Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture

Uncommon Sense—the blog

Archive for the ‘Doing History’ Category

Doing History Season 3- Biography

· October 19th, 2018 · 1 Comment

Doing History Season 3: Biography If biographies tell us about the past, why do bookstores and libraries always shelve them separately from history books? When historians write biographies, do they approach things differently? And if so how? These questions got us thinking and so we decided to dedicate season three of Doing History to them.… Read More »

Abigail and Tom

· July 3rd, 2018 · 5 Comments

Today’s post accompanies “Partisans: The Friendship and Rivalry of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson” episode 193 of Ben Franklin’s World. by Edith B. Gelles Abigail Adams adored Thomas Jefferson. “He is one of the choice ones of the earth,” she wrote to her sister after meeting him in 1784. Thomas Jefferson, in return, admired Mrs.… Read More »

We’ve Been Doing History’s History

· December 26th, 2017 · No Comments

Today’s post accompanies “Freedom and the American Revolution,” episode 166 of Ben Franklin’s World and part of the Doing History 2: To the Revolution! series. You can find supplementary materials for the episode on the OI Reader app, available through iTunes or Google Play. History is a primary context for every decision we make; our… Read More »

Histories of Hunger in the American Revolution

· December 5th, 2017 · 3 Comments

Today’s post accompanies “The American Revolution in North America,” episode 163 of Ben Franklin’s World and part of the Doing History 2: To the Revolution! series. You can find supplementary materials for the episode on the OI Reader app, available through iTunes or Google Play. By Rachel B. Herrmann Poor Joseph Plumb Martin. The Connecticut… Read More »

Ben Franklin’s World and Podcasts in the Classroom

· November 29th, 2017 · 2 Comments

The following post originally appeared at Teaching United States History. by Erin Bartram We often emphasize to our students that our lectures, and even our entire courses, have arguments and use evidence to make those arguments. We also talk about historiography, even if we don’t use the term, and show students how historians produce new… Read More »

Planning a spring syllabus? Read this first

· November 22nd, 2017 · 1 Comment

2017 was an extraordinary year for the Omohundro Institute’s burgeoning role as a podcast producer. Liz Covart, creator and host of Ben Franklin’s World, joined the OI full-time as Digital Projects Editor. While they remain based in Boston much of the year, Liz, her partner Tim, and their companion Sprocket, planted a Red Sox flag… Read More »