Shows
On Top of the WorldEp 48: Buy My BookYour hosts discuss Dave's new book: World History Through Case Studies: Historical Skills in Practice. Dave tells us about how studying things like the history of veiling, yoga, or the World Cup will engage your students and help them think like a historian. Ditch the textbook and buy Dave's book! Bloomsbury Amazon 2019-09-2033 min
On Top of the WorldEp 47: The New AP World History CED with Eric BeckmanThe new AP World History Course and Exam Description (CED) is out and we have to figure out the best and most responsible way to teach it. In this episode, Matt interviews Eric Beckman, a veteran teacher and winner of the 2018 William H. McNeill World History Association Teacher Scholarship. What exactly has changed? Where and how should we start this new truncated course? Are Texans taking over World History? How can we best create an anti-racist and global course within the parameters of the new standards? With our goal of helping students do better on the...2019-08-081h 01
On Top of the WorldEp 46: How to Hide an EmpireAre mountains of bird sh*t, a doctor giving his patients cancer, and the width of screw threads central to the rise of American imperialism? Yes! Matt and Dave discuss How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr. This a text that will leave North American readers like Matt and Dave, saying "Oh sh*t! That really happened?" It is also history that weaves together mass politics, insane personal stories, and the twists of fate that shaped the changes and continuities of American history beyond and across the boundaries of "lo...2019-07-1256 minOn Top of the WorldEp 45: Against the GrainDave and Matt return from a winter break to discuss the future of AP World and review James C. Scott's book Against the Grain. Recommendations: Dave: Webb, Humanity's Burden and Klieman, "The Pygmies Were Our Compass" Matt: Wrangham, Catching Fire Music Eric Jones, Angkor Feist, Let It Die MIMS, This Is Why I'm Hot2019-03-0756 minOn Top of the WorldEp 44: Texting in Class - PanoramaTexting in Class makes a triumphal return! Matt and Dave review Panorama: A World History by Laura J. Mitchell and Ross E. Dunn. Recommendations: Dave - Empires of Ancient Eurasia: The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE – 250 CE by Craig Benjamin Matt - The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution by Julius S. Scott Dave - Grand Valley Journal of History for undergraduate students Music: Angkor - Eric Jones I Can See For Miles - The Who Atomi...2018-12-2848 minOn Top of the WorldEp 43: Playing with Paradox GamesMatt and Dave are joined by special guests Henrik Lohmander and Peter Nicholson, computer game designers and historians with Paradox Interactive. We discuss their fascinating jobs working on the historical strategy games, how to break into historical game development, and the challenge of balancing history and player fun. Recommendations: All - Imperator: Rome Henrik - A Social History of the Deccan, 1300–1761: Eight Indian Lives, Richard M. Eaton Dave - Empires of Ancient Eurasia: The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE – 250 CE, Craig Benjamin Matt - Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrop...2018-12-2844 minOn Top of the WorldBONUS: Document Analysis PracticeNew episodes are on the way! In the meantime, you can listen to Matt and Dave talking through some primary source analysis best practices, document analysis, and lesson ideas. We hope that you or your students find this episode helpful! We originally did this as a video stream for the fine folks over at Fiveable but on the condition that it would be free to the public and that we could share it with our listeners too. Here is the link to all the documents used in the episode. 2018-12-171h 19On Top of the WorldBONUS: The Traitor Baru CormorantPut on your masks and get out your account books! Matt and Dave are joined by a very special guest, Dungeon Master Rob! They discuss Seth Dickinson's groundbreaking fantasy novel, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Although it is a work of fiction, the book's approach to race, queerness, and empire can help us as world historians break free from some of the limitations of the archive. Happy Halloween and happy the Monster Baru Cormorant day! Links: Dungeon Master of None, Rob's podcast (Matt also co-hosts) The Traitor Baru Cormorant Th...2018-10-311h 22On Top of the WorldEp 42: The Great Hanoi Rat HuntDave and Matt sit down with Michael Vann to talk about his new graphic history, The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam. Your hosts discuss the joy of finding unexpected things in the archive, the necessity of writing a colonial urban history as a world history, the importance of cultural history and thick description, and the opportunities that graphic histories