Faculty Perspective with Professor Steven Beda

Summary

Steve Beda, an assistant professor at the University of Oregon, encourages students to take at least one history class. He shares his personal journey from disliking history in high school to becoming a professor, emphasizing history's relevance in understanding and solving contemporary issues like social justice and climate change. Beda highlights the interactive and diverse nature of college history classes, focusing on interpretation over memorization, and invites students to engage with history to shape a better future.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Steve Beda is an assistant professor in the history department at the University of Oregon.
• 📚 He encourages all students, regardless of their major, to take at least one history class during their time at UO.
• 🤔 Steve believes history is important because it helps us understand the societal and national problems we face today.
• 🌐 History teaches us about social justice, racial inequality, and environmental issues like climate change.
• 🔍 Understanding history allows us to address problems more effectively and create meaningful, lasting change.
• 👨‍🏫 Steve's teaching style focuses on the present and future implications of historical events, not just the past.
• 🌟 History classes at the college level are interactive and encourage discussion and debate among students.
• 📈 College history classes emphasize interpretation and critical thinking over memorization.
• 👥 The classes explore history from diverse perspectives, including workers, communities of color, and civil rights activists.
• 📅 Steve teaches a variety of classes, including 20th century American history, Pacific Northwest history, and Oral History in the Vietnam War.
• 🎖️ In the Vietnam War Oral History class, students conduct original research and interview veterans, activists, and refugees.

Q & A

What is Steve Beda's current position at the University of Oregon?

Steve Beda is an assistant professor in the history department at the University of Oregon.

What does Steve Beda hope for the students who are admitted to the University of Oregon?

Steve Beda hopes to have some of the admitted students in his classes in the coming years.

Why does Steve Beda encourage students to take at least one history class at UO?

Steve Beda encourages students to take at least one history class because history helps understand the problems society faces today and how they were created, which is crucial for finding solutions.

How does Steve Beda's experience in high school relate to his current profession?

Steve Beda did not like history or school in high school, but he turned things around and became a history professor, showing that one's initial dislike for a subject can change.

What is the importance of understanding history according to Steve Beda?

Understanding history is important because it provides a framework to comprehend and address current societal issues like social justice, racial inequality, and environmental concerns.

Why does Steve Beda think history was unappealing to him and some students in high school?

Steve Beda believes history was unappealing because it was taught without explaining its importance, making it seem like a list of facts rather than a tool for understanding the present.

What is the focus of the history classes at the collegiate level according to Steve Beda?

At the collegiate level, history classes focus on understanding the present by studying the past, with an emphasis on interpretation rather than memorization, and engaging with diverse historical actors.

How does Steve Beda approach teaching history in relation to contemporary issues?

Steve Beda frames his lectures and class discussions around contemporary issues, using historical context to understand and potentially solve current problems.

What does Steve Beda suggest about the diversity of historical actors in college-level history classes?

Steve Beda suggests that college-level history classes offer a more diverse view of history, including the stories of workers, communities of color, and civil rights activists, beyond just the wealthy and powerful.

What is the primary method of learning in Steve Beda's history classes?

The primary method of learning in Steve Beda's history classes is interpretation and critical thinking, with an emphasis on understanding the 'why' behind historical events.

What are some of the specific classes that Steve Beda teaches at the University of Oregon?

Steve Beda teaches classes such as History 202 (20th Century American History), a Pacific Northwest history class focusing on environmental issues, and History 407 (Oral History in the Vietnam War).

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Welcome to UO and the Importance of History

Professor Steve Beda introduces himself as an assistant professor in the history department at the University of Oregon. He congratulates new students on their admission and expresses his eagerness to have them in his classes. He emphasizes the importance of taking at least one history class during their time at UO, even for those not majoring in history. Beda shares his own transformation from disliking history and school to becoming a history professor, suggesting that the collegiate level of history education differs significantly from high school. He argues that understanding history is crucial for addressing current societal issues like social justice, racial inequality, and environmental concerns, as it provides insight into how these problems were created.

05:01

📚 History at the Collegiate Level: A New Perspective

Professor Beda explains that history is important for understanding contemporary issues and finding solutions to societal problems. He contrasts the way history is taught in college with the traditional high school approach, focusing on interpretation rather than memorization. Beda highlights that college history classes consider a broader range of historical actors, including those often marginalized, to provide a more comprehensive view of the past. He also mentions that history classes at the university level are interactive, with discussions and debates that engage students in thinking critically about historical events and their impact on the present.

