Centre Trail History Podcast

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The History Program at Centre College podcasts each week to talk about history: how we talk about it, how we teach it, and how wider society uses and sometimes misuses it.

Centre Trail History Podcast


    • Nov 19, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 32m AVG DURATION
    • 38 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Centre Trail History Podcast

    Episode 31: HIS 500 in a Global Pandemic

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2020 22:12


    In this episode of Centre Trail, Dr. Sara Egge describes how she restructured her history seminar course, the capstone class for Centre College history majors. We discuss the changes she made and more generally, what she has learned teaching in the midst of a global pandemic.

    Centre Trail Podcast 30: College and COVID

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2020 26:12


    John and Tara welcome our intern this term, Injee Hong. Centre College is working to stay open and keep our students safe during the global pandemic, but this has obviously led to things being different here...

    Centre Trail Podcast 29: Black Friday

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2019 25:08


    Today, Maddie Huber and previous Centre Trail Intern Payton Howard discuss the history of Black Friday and what the retail holiday means today.

    Centre Trail Podcast 28: Waverly Hills Sanatorium

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2019 43:29


    Considered one of the most haunted sites in America, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium is sure to scare anyone. Come listen to former Centre Trail Intern Payton Howard and myself discuss the history behind this building as well as tell some ghost stories that surround it.

    Centre Trail Podcast 27: Studying Holidays and the Bhoys

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2019 30:03


    John and Tara sit down to talk about Tara's research over the summer. She had two main projects: a book on American holidays written for a popular audience, and in-depth archival research on documents from Centre College's mid-nineteenth century history. She talks about what it is like to work on two projects, and the benefits - to professor and student alike - of working with an undergraduate on historical research.

    Centre Trail Podcast 26: When in Rome

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2019 29:40


    We're back! John and Tara are back at Centre, though in truth we never left, or at least did not leave for long... John talks about his research trip to the Vatican and adventures in reading through documents in languages you are unable to read.

    Centre Trail Podcast 25: History y Historía

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2019 36:58


    Today, CentreTrail intern Colleen Coyle takes over the podcast, interviewing two of her favorite Spanish professors, Dr. Chantell Limerick and Dr. Laura Chinchilla about what role the topic of history plays in the Spanish classroom.

    Centre Trail Podcast 24: Relics and Memory

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2019 27:53


    Our intern Colleen Coyle joins us this week to talk about relics and other objects and spaces that people like to commemorate, from a President's prosthetic leg to computerized renditions of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

    Centre Trail Podcast 23: Baseball in Taiwan

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2019 37:19


    John and Tara celebrate Opening Day in the United States by talking about the subject of John's book coming out this summer: baseball... in Taiwan! Come for tales of imperialism and cultural interaction across the Pacific, stay for slightly graphic accounts of intensive high school baseball training sessions.

    Centre Trail Podcast 22: Quakers and Multiracial Communities in Ohio

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2019 27:16


    This week we talk about Tara's latest publication, a book chapter about multiracial communities in antebellum Ohio. We discuss Quakerism and slavery in North America and the complexities of multiracial identities and communities in early nineteenth century Ohio.

    Centre Trail Podcast Episode 21: Age of the Samurai

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2019 24:11


    Tara asks John about one of this classes this term, an upper division course called "Age of the Samurai." John talks about what the course covers, from romantic battles to noble deaths.

    Centre Trail Podcast 20: Historical Fiction

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2018 24:32


    John and Tara are coming to the end of a long semester, and with Thanksgiving on the horizon sat down to chat about a subject they both enjoy a great deal: historical fiction! In particular, we talk about why we like this genre of writing in our capacity as historians. When is there too much fiction in your history? What are the benefits of being able to play around with historical fact in the interest of telling a story?

    Centre Trail Podcast 19: November and Remembrance

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2018 29:12


    John and Tara get together to talk about how the public remembers and celebrates veterans of the armed services. Practices differ across the Atlantic despite a shared history in the two largest conflicts of the twentieth century.

    Centre Trail Podcast 18: Off to the Wars Again!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2018 31:49


    John and Tara welcome Centre Trail's new intern Payton, and Tara shares her research on a parody of the college catalog produced by Centre College students in 1854. Be ready for hilarious stories of one legged professors and the noble sport of turkey stealing. Off to the wars again!