give teachers in the classroom. Also, check out Mike's excellently-titled article in the Journal of World History: Sex and the Colonial City: Mapping Masculinity, Whiteness, and Desire in French Occup...2018-10-161h 00On Top of the WorldEpisode 41 - The Cold World War Reminder: Free registration for the 2018 Great Lakes History Conference! What is the Cold War to a World Historian? Dave and Matt use Odd Arne Wested's Bancroft-winning book as a launching pad to examine the longue durée of the 20th-century and a global approach to the US-Soviet conflict that centers decolonization and the "Third World." Recommendations: The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times by Odd Arne Wested Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer 2018-09-1951 minOn Top of the WorldEp 40 - It's Just Me Against the WorldMatt and Dave discuss the story of the worst (best?) dinner party in World History! Starting in 1780 in colonial Peru, the rebellion that followed said dinner party was one of the bloodiest of the Age of Revolutions. Led by the charismatic José Gabriel Condorcanqui Túpac Amaru II and the brilliant Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua, the Andean rebellions threatened the 200-year-long order of the república de indios in South America. Your hosts discuss the unique geography of the Andes, the endurance of Inca and sub-Inca authority and culture, the Bourbon reforms that helped spark the rebellion, and the bl...2018-07-201h 04On Top of the WorldEp 39 - AP WH Revision: College Board Makes It WorseLord help us, but College Board is back on its bullshit. All our writing, discussing, and protesting got us a whole 250 years! The new start date is 1200 CE. College Board still doesn't get World History. Matt and Dave discuss. Recommendations: Matt - The New World History: A Field Guide for Teachers and Researchers, ed. by Ross Dunn, Laura Mitchell, and Kerry Ward Dave - Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, Robert Tignor et al. Closing Music: "The World Turned Upside Down" by Billy Bragg 2018-07-1929 minOn Top of the WorldEp 38 - Live from Milwaukee!Listen in on Dave and Matt's panel and Q&A at the World History Association in Milwaukee, WI! Your hosts talk history podcasting and the history of this podcast. Listen in to hear our plans for the future of the show as well as some great question and suggestions (00:29:54) from our lovely studio audience. Thanks for coming to our show and see everyone next year in San Juan! P.S. Sorry that some of the audio quality on the audience questions is not as good as we would like it to be!2018-06-271h 08On Top of the WorldEp 37b – A Solomonic Halving: Rick talks AP Exam Changes, Pt. 2Matt and Dave continue their interview with Rick Warner! We discuss the announced halving of the AP World History course and the College Board’s condescending and dismissive attitude to the concerns of teachers and professors. We talk about the CB Open Forum (you can watch the whole thing, here on our Facebook page) and the tone-deaf response from VP Trevor Packer. #saveapworldsaveapworld.org Recommendations:Dave - Karol Giblin’s comment at the Open Forum (comment starts at 26:00)Rick - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (RIP)Matt - Squirrel Cage episode...2018-06-1052 minOn Top of the WorldEp 37a – The Helicopter and the Truffle Hunter: An Interview with Rick Warner, Pt. 1Matt and Dave sit down with World History veteran Rick Warner to discuss the long arc of the field and the AP exam. The AP exam revision will be discussed in part 2 of the interview. Rick argues for the centrality of World History as a teaching field and that “World History is invented in the classroom.” We celebrate the vibrant community of both university and high school faculty over some High West double rye whiskeys. Finally, we talk about the multiple narratives in World History, as opposed to the singular narrative often prominent in other fields of the disci...2018-06-1026 minOn Top of the WorldEp 36 - AP WH Revision Bullsh*tIn a surprise announcement last week, the College Board declared they are cutting out the whole first half of the AP World History curriculum (a.k.a. Periods I, II, & III). The course is now going to be just World History from 1450 CE. We think this is a truck load of bullshit. Tune in to find out exactly what kind of bullshit this is as well as a few reasonable arguments in favor of this change. However, we mostly want to hear from you. Please leave us a comment with your thoughts on the change. Or...2018-06-0845 minOn Top of the WorldEp 35 – The History ManifestoThe original “Bro-dels” Matt and Dave tackle Jo Guldi and David Armitage’s The History Manifesto. How should historians respond to the “crisis of the humanities?” Your hosts discuss Guldi and Armitage’s ideas of “long-termism,” big data, and the need for