Apr. 4, 2012 — Thomas Bender is University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at New York University. His recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education — “What’s Been Lost in History?” — reflects his continuing concern that the discipline remains fixated on the idea that a research-focused academic career is the only successful outcome of doctoral education. To Professor Bender, this one-track model ill-serves graduate students — ever-more of whom find that there are no tenure track positions to be had — and also disserves the profession and society at large.
Part 1 of the interview is below; Parts 2 and 3 are on the pages that follow. You can choose high definition by clicking on the “HD” next to the arrows. Hint: if you select HD, pause the video to give it time to load. Refresh the page if you are having any issues.
Part 2 of Remapping Debate’s interview with Thomas Bender picks up with a discussion of the sharp and persistent disjunction between student expectations and employment realities.
Part 3 of Remapping Debate’s interview with Thomas Bender continues with a discussion of why the problems of graduate history education are almost never discussed in conjunction with the problems of secondary school history education.