American Campus Podcast

Richard T. Greener was the first Black graduate of Harvard College in 1870. Greener went on to be a professor, lawyer, dean of Howard University law school, diplomat, and a celebrated intellectual of…

Check out my interview with Sasha Lilley for Against the Grain podcast. We talk about Resistance from the Right, which you can grab a copy of here. 

References mentioned this episode:

• Lauren Lassabe Sh…

We're headed South with Kate Ballantyne to talk about the Old Left! Plus, Kate's tips for conducting archival research.

To join the student activism researchers Google group, send me an email: shephel…

From the conception of ROTC after the Spanish-American War, colleges and K12 schools have been central to US military recruitment efforts. Scott Harding, Charles Howlett, and Seth Kershner explain th…

Is the Title IX process working as intended? Nicole Bedera tells us what's working, what isn't, and what we can do about it.

References mentioned this episode:

• Nicole Bedera. 2024. On the Wrong Side: H…

On today’s episode, we’re covering the history and purposes of the first American research universities, Indian boarding schools, and Historically Black Colleges, all of which emerged at the same tim…

Within and beyond the academy, Karl Marx remains a specter who assumes quite different shapes from his friends and enemies. According to Andrew Hartman, Marx himself wouldn't recognize many of the va…

It was my great pleasure to join friends of the pod, Moira Donegan and Adrian Daub (who you'll remember from our Cancel Culture Panic episode), for a deep dive into the history of the trustees. Be su…

Believe it or not, an English degree is still worth pursuing in a capitalist economy, even if one is not independently wealthy! Of this we can be hopeful according to a new book called Major Trade-of…

Jennifer Leigh discusses the academy's struggle to accommodate learners and workers with disabilities, mental health challenges, and neurodivergences--especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. We talk …

The college dormitory is an American tradition, though it hasn’t always been necessary for education. Carla Yanni tells us why the dorm has become a feature of campus architecture since the 17th cent…

Matt Seybold takes us back to Knobs University, a fictional HBCU imagined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their 1873 novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Drawing parallels from the nove…

On the medical school building boom of the early 20th century (1890-1940), and what it can tell us about the professionalization of academic medicine

Mentioned this episode:

• Katherine L. Carroll. 2022.…

Deirdre Clemente on the timeless campus style: casual.

• Deirdre Clemente. 2014. Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style. University of North Carolina Press.
• John Izzo. 2007. The Five…

Tim Lacy lets us in on all things Great Books: champions, curriculums, and controversies.

• Tim Lacy. 2013. The Dream of a Democratic Culture: Mortimer J. Adler and the Great Books Idea. Palgrave Macmil…

On the APA's collaboration with CIA to develop 'enhanced interrogation techniques' for the U.S. War on Terror. Plus, Eidelson's advice for how we can hold our academic and professional organizations …

For centuries, academics and university archivists have participated in and benefitted from the illicit trade of ancient artifacts. Roberta Mazza discusses this history and the academy's role in rest…

Bradford Vivian unpacks calls for "intellectual diversity" and free speech, explaining how these seemingly fair-minded demands work to undermine actual diversity in the classroom and on campus.

• Bradfo…

Alexa in the dorm room. ProctorU monitoring exams. TurnItIn helping* faculty grade. Tech services are omnipresent on and off campus, and they come with a cost. Lindsay Weinberg offers a critical anal…

In 1926, an NYU professor took to the high seas with 500 undergraduates on a worldwide learning voyage. The experimental "Floating University" docked for excursions at nearly 50 ports, where students…