public-facing scholarship from the perspective of World History. While the book has got some great ideas, it seems like the authors have never met any of the world historians, who have been attempting to answer some of the big questions in the Manifesto for the last few decades! We don’t feel slighted. Totally not mad. Don’t worry! Y ou...2018-06-0845 minOn Top of the WorldEp 34 – Black EarthWe’re heading back to the “Blood Lands” of Eastern Europe for a sobering discussion of the uses and abuses of the history of the holocaust from an ecological and global perspective. We discuss Timothy Snyder’s Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning with special guest Andrew Behrendt. A great listen for teachers who are grappling with how to apply the lessons of the 20th-century with their students.Recommendations:Dave – The Logic of Violence in Civil War by Stathis KalyvasAndrew – Modern Hungers: Food and Power in Twentieth-Century Germany by Alice Weinreb2018-03-2953 minOn Top of the WorldEp 33 - The Dawn WatchersDave and Matt have read Maya Jasanoff’s new book on the life and times of Joseph Conrad, The Dawn Watch. We discuss Conrad’s life, and the limits of his vision in the turbulent world of the late 19th-century. This is a story that has remarkable parallels to our own moment in history: a world of transnational corporations, terrorism, immigration, and disruptive technological change. Plus, why our world is more similar to the lead up to the First World War than you think! For History teachers with students who have read Conrad’s works for a literature...2018-01-3156 minOn Top of the WorldEp 32 – We, Too, Are HistoryOn today’s episode, Matt interviews one of his former students, Valeria Alvarado, an immigrant rights activist and an undergraduate History major. Val co-founded “We, Too, Are America,” an online platform dedicated to fighting the current administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. The two discuss the undergraduate History experience, navigating the seminar as a woman of color, dealing with tokenism in the classroom, and the importance of understanding colonialism.RecommendationsMatt - Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed Val - Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond W...2017-11-2948 minOn Top of the WorldEp 31 – Scientific RacismHow do you teach the evolution of race and racism in world history? From the post-classical era to the Enlightenment and industrial era, Matt and Dave explore the historical construction of race. How did ideas of race evolve in a world-historical context and how was this social construct then used to justify hierarchies? Tune in to find out.St. Maurice’s statue at the Magdeburg CathedralRecommendations:Dave – Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography by Clifton Crais and Pamela ScullyMatt – The Mismeasure of Man (Revised...2017-10-2740 minOn Top of the WorldEp 30 – Conference Hype!In today’s episode, I talk Great Lakes History Conference as we reach the one-week-to-go mark! With me is Andrew Peterson, a visiting assistant professor at GVSU, and we talk about his panel on “Rethinking the World History Survey.” We chat about his career arc, how to orient a world history survey around the environment, exchange networks, and energy regimes, how to solve problems related to periodization, and why the X-Files monster episodes are redeemable (they are!). The full presentation is planned for October 21 at 3:15pm, and he will be joined by Craig Benjamin (GVSU), Whitney Dirks-Schuster (GVSU), Leah Gregor...2017-10-1517 minOn Top of the WorldEp 29 – Herero HeroesToday, Matt and I talk about the ongoing controversy over the removal of Confederate monuments in the United States and the importance of public history to our discipline. Matt recently made the case for the removal of the statue in Houston named “The Spirit of the Confederacy.” We argue that we make choices in terms of how we remember the past, and that celebrating those who resisted slavery, like Virginia Boyd, is a more appropriate use of public space. Matt’s speech, the letter from Virginia Boyd to her slave master in 1853, the Washington Post call to action for mediev...2017-09-0549 minOn Top of the WorldEp 28 - Remembering Virginia BoydToday, Matt and I talk about the ongoing controversy over the removal of Confederate monuments in the United States and the importance of public history to our discipline. Matt recently made the case for the removal of the statue in Houston named “The Spirit of the Confederacy.” We argue that we make choices in terms of how we remember the past, and that celebrating those who resisted slavery, like Virginia Boyd, is a more appropriate use of public space. Matt’s speech, the letter from Virginia Boyd to her slave master in 1853, the Washington Post call to action for mediev...2017-08-1828 