James Baldwin once wrote, “History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.” One of the great challenges of the present is to make sense of how it illuminates the past. The work of public history, an ever-growing field, is for academics to present historical knowledge to the public in various ways, to provide historical context. What makes the History Department at Gustavus so special is that all faculty are engaged in public history that shapes how those within and beyond Gustavus see the world. For example, Maddalena Marinari helped created the #ImmigrationSyllabus, an online tool for anyone interested in understanding the history behind current debates on immigration, provides expertise to the Ellis Island Foundation, and regularly participates in initiatives by the Tenement Museum. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, New York Times Upfront, Slate, and MinnPost as well as National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and Against the Grain. Professor Kate Keller has contributed two op-eds to the Washington Post. The first uses the royal tours of Prince William and Princess Catherine as an entry into looking at British royal tours in the past and related protests. In particular this essay highlights the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, which is the subject of Keller’s challenge seminar. The second op-ed starts with a brief discussion of China’s increased surveillance as a way of looking at surveillance in historical contexts from the French Revolution to the First World War to colonial French West Africa and East Germany. This essay directly links with Keller’s FTS course on surveillance, the state, and society. Professor Glenn Kranking has taught Baltic History to members of the State Department, along with providing history talks on international cruises with Smithsonian Journeys. Professor David Obermiller uses his work in the classroom, including as an editor for a scholarly journal, in his advocacy work in the U.S. and abroad, and creates invaluable experiences for international students. Kate Aguilar has written two op-eds on race and sport for the Washington Post and Time. Each effort represents the department’s strong commitment to bringing the real world into the classroom and vice versa. Each strives to make the past accessible to and relevant for society at large.
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Kate Aguilar
Assistant Professor of History