Museum Visits
I work closely with the Colby College Art Museum in each of my courses. I do this for several reasons, all of which relate to my broader pedagogical commitments. First, simply learning in another space outside of our classroom reminds students that these histories we are learning about are relevant in other contexts. Second, learning from artistic sources and material objects decenters textual sources as the only important source of historical evidence. This is especially vital as we seek to listen to voices who have not typically been the “winners'' of history or the creators of traditional archives. Third, museum visits help students consider public history and the work of historical memory, something I constantly intersect while teaching U.S. history to a majority of students who are already familiar with particular versions of U.S. history.
Image Descriptions:
U.S. Environmental History Class viewing Faith Ringgold, Coming to Jones Road # 4 Under a Blood Red Sky, 2000, during Black Ecologies unit.
History of Religion in the U.S. Class viewing Nari Ward, Oh Freedom, 2024.
Students viewing: Gamaliel Rodríguez, Correctional Faith, 2022.
Colby liberal arts symposium & Class projects
CLAS presentations for History of Religion in the U.S. and U.S. Environmental History
Students in History of the U.S. West presenting their research to each other.
Special Collections & Archives
Students in the Survey of U.S. History Class examine primary sources on abolition and women's rights, as a part of learning about reform movements in the antebellum period.