minOn Top of the WorldEp 27 - Absolute 90sIn this episode, Matt and I sit down over some fine 90s music (and a PC Pils from Founders for the Big Pitcher!) to discuss an important article published after the end of the Cold War; Benjamin Barber’s “Jihad vs McWorld.” In it, Barber describes two futures – one marked by the violent forms of ethno-nationalism he terms jihad, and the other by the globalist consumerism of McWorld. The twist is that he argues neither of these futures is good for democracy. We debate the coherence of capitalism, war profiteering, the value of local democracy, and the merits of Terminat...2017-06-2842 minOn Top of the WorldEp 26 - Germ WarfareMatt and I have been together in Utah for the AP World History reading, and today we managed to find some time in the evening to talk about environmental history and its place in the study of the Age of Revolutions. Key sources are Mosquito Empires and Pox Americana as we look at how differential immunity played a crucial role in the fate of the Haitian and American Revolutions respectively. We also discuss ways to give disease an important place in events without giving in to environmental determinism, a discussion that was well lubricated by whiskey from High West...2017-06-0835 minOn Top of the WorldSpecial Mini Ep - Great Lakes History ConferenceFor the first time ever, this podcast is part of a conference! And in this special mini episode, my conference co-coordinator (Mike Huner) and I discuss this years Great Lakes History Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Hosted by the Grand Valley State University History Department, this conference has been going for 40 years, and the theme this year is research in action – specifically, how historical research makes its way into the public sphere, either through teaching, the media, or political engagement. The plan is to include panels of interest to both high school and university instructors, and there will also be...2017-05-1823 minOn Top of the WorldEp 25b – Global GoulashIn our second interview with a professor teaching food history, Matt and Andrew discuss how to teach a World History course through food. Come for the pedagogical insights, stay for the singing canned corn.Recommendations:Rachel Laudan, Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History. An essential text for instructors interested in incorporating food history into their courses. Prof. Laudan’s excellent blog on food and food history: http://www.rachellaudan.com/ Andrew Behrendt’s Syllabus and pörkölt recipe:World History through Food History SyllabusBeef stew with s...2017-04-1738 minOn Top of the WorldEp 25a – Food and World History with Lauren JanesIn this episode, Dave sits down with Lauren Janes, an assistant professor at Hope College in Holland, MI. We discuss her recently published book, her new project on using food case studies to illuminate key themes in world history (potatoes = Columbian Exchange, sugar = Trans-Atlantic slave trade, curry = imperialism, maize = US food aid and Green Revolution), the use of food in world history surveys, and her upper level seminar entitled “A Modern History of Global Food.” We discuss maize and GMOs in Zambia, Mann’s writing on potatoes, the history of curry, tete de négre (a French dessert created in the l...2017-04-1551 minOn Top of the WorldEp 24 - Just TacosIn today’s episode, Matt and I discuss two books that connect food and world history – Planet Taco by Jeffrey Pilcher and Just Food by James McWilliams. Along the way we mention John Wick, Seafall, taco kits, a hilarious new Old El Paso commercial (and check out this older gem!), Primanti sandwiches, life cycle assessments, Bt crops, and lots of restaurants (Tako in Pittsburgh and Donkey Taqueria and Taqueria San Jose in Grand Rapids). Recommendations are:Matt – Rick Bayless, Mexico: One Plate at a Time Dave – Pho Anh Trang in Grand Rapids2017-02-2548 minOn Top of the WorldEp 23 - Introducing Food and World HistoryIn this episode, Matt and I start a three-part arc on food and world history. We discuss how to teach sugar (using Sidney Mintz and Eric Williams) and milk (using this article on the Leche Project), before moving on to kumis and nomadic peoples as well as the role of salt and tobacco smuggling in the French Revolution. We conclude by recommending two books on food and world history that we will be discussing in our next episode:Matt – Pilcher, Planet TacoDave – McWilliams, Just Food2017-01-0539 minOn Top of the WorldEp 22 - The Politics of World HistoryThis mini-episode was originally recorded in May 2016 with Tammy Shreiner and was intended to be part of a series of “short cuts” discussing world history resources online. My contribution was an article by Michael Lind about the future of American politics, and how some of the divisions he described seemed quite similar to those I have encountered in the field of world history (and history more broadly). One caveat: this is not intended as a polished piece of scholarly work, but as a reflection on some of the “big pitcher” ideas that shape us as world historians!Recommen...2016-11-1611 min
