5/13/15 – We’ve saved one of the best episodes of Past & Presence for last. Not only do we take a road trip to Duluth, MN — with a stop at a former fur trading post and a discussion of one of the worst disasters in Minnesota history along the way — but we close with one of … More Past and Presence: Careers and Vocation
5/6/15 – The penultimate episode of Past & Presence revolves around the relationship of historians to the church. In addition to a conversation on that topic with my colleague Amy Poppinga, I interview a Bethel History alum who serves as an Anglican pastor here in the Twin Cities. And the whole episode is hosted from three great European cathedrals — … More Past and Presence: Historians and the Church
4/22/15 – This week’s episode of Past & Presence takes us to the intersection of popular culture and the past. I take viewers on a walking tour of F. Scott Fitzgerald sites in the author’s hometown of St. Paul, MN, and moderate a conversation about how the past is portrayed in films, TV series, video games, novels, and other media.
If not, this week is a great time to check in with Past & Presence, the weekly webisode series that Sam Mulberry and I have been producing with our colleagues and students in the Bethel University History Department. Today’s episode — #9 — is just packed with good stuff: As usual, I moderate everything with interstitial clips in … More Have You Seen Our Department Webisode Yet?
4/1/15 – This week’s eighth episode of Past & Presence starts a two-part conversation about Christian approaches to the discipline of history — starting with George Marsden’s Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. (I’ll have a post next week on that conversation after the second half airs.) Plus I get to indulge my interest in commemoration by visiting war (and … More Past and Presence: Christian History, Part I
This week’s “comment drive” got off to a good start asking about historical movies… Let’s see if we can generate even more conversation about one of filmmaker’s favorite genres of history: biography. In this week’s installment of Past & Presence, our department’s webisode series, we turn to biography: I host from my hometown of Stillwater, Minnesota; we … More Comment Drive: What’s Your Favorite Biography?
3/4/15 – Episode five of Past & Presence is one of my favorites because it gave us an excuse to go back to Bethel’s old campus across from the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, now home to the Hubert Humphrey Job Corps Center. (Note to self: next time you decide to visit property of the federal government, check in with security before setting … More Past and Presence: A Usable Past
It’s library week on Past & Presence, our department’s new webisode series: Not only do I host episode 3 from locations in the Bethel University Library, but we talk to two of our librarians. One of them is a former student in our department, as is our interview subject of the week: Kevin McGrew, director of … More Past and Presence: Secondary and Tertiary Sources
On this week’s episode of Past & Presence, my colleagues Diana Magnuson (social history, women’s history) and Amy Poppinga (religious and environmental history) join me for a conversation about fields in history. Plus… we spotlight the Oregon Extension and AnneMarie Kooistra’s course on History of Sexuality in the United States, we find History alumni doing everything from web services … More Past and Presence: Fields within History
After several months of work, I’m proud to announce the debut of our department’s new webisode series: Past & Presence! My friend Sam Mulberry and I have been filming material for Past & Presence since last summer — and will continue to do so even this afternoon. (Episodes will keep coming all the way through the end of our semester.) In … More The Debut of Our Department’s New Webisode Series!
The Pietist Schoolman 