Ask the Historian – Tara Cowan

Ask the Historian #4 – Statues (Or “Forrest Rested Here”)

Every morning on my way into work in a small, beautiful Middle Tennessee town, I pass an official state historical marker that reads, “Forrest Rested Here.” Nathan Bedford Forrest is venerated in large circles of the two-county span that constitutes my stomping ground. Many times, I have contemplated this as I drive from the flat farming country of one county to the slightly mountainous terrain of the next.

Ask the Historian #3: Politics, Historical Figures, and the Public Debate

One thing that is going to come up if we have any sort of involvement with history at all is dealing with historical figures who did bad things or do not fit modern behavioral ideals. These conversations usually get wrapped up with politics and cause a firestorm of public debate. The main point of this article is that history is usually irrelevant in any current-day political debate. Therefore, I do not push for political side-taking; rather, I advocate generally for keeping things neutral where history is concerned.

Ask the Historian #2 – History in the Wild

Welcome to the second installment of the Ask the Historian Series! Before you dive into the article, check out these two recordings. The first is my approach to applying history to the present day, and the second is my sister’s.

Ask the Historian: #1 – Introduction Q&A

Hi friends! This is the first in a series of articles in which I (with the help of my sister) am going to be exploring history, historical controversies, the way we look back on history, and more!

Check out the link here to learn about our training and credentials (or in my case, lack thereof!).

Ask the Historian Series

Hi friends! I am excited to announce a new series that is going to be running on the blog called “Ask the Historian.” There is going to be a series of five articles exploring approaches to history, the discipline of history, the way we look back on history and feel emotional, as well as some of the more controversial topics we have seen in the news and heard about involving history’s connection with the present.