Conversations in World History

African Art and Benin Bronzes with Sarah Clunis

Sarah Clunis is the Curator of African Collections at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Dr. Clunis has taught art history for over twenty years at public universities and historically Black colleges and universities. Her research and classes have focused on the history of African art and the display of African objects in Western museum settings. 
 
Host: David Sherrin
Learn about him at davidsherrin.com or @david_writer.sherrin on Instagram

Mexica Society with J. Schwaller and M. Restall

John Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.

Toltecs with J. Schwaller and M. Restall

John Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.

Teotihuacan with J. Schwaller and M. Restall

John Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.

Indigenous Mesoamerica Series Intro

Teaching Jewish History with Lisa Cohen

Lisa Cohen holds a PhD in history from Yale University and recently retired from over 20 years of teaching at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NYC. I began my career there where she was my department chair. We discuss the teaching of Jewish history and how to integrate Jewish history into a larger world (and American) history so that students learn about more than just the Holocaust.

Historical Art with David Sherrin

On this episode, I am a guest on Dr. Johanna David-Tramantano's educational podcast Literacy Landscapes. We discuss my views on the use of art as an authentic form of producing history and making arguments about the past. Here's a chance to get a better sense of what my classroom looks like.

Student Research Papers with ”Students”

In this special "Student's Corner" episode, a group of students from my class at Scarsdale High School share their research paper findings in two minute segments. The students spent about five months developing topics, questions, and research, including primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. These types of authentic research papers are quite rich and thought-provoking as they emerge from student interest. 

The Sassoon Family with Joseph Sassoon

I speak with Joseph Sassoon, Professor and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University. Joseph is also the author of the recent book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire. A NYTimes review of the book can be found here. We discuss the fascinating Sassoon family, a conversation that takes us from 19th century Baghdad to Mumbai and then to Shanghai and England. The fortunes of the Sassoon family were tied up in so many of the great events of the period from the Opium Wars in China to the Civil War in the United States.

Teaching WWI with Nora Schaffer (Teacher’s Corner Episode)

In this Teacher's Corner episode, I speak with Nora Schaffer, a social studies teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Nora has a fascinating background in art history, anthropology, and restaurant management. She is now pursuing a PhD in education at Columbia University's Teachers College and we discuss how she brings all her various expertise to the classroom. Additionally, we talk about ways to make the learning of WWI relevant and engaging for students.