10:03

🌲 Exploring Topics in History: Immigration, Labor, and the Environment

Professor Beda discusses specific topics he covers in his classes, such as immigration, civil rights activism, and labor history. He connects these historical subjects to current events and debates, emphasizing the relevance of understanding the past to inform the present. He also mentions his favorite class, which focuses on the history of the Pacific Northwest, particularly environmental issues like fishing rights and forest use. Beda encourages students from all majors to take this class to gain a deeper understanding of the region's history and its impact on current environmental debates.

15:06

🎖️ Deep Dive into History: Oral History in the Vietnam War

Beda introduces a specialized history class on oral history and the Vietnam War, designed for history majors. This class allows students to conduct original research by interviewing veterans, anti-war activists, and members of the Vietnamese refugee community. The course aims to immerse students in a research project and teach them how to use oral histories to understand historical events from a personal perspective. Beda highlights the importance of this class as a capstone experience for history majors, allowing them to become experts on a specific aspect of the Vietnam War.

📖 Closing Thoughts and Invitation to Learn History

In conclusion, Professor Beda reiterates his congratulations to the new students and expresses his anticipation to meet them in the coming year. He looks forward to working with students, teaching them, and engaging with their thoughts and interpretations of history. Beda extends an invitation for students to join him and his colleagues in the classroom to explore the past and its significance to the present and future.

Keywords

💡History Class

A history class is an educational course focused on the study of past events, societies, and cultures. In the context of the video, the speaker encourages students to take at least one history class at the University of Oregon to gain a deeper understanding of societal issues and to develop critical thinking skills. The video emphasizes that history classes at the collegiate level differ significantly from high school, focusing more on analysis and interpretation rather than memorization.

💡Social Justice

Social justice refers to the fair and just relations between the individual and society. In the video, the speaker connects the study of history with understanding and addressing social justice issues such as racial inequality. By learning about the historical context of these problems, students can better comprehend current challenges and contribute to finding solutions.

💡Environmental Issues

Environmental issues encompass a wide range of problems affecting the natural world, such as climate change and resource management. The script uses environmental issues as an example of how historical knowledge can inform modern solutions. The speaker mentions his class discussing tribal rights and indigenous fishing, illustrating how historical treaties and the creation of tribes have shaped current debates.

💡Interpretation

Interpretation in a historical context means making sense of historical events, documents, or artifacts to understand their meaning and significance. The speaker stresses that college history classes prioritize interpretation over memorization, aiming to teach students how to analyze and draw conclusions from historical data, as opposed to simply recalling facts.

💡Collegiate Level

The collegiate level refers to post-secondary education, typically at a university. The video script contrasts the collegiate level of history education with high school, suggesting that college classes offer a more nuanced and complex approach to studying history, including critical analysis, debate, and the application of historical knowledge to current issues.

💡Historical Perspective

A historical perspective is the understanding or interpretation of events, decisions, or issues in relation to their historical context. The speaker argues that having a historical perspective is crucial for addressing current societal problems effectively. It involves understanding how past events have shaped the present and using this knowledge to inform future actions.

💡Diversity in History

Diversity in history refers to the inclusion of various groups, experiences, and viewpoints in the historical narrative. The script suggests that college history classes strive for a more diverse representation of history, moving beyond the traditional focus on elite figures to include the experiences of workers, communities of color, and civil rights activists.

💡Oral History

Oral history is a method of gathering historical information by recording personal accounts of historical events. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions a class where students conduct interviews with Vietnam War veterans and activists, using oral history to gain firsthand insights into the war and its impact.

💡Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating information to form judgments. The speaker implies that history classes at the collegiate level are designed to foster critical thinking skills. By engaging with historical debates and discussions, students learn to question, interpret, and form well-reasoned opinions about historical events and their implications.

💡Role Play

Role play is a teaching method where students assume the identities of historical figures to explore historical scenarios. The script mentions 'reacting to the past' classes where students engage in role play to better understand historical events. This interactive approach is highlighted as a way to make history learning more engaging and interactive.

💡Research Project

A research project is an in-depth study on a specific topic, often involving original research. The speaker describes a history class where students undertake a research project on the Vietnam War, emphasizing the opportunity for students to become experts in a particular aspect of the war through original research and analysis.

Highlights

Steve Beda, an assistant professor in the history department, congratulates new students on their admission to the University of Oregon.

Professor Beda expresses his anticipation for teaching future classes and sharing his passion for history.