    Centre Trail Podcast 17: Archives and Records of Human Knowledge

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2018 30:36


    John and Tara talk about the tragic fire at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What does it mean to lose these records of human knowledge, and how do historians approach the reality of limitations to the knowledge we have collected? What are archives and how do historians use them?

    Centre Trail Podcast 16: Passing Away of Public Figures

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2018 21:58


    Following the passing of Senator John McCain, John and Tara talk about the history of social conventions surrounding the deaths of political figures in the United States and China.

    Doping and Sport

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2018 32:24


    JD Dotson, Payton Howard, Sam Long, Kersey Reynolds and Will Smith discuss the concept of performance enhancement in modern sport.

    Cheating and the Black Sox

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2018 23:32


    Benjamin Hadlock, Austin Lotspeich, Trace Oliver and Andrew Salchli discuss the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919 as part of a broader look at the phenomenon of cheating in sport.

    The 1936 Berlin Olympics

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2018 20:25


    Dylan Barnett, Trevor Carnell, Jeffrey Chen and Lauren Richards look at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, hosted by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

    Miracle on Ice

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2018 21:14


    Carson Ebert, Alex Leff, Evan Whitis and Wu Sili discuss the famous "Miracle on Ice", when the United States ice hockey team shockingly defeated their counterparts from the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

    Football and Fraud

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2018 20:54


    Michael Ackerman, Joe Bagwell, Madison Rice and Alex Winkler examine the corruption surrounding the FIFA World Cup.

    The All American Sports Show: Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2018 24:32


    Zoe Doubles, Sam Goldizen, Jon Jones and Parker Selin produced this podcast episode, a fictional sports history show examining the popularity of women's baseball in the mid-twentieth century United States

    Chasing History: Industrialization And Sport

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2018 28:48


    We're very happy to share some student work! Ian Williams, Devin Hayes, Ellen Stephens, Braxton Couch and Torey Hawkins discuss whether industrialization is a necessary prerequisite for modern sport. You can find out more about this class and see more student work at http://sites.centre.edu/popularsport

    Centre Trail Podcast 15: Frederick Douglass & Black Panther

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2018 35:15


    Tara and John get together at the end of Black History Month to discuss the life of Frederick Douglass, whose two hundredth birthday was this past February 14th. We particularly focus on the impact of his famous memoir A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and think about this month's release of the new superhero blockbuster Black Panther in light of the holiday.

    Centre Trail Podcast 14: The Winter Olympics

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2018 45:38


    Tara and John discuss the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea and some wider historical questions around the Olympic Games. Where does this idea come from, how does it translate into a type of “Olympic ideal” and what are some of the ramifications of this for how countries interact with each other?

    Centre Trail Podcast 13: St. Valentine's Day and Lent

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2018 37:50


    Tara and John talk about St. Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, which this year fall on the same day, raising interesting comparisons about their broader cultural impact. Come for the discussion of historical context of two juxtaposed cultural practices, stay for the sweet Anne of Cleves references.

    Centre Trail Podcast 12: When is a sport a sport, and what's a Founding Father?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2018 44:13


    Tara and John get together as the spring semester at Centre College starts to get underway. John is teaching the history of modern popular sport, and he talks a little about how to define sports and what kind of interesting historical questions that activity raises. Tara revisits her blog post on Founding Fathers, and talks about the use of that term, the role of prominent revolutionary figures in American politics and celebration of the revolutionary generation in American History.

    Centre Trail Podcast Episode 11: Sport and Slavery

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2018 27:19


    Tara and John get together to discuss their upper division classes in the spring of 2018. Tara is teaching classes on the American Revolution and the history of American slavery, while John is teaching a class on popular sport in a modern, global context. The conversation moves on to some pedagogy pretty quickly: how do professors build syllabi; how do we knit ideas together and how do we address practical concerns about work load and time management into the structure of our planned course work?