Southeast Asia Crossroads Podcast - CSEAS @ NIUTeaching Southeast Asia in a Global Context w/ Eric Jones - Southeast Asia Crossroads PodcastCrossroads host Eric Jones sits down with Dave Eaton and Matt Drwenski from On Top of the World, a World History podcast to talk about how to work Southeast Asia into a global curriculum. Check it out at http://www.ontopoftheworldhistory.com2016-11-0741 minOn Top of the WorldEp 21 - Comfy GenesIn this episode, Dave and his favorite certified genetic counselor, Katey Mayberry, take a look at the genetic evidence for the settlement of the Americas. The first article, by Rasmussen et al in Nature, deals with the controversial origins of Kennewick Man/the Ancient One, a skeleton found in Washington State and dating back at least 8400 years. The second article, written by Llamas et al in Science Advances, deals more generally with the early migrations into the Americas. Over a couple Canadian beers, we talk about Y-DNA, mtDNA, haplotypes, TMRCA, single-nucleotide polymorphism, and high posterior density with varying levels...2016-09-2733 minOn Top of the WorldEp 20 - #FreeBillStricklandFor our 20th episode we bring in Bill Strickland from East Grand Rapids High School to discuss the upcoming changes to the AP world history exam. The acronyms come fast and furious as we go through the SAQs, DBQs, and LEQs and discuss a variety of teaching strategies. We also discuss the infamous “Western penetration” DBQ, Dungeons and Dragons, mapping the Roman Empire, and AP training videos. Recommendations are: Dave – AHA Digital History Reviews by John RosinbumBill – HistoryHaven.com by John HendersonMatt – The Economic Role of Women in World History, 600-1914 by Linda B2016-08-1948 minOn Top of the WorldEp 19 - Bloodlands: Beyond ThunderdomeIn Episode 4, I mentioned I used the book Bloodlands by Timothy (not Zack) Snyder when teaching WWII in my world history survey. Our guest Andrew Behrendt was underwhelmed with that choice. Today, Andrew and I enter the Thunderdome and strap into our bungee harnesses as we debate whether this book is useful for world historians. Needless to say, there is some bad blood as he grabs a chainsaw (claiming Snyder poorly defines his geographical space!), I swing a hammer (suggesting that Snyder’s top-down approach may be a necessary corrective to the historiographical turn towards local understandings of violence!), an...2016-08-0257 minOn Top of the WorldEp 18 - The WHAppeningNo, it’s not an M. Night Shyamalan film, it’s our recap of the World History Association Annual Meeting in Gent, Belgium. We talk Bancroft Prizes (the very nsfw Onion article is here!), podcast stats, a great paper on mapping by Alex Zukas, the Ottoman History Podcast, and why everyone should be a WHA member. After this we do a “Big Pitcher” – Matt is on point with a Belgian Piraat while I lazily grab a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. We discuss my forthcoming course on the history of globalization, and Matt gets theoretical with his suggestions for the syllabus...2016-07-1538 minOn Top of the WorldEp 17 - The New DB-CoolAfter a week in Salt Lake City grading the AP World History exams, Matt and I take a quick look at the changes coming to the document-based question (DBQ). Based on the powerpoint released at the PD event there, we discuss the most significant departures from the old DBQ, which include eliminating points for grouping, point-of-view, and expanded core. As the title suggests, we are big fans of the new DBQ! It reduces the number of documents, requires outside knowledge from the AP curriculum, and asks students to contextualize their arguments in a more meaningful way. We also manage...2016-06-1743 minOn Top of the WorldEp 16 - An Interview with Niklas FrykmanIn this episode, Matt and I chat with Niklas Frykman about the Age of Revolutions! We start by discussing life on an 18th century ship (including a mention of the Diligent by Robert Harms), impressment, cosmopolitan sailors, and why Master and Commander might not qualify as a documentary. We then shift our focus to the Age of Revolutions as a unit in world history, and why it should begin with slave revolts in the Caribbean (like Tacky’s Revolt in Jamaica in 1760) and Pontiac’s War in the American colonies rather than the Enlightenment. Finally, Niklas’ research, including the mutiny...2016-05-1740 minOn Top of the WorldEp 15 - The VikingsIn this episode Matt and I discuss the Vikings with Jack Bouchard, a returning guest and graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. As we drink three delicious