He encourages students to take at least one history class during their university tenure, regardless of their major.

Professor Beda shares his personal journey from disliking history in high school to becoming a history professor.

History is important for understanding current societal and national problems, according to Professor Beda.

Understanding history provides insight into the creation of issues like social justice, racial inequality, and climate change.

History teaches critical thinking and problem-solving by analyzing how past events have shaped the present.

Professor Beda argues that historical understanding can lead to more effective solutions for today's challenges.

He emphasizes that history at the collegiate level is different and more engaging than what students may have experienced in high school.

History classes focus on contemporary issues and problems, linking past events to present-day scenarios.

In college, history is studied from diverse perspectives, including those of workers, communities of color, and civil rights activists.

The focus in history classes is on interpretation rather than memorization, encouraging students to think critically.

Professor Beda explains that history classes are interactive, with discussions, debates, and role-playing activities.

He introduces History 202, a class on 20th-century American history, as a great introduction to college-level history.

History 202 covers topics like immigration, civil rights activism, and labor history, linking them to contemporary issues.

Professor Beda's Pacific Northwest history class explores the region's environmental issues and their historical roots.

History 407, Oral History in the Vietnam War, is a research-intensive class for history majors, involving interviews with veterans and activists.

Professor Beda invites students to engage with history, offering a chance to become experts in specific historical areas.

He concludes by welcoming new students to the University of Oregon and expressing excitement for their academic journey.

Transcripts

Hi. My name's Steve Beda.

I use he, him, his pronouns,

and I am an assistant professor in the history department,

so I want to start off by congratulating all of you

on being welcome or being admitted into the University of Oregon.

And I'm really looking forward

to telling you a little bit about what I do as a history professor.

And more than that, I'm really looking forward to hopefully having

some of you in my classes in the coming years.

So what I want to talk to you today about is why you should take

at least one history class while you're a student at UO.

Now, hopefully some of you will take more than one history class.

Hopefully, hopefully some of you will major in history.

But even if you're going to major in something that is completely

unrelated to history, what I want to do today is encourage you,

like I said, to take at least one history class while you are here at UO.

So many of you might be saying right now that you didn't like history

in high school.

And why would I go about

taking a history class in college when you didn't like it in high school?

So I hated history in high school

and in fact, I really didn't like school at all.

If when I was 18, you would have told me that, Hey,

you are going to be a professor someday.

I would have laughed.

And if you told me I was going to be a history professor,

I really would have laughed just because I really didn't like school.

And so I am evidence that you can turn things around if you don't like school.

But I'm also evidence and the ways

I teach are also evidence of how and why history

very much differs at the collegiate level, and it may not be what you're used to.

All right.

So one of the reasons I think

I didn't like history in high school and why some of you may not like history

is because everyone tells us

that history is important, but no one ever tells us why it's important.

And I think if you understand a little bit about why history is important, you'll

you'll be encouraged, like I say, to take at least one class, hopefully more.

So why is history important?

And, you know, this gets directly the question

question of why you should take at least one history class at UO.

All right.

So I believe history is important because history helps us understand

the problems we are facing as a society and a country today.

If you're concerned about social justice issues and racial inequality,

if you're concerned about environmental issues, things like climate change,

then if you're going to address these problems

and if you're going to come up with solutions to these problems,

you have to know how these problems were created.

And history helps us understand how those problems were created.

I think one of the problems that we often see from politicians

or our leaders is that they they try and solve problems

or they try to address problems,

but they really don't understand how those problems were created,

which is another way of saying they aren't

thinking historically about these problems.

And as a result, they often come up with incomplete solutions at best

or at worst, they come up with solutions that just exacerbate problems.

So I think if you understand history,

and I definitely think if most people understand history,

we can have a better understanding of things like a climate change

or racial injustice or workers rights that will help us arrive

at fuller solutions, better solutions, and ultimately solutions

that are more meaningful and create more and longer lasting change.

So that's why I think you should take at least one history class.

It gives you a new way of thinking about issues and problems

you may be encountering in your other classes

and gives you a new way and a new methodology

for starting to work towards solving those problems.

So what I often tell students and what I'll tell you here is that,

you know, as a historian, yes,

I'm interested in the past, but really what I'm concerned with is the present,

how we got to where we're at, how we can solve the problems

that we are currently facing,

and how we can ultimately create a more just and better future.

So really, I study the past with,

keeping in mind the future and trying to create a better future.

