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Mentalities Don’t Die, Though Humans Do.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. If there is anything I have learned from studying history the last twenty years (my goodness, I can’t believe it has been that long since I began my...
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Cliven Bundy and the ‘Happy Slave’ Narrative.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Perhaps you have heard the name Cliven Bundy lately? Three weeks ago, the Nevada rancher made news because of a stand-off he was having against Federal...
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Game of Thrones and the Legend of the Medieval
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Over the last couple weeks, my wife and I have been devouring the first season of Game of Thrones. Yes, yes, we are behind the times. I know the fourth...
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Holocaust Denial and Critical Thinking.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. A disturbing story out of California grabbed my eye last week. In the town of Rialto, just outside Los Angeles, a school board caught flack for an 8th grade...
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A Century Destroyed: Thoughts on the Legacy and Horror of ‘The Great...
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. June 28th. A prominent date in the history of the world. To be more precise, June 28th, 1914. 100 years ago almost to the day. If you don’t recognize this...
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A Century Destroyed: The First World War and Iraq, Israel and The Ukraine
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Most Americans don’t give much thought to the First World War. Much like the Korean War, WWI may be considered a ‘forgotten’ conflict. Of course, both of...
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A Century Destroyed: The First World War, Israel and Palestine.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. When we hear about violence between the Israelis and Palestinians marring the Middle East, it is common to view the situation as ahistorical, or even...
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The Love of History and Bad Teeth in the 18th Century.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. As we start another quarter at RMU, I as a history teacher try once again to inculcate students to the importance of historical understanding. In each of my...
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African-American History, Every Day of the Year.
Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. I must admit, I find African-American History Month a bit problematic. Wait, let me restate that. I find the reception, understanding and construction of...
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African-American History, Every Day of the Year (Part 2).
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Americans cherish freedom. When I ask my students what they think of, or what they think others think of, when they hear the word ‘America’, ‘Freedom’ is...
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The Obscenity of ‘Gone With the Wind’.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. The other day, I made a commitment. Since I will be teaching a Civil War history course in the Fall, I wanted to take a look at the over 4 hour, seriously...
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Star Wars and the ‘Fascist Aesthetic’.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. It is difficult to decide what Star Wars’ fans like to do more: Watch Star Wars, or identify all the influences and cultural references within the Star Wars...
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The Process of Understanding History.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. About a month ago, Salon.com ran a video/story that depicted today’s college students in a pretty negative light. As explained in the short article beneath...
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A Sunny Day in Dachau
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. The announcement first came in German, then English: Next stop Dachau. It was a beautiful sunny day in September. It was unseasonably warm; 80 degrees or so....
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The United States of Conspiracists.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Maybe I should have seen it coming. Every now and again I would have a student mention the Illuminati. Once in awhile, a young man might argue that ‘9-11 was...
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A Holocaust Reading List For Our Confusing Times.
By Michael Stelzer Jocks, History Faculty. Many people undoubtedly have found it strange how much history has been in the news lately. Whether it is the Confederate monuments being taken down in New...
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