My research examines popular interest in the past and public debates over history, from commemoration of Abraham Lincoln to debates over social studies teaching in Texas. I also believe very strongly in the importance of teaching the public about the nature and value of history.
History Teaching & Learning
From Archive to Awards Ceremony: An Approach for Engaging Students in Historical Research, Arts and Humanities in Higher Education (2011)
Recent literature on history teaching has emphasized ‘doing history’ – whether as ‘active learning’, cognitive...
Putting History Teaching 'In Its Place', Journal of American History (2011)
Recent literature on history teaching has emphasized "doing history"—whether as "active learning," "historical thinking," or...
Reconnecting History to the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, 12th Annual Teaching and Learning in History Conference (2010)
A review of the literature on history teaching and learning.
History Pedagogy Bibliography (2009)
A bibliography of works on the scholarship of teaching and learning in history.
Connecting SoTL to Secondary School Teachers, International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2008)
Abraham Lincoln and Popular Memory
Everybody’s History: Indiana’s Lincoln Inquiry and the Quest to Reclaim a President’s Past (2012)
Everybody’s History tells the story of hundreds of Americans in the 1920s and 1930s who...
Telling the Story of ‘the Ages’, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association (2010)
This essay reviews the literature on the memory of Abraham Lincoln.
Losing Lincoln: A Call to Commemorative Action, Indiana Magazine of History (2009)
This essay examines the 2009 bicentennial celebration of Lincoln' s birth and reviews commemoration of...
Lincoln and Davis: Three Visions of Public Commemoration in Kentucky, Ohio Valley History (2008)
This essays examines three historic sites in Kentucky: Abraham Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville, the Lincoln...
Eye-to-Eyewitness: Visual Encounter and the Memory of Abraham Lincoln, 1865-1938, Conference on Illinois History (2007)
Texas Social Studies
Politics and the History Curriculum: The Struggle over Standards in Texas and the Nation (2012)
The politicians and pastors who revised the Texas social studies standards made national and international...
Bridging the Gap between K-12 and College Readiness Standards in Texas: Recommendations for U.S. History (2011)
Published by the Texas Faculty Collaborative for Social Studies, this report provides numerous clear recommendations...
Texas Social Studies Simplified (2010)
This three‐page booklet briefly and clearly explains what is going on, why it matters, who...
An Overstuffed Laundry List that Treats Seniors like Kindergartners, History News Network (2010)
A critique of the way that politics hijacked the discussion of educational reform.