Op Eds
My first op ed, “Diversity in history texts empowers students,” appeared in the San Antonio Express News in February 2020. In it, I argued for the importance of incorporating diverse histories in our K-12 history curriculum.
My historical essay and opinion piece on BleachMan and COVID-19 appeared in the AHA Perspectives in June 2020. In this article, I look at grassroots HIV/AIDS educational programs to explore the importance of coherent and innovative public health messages.
Writing on Pedagogy & Higher Ed
I started the blog Pedagogy Playground in 2019 to provide a space to reflect on and curate resources to facilitate innovative pedagogy and student engagement in higher education and the K-12 classroom. This site helps educators build a toolbox of teaching methods while facilitating joyful experimentation in the classroom.
In a 2018 Medium post, entitled, “Practicing Professionalism: A Graduate Student Guide,” I reflect on some of the best practices for professional behavior we instill in our graduate students each semester.
In addition to regularly reflecting on teaching digital history on twitter and other social media, I also contributed a piece on using GIS in the classroom in a piece entitled, “Blending Local and Spatial History: Using Carto to Create Maps in the History Classroom,” for the American Historical Association #DigHist Blog Series in 2017.
Toolkits and Resources for Teachers and Families
In 2018, with the help of several colleagues, I curated a list of resources and sample letters parents could use in reaching out to K-12 teachers about how they taught about Thanksgiving and Native peoples. This piece, “Decolonizing Thanksgiving: A Toolkit for Combatting Racism in Schools,” was cited in places like the Washington Post, New York Times, Bustle, and edublogs.
In July 2019, Elisheva Cohen and I developed a similar resource guide on “Teaching about Immigration, Asylum, and Family Separation at the US-Mexico Border: A Toolkit for K-12 Educators and Parents.”
Historical Essays & Other Digital Publications
In 2021, graduate student Victoria and I published a short piece in La Voz de Esperanza, a community-based newsletter in San Antonio’s Westside, about our research on the 1921 flood that impacted the city.
In 2016, FoundSF shared two posts I had written, adapting my dissertation research for popular audiences: “BART’s Plans for the Mission: Tacos, Towers, and Miniature Vehicles,” and “Creating Gay Spaces: Spaces of Social and Sexual Freedom” reflect on 1970s and 1980s San Francisco city spaces.
Media & Interviews
- Interview with Time Magazine (November 2019) | On working to decolonize Thanksgiving in K-20.
- Interview with Los Angeles Times (October 2019) | On teaching about indigenous representation.
- Interview with Texas Public Radio (March 2018) | On St. Mary’s German American Internment project.
- Interview with Nuestra Palabra (December 2017) | On St. Mary’s new M.A. in Public History program