    Centre Trail Podcast 10: Steampunk and Talking to the Public

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2018 36:25


    Tara and John get together to talk about the intensive term coming to an end. Warning: we are very tired in this episode! John talks about his recent op-ed in the “Made by History” blog in the Washington Post about American policy in East Asia, and Tara talks about the steampunk genre and its relationship to alternate histories.

    Centre Trail Podcast 9: Experimenting in Intensive Winter Terms

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2018 30:56


    Tara and John return for our first podcast in 2018 to talk about how they utilize the intensive “CentreTerm” class as a platform for experimenting with topics and pedagogy. Tara discusses her brand new class on alternative histories and John discusses his class on history and video games, which he is teaching for the third time in four years. Join us to hear about how why we think the winter term is a good fit for trying new ideas. We have our students for three hours every day, and our class is the only one they are taking for sixteen class days. It is very challenging… and can get very tiring in a hurry… but the experience can lead to very rewarding results.

    Centre Trail Podcast 8: Homecoming!

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2017 32:12


    We hand things over pretty quickly to some alumni from our program! We recently had homecoming at Centre and at a History program coffee get-together we had some lovely conversations with people roaming the earth with Centre College degrees in History. We wish we could have recorded everyone, but we do have great chats here with Amanda Cook Grimes ‘87, Bill Grimes '87, Mitchell Esterle ‘17, and Bo Smith '84. We think this is a great insight into how people are using their History majors out in the wide world. If you are an alum, a prospective student, an interested parent, or are just curious, please feel free to get in touch with us. Contact details at https://centretrail.com/contact/

    Centre Trail Podcast 7: Columbus Day and Marching Season

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2017 47:46


    John and Tara got together before Fall Break and all the wild times that entails (eh…. grading, actually) to talk about Columbus Day and Northern Ireland's Marching Season. What kind of factors motivate people to commemorate certain events or people, and why do we choose to use public space to do it?

    Centre Trail Podcast 6: Colson Whitehead on campus, preparing for spring

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2017 43:56


    John and Tara get together to talk about author Colson Whitehead's visit to Centre's campus this past week and why his award-winning novel The Underground Railroad is so interesting as a contribution to wider historical discussion, our preparation for the semester to come, and some historical context for discussion of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

    Centre Trail Podcast 5: Black Panther, Africa and Race

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2017 60:38


    Jon Earle welcomes Centre student Evan Aroko to discuss representations of Africa in film, specifically around the upcoming release of the Marvel Studios film Black Panther. The film offers of a new and interesting framework for interpreting narratives of violence and Western intervention in Africa, and also fits into a specific present-day context of representations of race in American and Western media. Evan Aroko also shares how these narratives influence his own work.

    Centre Trail Podcast 4: Baseball and Natural Disasters

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2017 41:24


    Tara and John talk a little baseball in this episode of the Centre Trail podcast, before Tara hits the road, if only for a few minutes, to visit our colleague Sara Egge for some historical context on how Americans experience and talk about natural disasters.

    Centre Trail Podcast 3: Memory and History in the Classroom

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2017 39:43


    Tara and John sit down to discuss memory in the classroom. We talk about personal memories of the September 11 attacks and relate it to our process in the classroom for creating connections to students. It raises a lot of interesting questions, not least of which the problem of historians' need for distance from a topic conflicting with our students' expectations. Tara talks us through Stephen Dove's recent piece on DACA for the site, we chat a little about events in class, and John gets to gush about Stranger Things for a couple of minutes.

    Centre Trail Podcast 2: Starting a new class

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2017 38:50


    John and Tara get together on Labor Day to reflect on the first week of the Fall Semester and talk about how we approach our students to start a term. Along the way we talk about specific approaches to early classes, a little bit of history of the Labor Day holiday, and the mythical medieval ruler Prester John. We also talk a little bit about the history of North Korea to give some context to recent events.

    Centre Trail Podcast 1: Hello and Welcome

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2017 22:13


    John and Tara welcome you to the Centre Trail podcast, run by the History Program at Centre College. We chat a little bit about our broad hopes for this podcast and our website, www.centretrail.com. Along the way we talk about life at a small liberal arts college and the return to classes in the Fall. Music is "Fearless" by Purple Planet. http://www.purple-planet.com/upbeat/4593380163

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