Tessera
Folgen

Dr. Natalie Mendoza

@drmendozan.bsky.social

Asst Prof at CU-Boulder | studies modern US history; pedagogy | Book forthcoming GOOD NEIGHBOR AT HOME: MEXICAN AMERICAN POLITICS IN THE WWII ERA https://www.colorado.edu/history/natalie-mendoza

841 Posts2589 Follower1044 Folgt
Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3d ago

🗃️ Some of us have been saying this for awhile (like Lindsay and OP). It’s simple. Give faculty time and resources to teach, per basic pedagogy practices, no innovation needed. It’s a matter of prioritizing this as necessary for the university to do well as an institution of higher learning.

Dr. Lindsay Stallones Marshall (she/her)@lindstorian.bsky.social · 3d ago

Yep. Every university could choose to do this. The solution is shockingly simple - hire enough faculty to keep class sizes small and make sure they have the resources they need.

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · last wk.

🗃️ Printing and cutting up paragraphs in a draft never fails to help me re-organize and tighten my topic sentences (and thus my claims). Good writing is rewriting AND reorganizing! (and omg this manuscript is almost done 😬)

Whiteboard with paper copies of paragraphs from a portion of Natalie’s manuscript. You can see how she’s reorganized the paragraphs: they are numbered but some are out of order because she moved them. She’s also highlighted key claims and made notes to herself for changes she’d like to make.
Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3w ago

Walking past 2 students talking about needing to take humanities courses. One says, “but humanities courses are pretty cool.” As I zipped by I said with a smile “they *ARE* cool,” then added: “I’m a professor.” They laughed, then he said loudly “THE HUMANITIES ARE AWESOME!” 🤓 🗃️ @colorado.edu

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3w ago

But seriously: Our discipline (History) needs to think about this, especially if we’re going to continue training MAs and PhDs interested in studying earlier periods. Will this be similar to having language fluency? 🗃️

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3w ago

Today in class: Looking at a WWII poster, when we got to the artist’s signature, I stopped to ask “do you all know how to read cursive?” They didn’t respond, looked a little stricken. One student’s hand shot right up, though. He knew how to read cursive. He was like, “now’s my time to shine!” 🗃️

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3w ago

Today in class: Looking at a WWII poster, when we got to the artist’s signature, I stopped to ask “do you all know how to read cursive?” They didn’t respond, looked a little stricken. One student’s hand shot right up, though. He knew how to read cursive. He was like, “now’s my time to shine!” 🗃️

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 3w ago

Yep, chronicling is still a type of narrative construction.* *Which is why we should understand that textbook authors don’t just state facts but make implicit arguments (my WWII class this fall will be digging into this) 🗃️

Chris Levesque@levesque-chris.bsky.social · 3w ago

Dear students, there is no such thing as a “just the facts” version of history. What you’re asking for is Chronicle and even that requires editorial decisions.

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🗃️ For those following the AHA EC’s recent statement about upcoming elections, HPAD’s reply: www.historiansforpeace.org/2026/05/29/h...

Historians for Peace and DemocracyHPAD Steering Committee Response to AHA Executive Committee Letter

On May 26, 2026, the six officers on the AHA Council’s Executive Committee issued a “A Message from the Executive Committee: Crucial Information for Members on the AHA Election.”  This was not an offi...

historiansforpeace.org

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 4mo ago

As I tell my students when I explain what “revision” means to them discipline of history: If I don’t revise history in some way (i.e., make a historiographical intervention on some scale with my book), I’m not likely to get tenure (at least not at an institution like mine).

Stephen West@stephenwest.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Counterpoint: no, they shouldn't. Relatedly: this is a good time for a reminder that "revisionist history" doesn't mean what many people think it does.

Screenshot of a skeet reading "Professors who teach revisionist history should have their tenure revoked for cause"
Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 8mo ago

The Textbooks and Teaching Section of The Journal of American History seeks essay submissions on GRADUATE STUDENT experiences teaching history in higher education for the 2027 issue. Deadline: June 1, 2026 Please see CfP in re-post below! 🗃️

Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 8mo ago

🗃️ CfP: Journal of American History Textbooks and Teaching section, 2027 (of which I am the new co-editor!). See image below as well as thread: We invite submissions for the March 2027 Textbooks and Teaching section of the Journal of American History. We are particularly interested in essays

Call for Papers: Journal of American History Textbooks and Teaching section, 2027 We invite submissions for the March 2027 Textbooks and Teaching section of the Journal of American History. We are particularly interested in essays that explore the way that graduate students are involved in teaching, especially at the college and university level. Possible questions to consider: How do departments prepare students for the teaching they will do in graduate school—and beyond? (And what might be ideal ways for preparing grad students for teaching?) What are the most salient issues that graduate students experience as they perform the labor of teaching in an age of austerity and political intimidation? Does teaching become more, or less, important to students’ professional hopes and commitments as they proceed through graduate school? We invite both graduate students themselves, as well as established scholars, to contribute essays. Examples from American history would be best, but we understand that essays may well move beyond that boundary. Essays should not exceed 4,000 words. As usual, we are interested in analytical and evidence-based essays. We will also consider personal narrative reflections on teaching. Deadline for an initial draft is June 1, 2026, with editorial work happening between then and October 15, 2026. Please send questions and contributions to Natalie Mendoza at natalie.mendozagutierrez@colorado.edu and Robert Johnston at johnsto1@uic.edu. We strongly encourage prospective authors to consult with the section editors on possible topics before submitting proposals.
Dr. Natalie Mendoza@drmendozan.bsky.social · 8mo ago

🗃️ CfP: Journal of American History Textbooks and Teaching section, 2027 (of which I am the new co-editor!). See image below as well as thread: We invite submissions for the March 2027 Textbooks and Teaching section of the Journal of American History. We are particularly interested in essays

Call for Papers: Journal of American History Textbooks and Teaching section, 2027 We invite submissions for the March 2027 Textbooks and Teaching section of the Journal of American History. We are particularly interested in essays that explore the way that graduate students are involved in teaching, especially at the college and university level. Possible questions to consider: How do departments prepare students for the teaching they will do in graduate school—and beyond? (And what might be ideal ways for preparing grad students for teaching?) What are the most salient issues that graduate students experience as they perform the labor of teaching in an age of austerity and political intimidation? Does teaching become more, or less, important to students’ professional hopes and commitments as they proceed through graduate school? We invite both graduate students themselves, as well as established scholars, to contribute essays. Examples from American history would be best, but we understand that essays may well move beyond that boundary. Essays should not exceed 4,000 words. As usual, we are interested in analytical and evidence-based essays. We will also consider personal narrative reflections on teaching. Deadline for an initial draft is June 1, 2026, with editorial work happening between then and October 15, 2026. Please send questions and contributions to Natalie Mendoza at natalie.mendozagutierrez@colorado.edu and Robert Johnston at johnsto1@uic.edu. We strongly encourage prospective authors to consult with the section editors on possible topics before submitting proposals.