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Faculty Interviews |
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Interview with David HitchensRecent Teaching History Recent and Current Areas of Interest Recently I have been cycling back to the way the nature of
history works with recorded sources of some kind, rather than
with an artifact. I am interested in the long standing human
urge to keep stories about what has happened. We humans keep
such stories for a variety of purposes: whether it is to teach
successive generations how to do the good, or to teach successive
generations how to avoid really dumb mistakes; or to keep
chronicles of the kings. I am interested in the official stories
and the myths and the preliterate kinds of unofficial history.
The distinction of what is myth and what is history and, increasingly,
even the accuracy of history is less important in terms of
culture than the "lessons" that might be drawn from
how the story gets told. Even in literate historical societies
myths like Parson Weems and his story of George Washington
and the cherry tree are constantly created and end up being
accepted and incorporated into the formal history. In other
words, I am interested in the relationship of official and
popular history and the way official history uses popular
history as a means of legitimating itself. While I have a
general interest in this, my primary interest is in how this
boundary is being negotiated in twentieth century America,
where this question is being muddied by documentaries, docu-dramas,
and films that seem to present actual records. Thus, my interest
tends to go beyond the literate /preliterate and into the
mediated versus literary representations of history. I am interested in popular culture especially music: country and western and blue-grass. I get students who want to look at protest music and how popular culture enters into our consciousness. I also see literature as a way to reflect on a social context. Are there particular authors/artists/thinkers whose work you interested and which you often ask students to examine? Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War. I don't always
get students to read all of it, but it is central to my training
and I like to get students to read it. Warren Sussman's Culture
as History is important for thinking about the idea of culture.
Thorstein Veblen, Theory of the Leisure Class is important.
I think his practical, level-headed understanding of human
nature is a terrific explanation of the on-going vitality
of capitalism in the 20th century. I work to make sure that
students separate capitalism and democracy. Specific Skills, Competence, Techniques: In short, reading, writing, thinking, and talking. In terms
of reading I try to get students to understand that their
first reading of a work is only the surface and that there
are always things below the surface for them to understand
about themselves and what the author was writing about. I
want them to know that close textual analysis is absolutely
vital to clarity of thought, to logical understanding, and
to clear and effective writing. The more you understand what
you are reading, the better you can write about it. The more
you understand, the more your thinking is refined. As vocabulary
grows your brain gets sharpened. All of these go together.
You can't separate them out, they are all interconnected.
I try to inculcate good habits of the mind and get students
to realize that the fundamental questions that have always
dazzled humans are still there. If you can answer the basic
who, what, why, where questions you will always be able to
find a way to go, no matter what direction the society moves.
Teaching Style:How would you characterize yourself as a teacher? I am demanding but fair. I don't think I ask or expect impossible
things. I don't think I impose an impossible work load. But
I think full time work means full time work and attention.
Thus full time work demands fifty to sixty hours per week
minimum if you are really going to understand the nature of
what you are working on. Fair is crucial. I have endless patience
to work with students who are openly grappling with the information
that is changing their set assumptions. I push people to ask
"What if?", "How come?", "Could it
be?", "How is it different from?" or "So
what?" I can honestly admit I don't know some things.
I really enjoy when someone comes up with a new insight. What types of students tend to do well with you? I work very well with very smart students. I think I work
well with students who don't have a lot of confidence in themselves.
I think I can help those people find ways that they can do
the work successfully. Average students get comfortable with
me and find that I help them strengthen their understanding
or writing. I work well with students who willingly take responsibility
for their own learning. I have all sorts of patience for students
who are serious about their desire to learn and work. The
thing that is most critical is their openness and desire to
learn. When you see real growth in a student it is really
a wonderful thing. What types of students have a hard time with you? I don't work very well with ideologues. A person with their
mind already made up is not some one I can work with because
I am always pushing people in new directions. I don't enjoy
working with lazy students, flaky people, or whiners. What do your student evaluations say about the way you come across to students? They say I am warm and supportive, fair, honest, and give constructive , supportive helpful feedback on writing, that I am accessible, and that I take the time to listen. They say I tell stories. Most students really like that, but it drives some people up the wall. I don't get many negative evaluations. When it does happen it is usually a personality clash rather than a substantive difference. Expectations about Contracts, Internships, and Evaluations
Contracts are good for the very responsible, highly motivated,
serious student, who has decided that they really want to
focus in as deeply and narrowly as possible in a particular
area or in a particular way. The subject matter can be reasonably
broad but it must be clearly delimited. In terms of thinking
about the qualities of a student, I find it is an intuitive
judgment call, but it really is about whether they can do
the independent work. What information do you want to see when a person comes to look for a contract? Students who come to me need to have a really narrowly defined
project. I don't like to hear students say "You won't
have to spend much time with me." I like to see a real
bibliography, a clear expectation of what they want from me.
I like to see previous work. I like to hear about what they
want to produce. I am interested in any references they might
have from other faculty. With students who have a good idea
but no real plan I can work with them to help clarify what
they want to do. I also try to be honest about how much work
I can support a student. What qualities are you evaluating when you write final end of the quarter evaluations? I fall back on the basic categories of reading, writing, thinking and talking. I try to look for growth or refinement of their ability in those areas. I talk about whether students take responsibility for themselves. Do they meet deadlines well. I tend to assume that the audience is a grad school admissions counselor five years after graduation. It is important to me that people come and make an effort. I will deny credit if I don't see that happening.
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