Iain Anderson
Faculty/Staff profile
By appointment.
Associate/Assistant Professor and Chair, Department of History, Dana College, 2002-2010
Ph.D. History, Indiana University, 2000
MA Continuing Studies, University of Evansville, 1989
BA (Hons) History, Loughborough University, 1988
My teaching goals include training students to become accomplished practitioners of their discipline, equipping them to exercise citizenship in the United States and the world, and preparing them for productive and fulfilling careers. One concept is critical to meeting these goals: active learning.
Getting students involved in their education through hands-on examination and analysis of historical documents—whether diaries, films, music, legislation, or a host of other materials—is the best way for them to test their intellect, stimulate their imagination, and develop a sense of responsibility and a set of skills. At Wesleyan, our small class sizes and emphasis on teaching and mentorship allows students to develop those abilities in discussions, small group activities, and classroom leadership.
History 501 Fundamentals of American History I
History 502 Fundamentals of American History II
History 550 Nebraska Institute for the Study of American History
History 523 History and Place: Chesapeake Bay
History 001 United States to 1877
LAS 001 Jazz and American Culture
My current research interests lie in the field of American cultural and social history. I have published articles on various aspects of African American music, including nonprofit sponsorship of jazz and the commemoration of slave music. My first book is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press and titled This Is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture (http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14267.html).
My latest research project examines the role of ethnic institutions in mediating the conflicting pressures of Americanization and ethnic preservation on Danish immigrants during the interwar years, and in the formation of transnational post-immigration identities.
Organization of American Historians
American Historical Association
American Studies Association
