I have yet to see the Hamilton movie on Disney+. We are hoping to watch it as a family next week. This weekend I have been getting flashbacks as I watch historians taking to Twitter to place the musical in historical […]
"Age of Hamilton" (Messiah College course)
Out of the Zoo: Why I Cried in History Class
Annie Thorn is a sophomore history major from Kalamazoo, Michigan and our intern here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. As part of her internship she is writing a weekly column titled “Out of the Zoo.” It focuses on life as […]
Reading Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address on the Day the House Judiciary Passes Articles of Impeachment
Yesterday I wrote briefly about ending my Alexander Hamilton course on the day the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment for only the fourth time in United States history. After I ended class by playing “Who Lives, Who Dies, […]
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?
Today was the last day of my Age of Hamilton class. This song is fitting on the day the Judiciary Committee votes on two articles of impeachment. It will soon be in the hands of the historians. Who lives, who […]
Why I Love Teaching About Religious Pluralism in Colonial New York
Today in my Age of Hamilton class I built an entire lecture around this 1771 image. And boy was it fun! (I hope the students thought the same thing). Source: Prospect of the City of New York. Woodcut from […]
“My Folly makes me ashamd and I beg you’ll Conceal it”
I love teaching this letter. In his first extant piece of writing, Alexander Hamilton writes from St. Croix to his childhood friend Edward Stevens in New York City. He reveals his ambitions, but is ashamed that he has them. There […]
Out of the Zoo: “A Perfect Fit”
Annie Thorn is a sophomore history major from Kalamazoo, Michigan and our intern here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. As part of her internship she is writing a weekly column for us titled “Out of the Zoo.” It focuses on […]
Out of the Zoo: “The Age of Hamilton”
Annie Thorn is a sophomore history major from Kalamazoo, Michigan and our intern here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. As part of her internship she is writing a weekly column for us titled “Out of the Zoo.” It focuses on […]
Day 1 of “Age of Hamilton” or Fea Enters His “Absent-Minded Professor” Phase
Yesterday was the first day of my “Age of Hamilton” course at Messiah College. I have nineteen students enrolled in this 300-level history course. History majors get credit toward their major, but about half of the students are non-majors taking […]
Coming in Fall 2019!
Do I Feel a Revival of the Virtual Office Hours Coming On?
Maybe it is time to revisit our old You Tube series the Virtual Office Hours. After watching Seth Rudetsky’s deconstruction of “The Schuyler Sisters” I thought we might be able to revive this series to correspond with my “Age of […]
Deconstructing “The Schuyler Sisters”
As I continue to work through some of the Hamilton soundtrack in preparation for my Fall 2019 course “Age of Hamilton” at Messiah College, I found Seth Rudetsky‘s breakdown of “The Schuyler Sisters” to be very entertaining and really informative. […]