Three years ago I talked to my dad’s uncle, Fr. John Baumann, about community organizing and his role in founding PICO (now Faith in Action International). It was a great chance to get to know my family better and hear about some of his amazing experiences building an organization to help people. From the original… Continue reading Organizing Communities with Faith
Tag: History
Franco after the War
We are looking at the Spanish Civil War in my 20th Century History Class and it still seems remarkable to me that Franco remained in power and pivoted to an internationally respected (or at least tolerated) status. Here is a conversation I had with an expert on Spain on the Hour of History Podcast:
Walk for Peace
Today, I joined a monthly peace walk in the Poplar neighborhood of Philadelphia. We started the walk at Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center and walked from Marshall to Girard and 7th to Poplar and back. The folks at the TBC walk for peace the second Saturday of each month, led by the Dharma in Action Committee.… Continue reading Walk for Peace
Free Books
It is always exciting to get an email from a publisher who wants to promote a new book. It wasn’t until about a year into the creation of the Hour of History Podcast that publishers started reaching out to me about new books. Before the pandemic, they would say that a book was in the… Continue reading Free Books
Teaching Tea
I have often brought tea into the classroom discussions, especially during our unit on British Imperialism and the Opium Wars. Many students at my school take Chinese (I took two years in college myself before teaching English in China) and are interested to study the links between British tea drinking and the Opium Wars. Along… Continue reading Teaching Tea
A Day in the Life
Some days are busier than others, today was pretty busy. Here is what I’ve done so far: 4:00 AM – Wake up. I set an alarm for five, but rarely sleep-in until the alarm wakes me up. A quick cup of coffee. 4:30 – Out for a run. My phone said 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but… Continue reading A Day in the Life
Soccer is History
When I was at Temple University I taught a class called the Global History of Soccer. It was mostly a class on globalization, a world history class, that focused on how one can see history through soccer. Students liked the course and it was a great primer for the 2018 World Cup. I still use… Continue reading Soccer is History
Walking the Tōkaidō
This fall I started a virtual journey with teachers all around the world. We recorded our walks, runs, and steps and charted our progress on the 318 mile walk across Japan’s famous Tōkaidō, from Tokyo to Kyoto. The Tōkaidō was the Eastern Sea Route that millions of merchants, pilgrims, and travelers walked. We looked at art,… Continue reading Walking the Tōkaidō
Making Decisions
In the fall of 2019, I was coming off a research fellowship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, working as a PhD candidate at Temple University and loving life in DC. I still had funded years at Temple University, but when I got the letter asking me to return to Philadelphia as an underpaid… Continue reading Making Decisions
Slavery and the Underground Railroad
In my US history class we are watching the film Harriet which brings up a lot of questions about slavery and the Underground Railroad. I had a couple great podcasts on the subject that remain relevant supplements to the heartbreaking story of people who fought hard for their freedom from slavery. You can hear my… Continue reading Slavery and the Underground Railroad