beers, we discuss the question I asked the students in my survey class – were the Vikings unusually violent? We look at how their image changes dramatically after WWII, with less focus on their military talent and more on their meticulous grooming. We also discuss their impact on the English language, their presence in pop culture (Valhalla Rising and The Thirteenth Warrior and Vikings), our favorite Vikings (including GVSU’s Charles Johnson!), the...2016-05-0246 minOn Top of the WorldEp 14 - An Interview with Molly WarshIn this episode, Matt and I talk to Molly Warsh, an assistant professor in the history department at Pitt and associate director at the World History Center there. We talk about her research on the pearl industry, the future of world history research, pirates (including my personal favorite) and her global piracy class (the syllabus is here), the differences between introductory and upper-level world history courses, and the gendered dynamics of class discussions. Recommendations are: Dave – Robins, Mercury, Mining, and EmpireMatt – Mintz, Sweetness and Power (NOT Richard S. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves)Moll...2016-04-2534 minOn Top of the WorldEp 13 - “Texting in Class” Review of StrayerIn this episode, Matt and I debut a new segment in this podcast called “Texting in Class.” During this segment we review a popular world history textbook and provide some insights into its strengths and weaknesses. We start with one of Matt’s favorites, Robert Strayer’s Ways of the World. After a brief discussion of the format and its suitability to the new AP world history curriculum, we give glowing praise to its use of visual sources (some dealing with representations of Buddha can be found here) as well as its chapters on nomadic peoples and European imperialism. In the s...2016-03-3139 minOn Top of the WorldEp 12 - F*ck Niall FergusonIn this episode, Matt and Dave discuss Niall Ferguson’s controversial bestseller Civilization: The West and the Rest with Matt's grad school colleague Jack Bouchard. It is safe to say that none of us are huge fans of the “six killer apps” that Ferguson believes account for the supremacy of the “West,” particularly due to his heavy reliance on 19th century scholarship like this. Citing more recent work like R. Bin Wong’s China Transformed and Davis’ Late Victorian Holocausts, we suggest ways to challenge Ferguson’s popular narrative and teach a more complex explanation for the “rise of the West.” ...2016-03-1143 minOn Top of the WorldEp 11 - An Interview of Tamara ShreinerIn this episode I interview Tammy Shreiner, an assistant professor of social studies education at Grand Valley State University. She describes her work on the “World History For Us All” project, a collaborative endeavor between K-12 teachers and university professors – the unit on the history of living rooms can be found here. We also discuss her doctoral research on how high school students think about history, the impact of state standards on secondary-level world history, and the importance of data literacy for historians. For those interested my ugly Christmas sweatshirt looked exactly like this. Book recommendations are:Dave –...2016-02-1545 minOn Top of the WorldEp 10 - The Transition from High School to UniversityIn this episode Matt and Dave discuss how teachers can prepare students for the transition from high school to university. We are joined by three of our close friends from the AP World History reading to help us with this subject; Eric Jones (associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Northern Illinois University), Jennifer Sweatman (assistant professor of history at Washington and Jefferson College), and Jennifer Beck (AP World History teacher at Loyalsock Township High School). Together we discuss the AP reading, university-level expectations, possible reading and writing assignments, and our most inspiring history teachers. We also choose one...2016-02-0152 minOn Top of the WorldEp 9 - An Interview with Eric JonesIn this episode, Matt and Dave discuss the place of Southeast Asia in world history with Eric Jones, an associate professor of history as well as assistant director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. During our interview, he talks about how he fell in love with the region and key aspects of its history, including the role of women like Sitie in pre-colonial trading organizations, the birth of the Dutch East India Company, colonial forms of exploitation in Java, the spread of Islam into the region, and the local significance of WWII and the...2016-01-2041 minOn Top of the WorldEp 8b - An Interview with Craig Benjamin: Part 2This episode is the second part (first part is here) of an interview with leading “big-historian” Craig Benjamin. Over a couple of Fosters we discuss big-history critics, first-year