And that's why you should probably study history too. So

I also think, you know,

a lot of students are potentially scared away from history classes

because they really don't know what we do in the college level history class

and learning history in college is

maybe much different than what you're used to.

So one of the things that I do and all my colleagues in the history department do

is that we really think about the future as much as we talk about the past.

And this is what I was just telling you, is that we really study the past

with an eye for the present and the future.

A lot of times my lectures and my classes or class discussions

will be framed around a contemporary issue or a contemporary problem.

For instance, in my Pacific Northwest history class,

which I just wrapped up teaching a couple of minutes ago,

one of the things we're talking about is tribal resource

rights and indigenous fishing.

And why is it that here in the Pacific Northwest people are always fighting about

salmon allocations and salmon quotas and what I explain to my students

is that in order to understand current debates

about native fishing rights, we have to understand longer histories

of the creation of tribes as well as the negotiation of treaties.

So those are the sorts of things we talk about.

The other thing that we do in a history class that you might not be used to

is we really look at history from the bottom up or another, you know,

perhaps cruder way of saying this is that there's a lot more to history

than just a bunch of old white guys and in a college level history classroom,

we really try and speak to the diversity of history,

all the very different peoples from different levels and different parts

of the socioeconomic spectrum who have really shaped history.

Now, we do have to sometimes talk about politicians and presidents

and things like that

because the decisions that those people make have wide ranging impacts.

But in the college level history classroom, our focus is not solely,

you know, the wealthy, the elite and the powerful.

We're often looking at workers.

We're looking at, you know, communities of color and civil rights activists.

We're looking at how those people changed history.

So if you

look at a traditional history textbook and you don't see people in that textbook

who look like you or from a community that you're from,

I would say give college history a chance because you're going to find a much

more diverse set of actors.

The other thing

is we focus on interpretation, not memorization.

It's really funny.

You know, I'm a historian,

so a lot of times my friends will ask me like, Oh, what year did this happen?

And I'll often be like, I have no idea.

That's because understanding dates or just memorizing dates

for the sake of doing it really doesn't have a whole lot of value.

You know, history is about looking at documents

from the past or information from the past

and trying to understand what it means and how it all fits together.

And as I've been saying,

how past events influence the present, and that requires interpretation.

Another way of saying this is that, you know, in the college history classroom,

we're a lot more concerned with the why than the who, what, where and when.

The who, what, where and when is important.

I'm not saying we completely ignore that,

but we spend most of our time trying to figure out the why.

And that requires interpretation and that requires thinking critically.

That requires discussion, sometimes requires debate.

And those are the sorts of things we do in a history classroom.

You know, there'll be some lecture, but for the most part,

what we're trying to do is engage students,

get them to think about history, get them to debate history.

A few classes that might some of my colleagues teach it is called

reacting to the past.

Students in those classes even role play.

They will adopt a identity of a historical person

and play out a historical scenario as if that person and those are groups of

those are a set of classes that many, many students really, really enjoy.

And I think it really speaks to how different

the teaching and learning of history

in college can be from from what you're perhaps used to.

So, you know, take a history class,

you're going to talk a lot, you're going to discuss a lot,

you're going to interact with your classmates a lot.

You're going to interact with faculty members a lot.

It really is an interactive environment, and that's what we always strive

for, is to create a very interactive environment.

So to

give you a sense of some of the classes I teach, so I should start off by saying

I am one of about two dozen professors in the history department,

and we teach a wide range of courses on a wide range of subjects

and historical periods

and just about any time period in any region you are interested in,

you can find a class that pertains to that subject matter or that time period.

But I'm going to give you kind of a little example of

some of the classes that I teach.

So the first class, the first class I teach is history 202.

It's 20th century American history.

And I think this is a really good introduction to

the college history classroom.

If you are not necessarily

sold on history, but you want to kind of dip your toe under the water

and find out what history at the college level is like, this class is for you.

When I teach it,

I assume that most of the students in the classroom are not history majors.

And in fact, you know, the last couple of years I've taught it,

the vast majority of students in the class are not history majors.

So if you're not a history major or if you know nothing about American history,

don't worry, this class assumes that

and we kind of start at the ground and build up a common base of knowledge.

So as the name of this class implies, this class

focuses on America in the 20th century.

And as I've been saying, and like all you know,

many of my colleagues, I'm really focused on how understanding

20th century American history can help us understand contemporary history.

So a lot of the topics we cover are things like immigration, and we ask

questions of why has immigration been so hotly debated in American history?

