grant Own Slaves During the Civil War?
- The U.S. Grant Drinking Debate, Continued
- William Lloyd Garrison and the Principle of Non-Voting
- Missouri’s Western Identity During the Nineteenth Century
- A Reading List on the Civil War in Missouri
- “Belle Missouri”
- A Note of Praise for Brian Matthew Jordan’s “Marching Home”
- “Civil War to Civil Rights” Should Have Meaning for Everyone
- Okay, So You Have Civil War Ancestors. So What?
- Edward Bates and the Question of U.S. Citizenship in 1862
- What Does it Mean to Come to Terms With the History of American Slavery?
- Karl Marx on the Civil War, the Border States, and the Confederacy’s War of Conquest
- A Memo to Mike Huckabee: The Military Has Always Been a Social Experiment
- “It Should Never Float Over American Soil”
- Confederate Secession Was Not a Moment of “Insanity”
Resources for Historical Memory
- Forgiving and Forgetting in Historical Memory
- The Reciprocal Relationship Between the Past and Present
- Reflections on Memorial Day and American Nationalism
- The Many Meanings of Gettysburg are Based on Infirm Foundations
- Stan “The Man” and Public Commemoration
- Understanding the Differences Between History and Memory
- Forgiving and Forgetting in Historical Memory
- Irish Slaves, African Slaves, and Hierarchies of Oppression
- Memorial Day, Capitalism, and Progress
- The Many Layers of Meaning in Cultural Symbols
- We Have a Right to Question Historical Iconography
- False Dichotomies and Slippery Slopes in the Confederate Iconography Debate
Exploring the Past 