courses, world history textbooks (including his own), the AP reading, and the World History Association (WHA). My book recommendation is an edited volume on teaching big history at the Dominican University of California:Dave – Teaching Big History2015-12-3040 minOn Top of the WorldEp 8a - An Interview with Craig Benjamin: Part 1In this episode Dave speaks with Craig Benjamin on his career as a world historian. He describes his graduate work at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and his fateful meeting with David Christian that led him to become an important proponent of big history. We then discuss how university students respond to the big history “creation-myth” and how to manage the classroom while debating controversial subjects. Episode 8b will be posted shortly, and it includes the second half of this interview. I forgot to ask Craig for a book recommendation during the interview, but I will make amends below;2015-12-2940 minOn Top of the WorldEp 7 - A Presentation on African Topics in World HistoryDue to a busy holiday travel schedule, Matt and I were unable to record a new podcast for early December. Instead, we are offering bonus content! In October I presented at the Great Lakes History Conference in Allendale, MI on five African topics for world history instructors. These topics were designed to link with the Michigan social studies curriculum which divides world history into several main time periods. Elementary social studies instructors deal with the pre-1500 period, and I suggest the Indian Ocean coast as an ideal topic. At the high school level, I use the trans-Atlantic slave trade...2015-12-0127 minOn Top of the WorldEp 6 - AssessmentIn this episode, Matt and Dave discuss how we evaluate our performance in the classroom over a round of Shiner Bock beer. We reminisce about our favorite lectures during our undergrad days, me at a small liberal arts college in central Ontario with sports teams called the Excalibur, and Matt at a small liberal arts college in Houston with an endowment roughly equal to the GDP of Bhutan or Bermuda. We then debate how we can make lectures interesting, use student feedback, and assess our own performance as an instructor. Recommended books are: Dave – Simon, Behmand, and Bu...2015-11-1743 minOn Top of the WorldEp 5 - Easter IslandThis episode expands on our Easter Island subject guide, and critiques how most textbooks deal with its history. This remote locale is famous for its mysterious moai, the massive stone heads which have become iconic for the hubris of its inhabitants. Flenley and Bahn, along with Jared Diamond, suggest the island was deforested in order to build these statues, leading to starvation and cannibalism. However, Hunt and Lipo argue that the island was deforested by a far less intimidating creature, and present a much more hopeful narrative from Easter Island’s past. Recommended books are: Dave – Kirch, On t...2015-10-2738 minOn Top of the WorldEp 4 - An Interview with Andrew BehrendtIn this episode Matt and I do our first-ever interview with Andrew Behrendt, a University of Pittsburgh grad student and soon-to-be-minted PhD in Eastern European history. We discuss the transition from area studies to world history, the Fordham University History Sourcebooks including the response of Pope Nicholas I to the Bulgar Khan, possible world history topics drawn from Eastern Europe, the refugee crisis in Hungary (including a summary video and the Hungarian Spectrum blog) and how the edge of the steppes is a little like New Jersey. Our recommendations include two (well, maybe just one!) classics of Eastern European...2015-10-1643 minOn Top of the WorldEp 3 - Content vs Skills in World HistoryIn this episode Matt and I debate whether to prioritize content or skills in the world history classroom. We also reference Lendol Calder’s famous “Uncoverage” article from 2006 while discussing a possible ‘signature pedagogy’ for world historians. Book recommendations are:Dave – Levesque, Thinking HistoricallyMatt – MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects2015-10-0136 minOn Top of the WorldEp 2 - A Review of Guns, Germs, and SteelIn this episode Matt and I discuss Jared Diamond’s extremely popular book Guns, Germs, and Steel. We examine criticisms of Diamond’s research, and offer suggestions as to how it can be used in the classroom. Recommended books are:Dave – Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish ConquestMatt – Mann, 1491; Rushforth, Bonds of Alliance2015-09-1533 minOn Top of the WorldEp 1 - Designing a World History SurveyIn this episode Matt and Dave discuss our first experiences teaching world history, focusing on the mistakes we made and what we do differently now. Recommended books are:Dave – Burton, A Primer for Teaching World HistoryMatt – McNeill and McNeill, The Human Web2015-08-2934 min