Episode 5 - Protestants and Liberal Politics in 20th Century America with Gene Zubovich

Protestants and Liberal Politics in 20th Century America (Gene Zubovich)

This week we talk with Gene Zubovich to discuss religion and politics in America, but from an angle you don't hear quite so often: inter-denominational Protestant groups organizing for social change, economic justice, and liberal politics in the decades surrounding World War II. If you've ever wondered how we got from churches organizing protests for 'leftist' causes to the extreme conservatism of the later Culture Wars, Gene offers some fascinating insights.

Gene Zubovich is a sixth year graduate student at UC Berkeley, whose research focuses on modern American liberalism. His dissertation, entitled “The Global Gospel: Protestant Internationalism and American Liberalism, 1940-1960,” was completed in May 2014. His dissertation explores the role of religion in the rise of American liberalism in the twentieth century.




Interviewer: Douglas O'Reagan
Runtime: 42:08

Episode 4 - 'Vikings and Franks in the Age of Charlemagne' with Daniel Melleno

Vikings and Franks in the Age of Charlemagne (Daniel Melleno)

This episode of HistoriCal Outreach discusses how empires and kingdoms interacted in the long-ago 7th to 9th centuries, focusing on Western and Northern Europe. Topics include how religion tied to diplomacy, the different forms of political organization at the beginning of the medieval period, why the Vikings came to raid and pillage the French coastline, and how much we can really even know about an era so long ago that few written sources remain.

Daniel Melleno recently earned his PhD from UC Berkeley in medieval history.  His dissertation focuses on economic, social, and political relationships between the Frankish Empire and Scandinavia in the seventh through ninth centuries.




For those who have listened: The elephant's name is Abul-Abbas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul-Abbas

Interviewer: Douglas O'Reagan
Runtime: 45:22

Episode 3: 'Educators and Revolution in the 20th Century Middle East' with Hilary Falb

Educators and Revolution in the 20th Century Middle East (Hilary Falb)

This episode of HistoriCal Outreach draws from Hilary Falb's research on the careers of educators in the first half of the twentieth century in several parts of the Middle East. Topics include how British imperial rulers tried to use education to suppress rebellion, the ways that educators used their rare skills to gain political leverage, and the changes and continuities as regimes changed rapidly and radically.

 

Interviewer: Douglas O'Reagan
Runtime: 41:49

Episode 2: 'Technology Transfer and Scientific Espionage in Occupied Germany' with Douglas O'Reagan

In this episode, the interviewer and interviewee from Episode 1 have switched places, with Ashely Leyba interviewing Douglas O'Reagan about his research on the history of post-WWII efforts to exploit German science and technology.

Topics include the logistics and aims of efforts to benefit home economies by investigating German science and technology, including bringing over 'Nazi scientists' and investigating factories and patent records; the different attitudes towards reparations and technology transfer in the different countries attempting this technical espionage; and how Cold War diplomacy was shaped by these changing ideas of tech transfer.

Douglas O’Reagan is a seventh-year PhD candidate who studies the intersection of the history of science and technology, and the history of espionage and intelligence in the 20th century. His dissertation focuses on the American, British, and French efforts to extract German scientists and technology following the Second World War for their own economies’ benefit.



Interviewer: Ashley Leyba
Runtime: 41:57

Now on RSS!

HistoriCal Outreach is now available for RSS subscription, either on our SoundCloud page or on iTunes!

Stay tuned, because upcoming episodes include:

• How schools, universities, and education policy at all levels developed in Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan in the 20th century, with guest Hilary Falb 
• Vikings and Franks in the 9th century, with guest Daniel Melleno 
• The frantic international race to loot Germany's scientific and technological 'secrets' post-WWII, in which Episode 1 guest Ashley Leyba will return to interview me, Douglas O'Reagan, about my own work 

All very exciting stuff! So be sure to subscribe.

Episode 1: 'Religion and Theater in the 1700s' with Ashley Leyba

Below is the first episode of HistoriCal Outreach.

In it, we discuss the ways that religion and theater supported each other and came into conflict in Geneva, Switzerland and Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1700s. In particular, Ashley shows us how government ties to the Calvinist faith caused some preachers to embrace the theater as a valuable tool to teach about God and entertain and uplift the masses, while others saw them as "seminaries of all wickednesse," a "superfluous pleasure" and an "abomination." We discuss how these attitudes changed over time, and how life in Edinburgh and Geneva changed as theater became an art form popular with both the everyday citizen and elite gentleman.

Ashley Leyba is seventh-year graduate student at Cal who studies early modern European history.  Her dissertation uses debates about the morality of the theatre to examine religious change in eighteenth-century Edinburgh and Geneva.



Interviewer: Douglas O'Reagan
Runtime: 44:50

Introduction

The HistoriCal Outreach podcast, the first episode of which will soon be posted here, is an experiment in making historical research from one of the best universities on the planet available and accessible to anyone with an interest. There's a huge amount of really interesting, exciting historical research going on, but it's often difficult for those outside of academia to get an idea of what, exactly, a PhD student in history might even study. This podcast hopes to answer that question and introduce everyone to the wide range of topics on the 'cutting edge' of history - things no one knew about the past even a few months ago, things not yet integrated into textbooks or classroom instruction, but topics that give insight into the fascinating ways the people and societies both change at deep levels and rhyme with the present.

Most episodes will aim for about 45 minutes, with some a bit shorter, so just the right length for a long run, a moderate commute, or a trip to the grocery store. Please post any questions or comments beneath each episode and we will try to respond as quickly as possible.