And how can understanding the longer history of debates over immigration,

as well as the experiences of immigrants, can help us understand the politics

and experiences of immigration and immigrants in the 21st century?

We also talk a lot about civil rights activism and long

histories of civil rights activism that spanned the 20th century.

And again, if you are concerned with issues

pertaining to racial justice, if that is something that interests you,

having a long background in some of the history of civil

rights activism, what has worked,

what hasn't worked can really inform how we might move forward

to create a landscape that is more racially just.

I also really enjoy labor history.

And labor history is kind of having a moment now with workers at places

like Google or Amazon or Starbucks trying to organize unions.

And if any of you had followed along with those stories, you know that

those workers are gaining some victories, but also encountering some challenges.

And to understand the challenges that workers who want to organize unions

encounter, you again have to go back to the 20th century

and how unions have been litigated in kind of the public sphere, also how some,

you know, the different strategies that union activists have employed.

And that is something we also talk about

in the 20th century American history class.

So like I say, this is a great introduction to the college history classroom

and it's a great place to kind of

if you want to try out a history class, this is a great place for you to go.

Another class I teach and I already mentioned it before

is my Pacific Northwest history class and I love all the classes I teach,

but this is perhaps my favorite history class only because

I get to talk about the history of the region that I currently live in

and that you most of you will soon be living in.

When you attend. You all.

So this is an upper division class.

It is designed more for juniors and seniors, but once again it is open

to all majors and I encourage students from all majors to take this class.

So yes, this class focuses on the history of the region we're living in.

But really what we focus on in this class is environmental issues.

So I tend to get a lot of students who are environmental studies majors,

and if you are interested in environmental studies

or environmental issues, this would be a great class.

You know, we talk about things like I already mentioned, about debates over

fishing, who does and doesn't have a right to harvest salmon from our waterways.

We talk about forests and forest use conflicts.

Why is it here in the Pacific Northwest that people are always

fighting about how the forest and how they should be used?

These are the sorts of questions we ask in this class.

And again, like all my other classes, we're really concerned with the present

and the future of the Pacific Northwest and how we can make our region,

how we can make environmental debates in our region

perhaps a little less acrimonious, and how we can also make a region

that is more just

though

not the last class I teach, but the last class I'll talk about

is history 407 Oral History in the Vietnam War.

So this is a class that is designed for history majors.

It assumes that you're going to have some experience

kind of writing long papers and doing research.

But for those of you who end up becoming history majors, and I

hope that's at least some of you out there,

this class is really your opportunity to actually do historical research.

Now, you'll do some historical research in some of your other classes, but really

this class is focused on creating a a larger, more intense research project.

And when I say intense there, I don't mean to scare you off.

It can be really, really exciting, really immersing yourself

in a research project and really learning about a subject in a very detailed way.

You will leave this class after ten weeks, being an expert on something

that potentially no one else is an expert in, because one of the

the requirements for this class is you do some original research.

And so while yes, it's going to be a lot of work, it's also extremely rewarding.

And the the feeling you get when you

when you accomplish this is unparalleled.

So this particular seminar class,

it's about oral history and the Vietnam War.

And in this class, students have the opportunity to interview

veterans who fought for the US military in Vietnam,

anti-war activists, civil rights activists who opposed the Vietnam War,

as well as members of the Vietnamese refugee community.

And really this class is an opportunity to, you know, first, like I say,

you know, immerse yourself in a research project, but it's also a great opportunity

to learn about the Vietnam War directly from the people who experienced it.

And in the class we talk about and we debate

how do we use interviews, how do we use oral histories,

how do we take the experiences of one or two individuals and generalize those?

What can we learn about history from doing interviews?

What are the strengths of those kind of methodologies?

What are the weaknesses?

So those are the kinds of things we do in this class.

And again, for history majors, it's kind of intended to be a capstone class,

some kind of cap off your your career as a history major.

Ah yeah.

You're you're like your academic life as a history major.

So those are just three of the classes I teach.

I teach several other classes.

But, you know, whatever it is I'm teaching, whether it's

these three classes, whether it is some of my other classes,

I really hope to see some of you in person in the classroom.

So once again, I just want to wrap up by saying congratulations

on being admitted to the University of Oregon.

I am looking forward to meeting some of you in the coming year.

I know my colleagues are looking forward to meeting some of you in the coming year

and we're really looking forward to working with you and teaching you

and hearing your thoughts and your interpretations of history.

So once again, welcome to UO. Go Ducks.