Ask a Historian UW–Madison History Department

What is the larger story behind the Great Depression? Is the stock market and the 1929 crash really the whole picture?

Professor Paige Glotzer lends her expertise and insight into the bigger picture of the early 20th century economy to answer this question. The short answer is no, the stock market was only a part of a larger, longer-term issue. Dr. Glotzer dives into the complexities that make up an economic downturn.

To support the podcast by supporting the UW–Madison History Department, please visit https://secure.supportuw.org/give/?id=793c8dd0-b47f-4a33-beeb-4af450d60e8e

Episode Links:

Paige Glotzer is Assistant Professor & John W. and Jeanne M. Rowe Chair in the History of American Politics, Institutions, and Political Economy in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/glotzer-paige/

Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu

How have ideas of femininity have changed over time? How did they work in ancient Rome?

PhD candidate Sheena Finnigan helps break down nuances, misconceptions, and complications of the history of femininity in ancient Rome. We explore how factors such as status and geography affected what was expected of women. Though western traditional womanhood often dictated that women remain in the private sphere supposedly based on Roman ideals, such ideas actually ran counter to ancient Roman culture where women were often expected to lead multifaceted lives.

To support the podcast by supporting the UW–Madison History Department, please visit https://secure.supportuw.org/give/?id=793c8dd0-b47f-4a33-beeb-4af450d60e8e

Episode Links:

Sheena Finnigan is a PhD candidate and instructor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/finnigan-sheena/

Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu

What is the history of anti-vaccination beliefs in the United States, and how has vaccine skepticism affected the way we fight disease?

Professor Sue Lederer and Professor Judy Houck trace the long history of vaccine hesitancy and resistance in the United States, demonstrating that as long as we’ve had vaccinations, we’ve had vaccination skeptics and refusers. They discuss how the vaccine hesitancy movement has always been diverse and heterogeneous, and how compulsory vaccinations have long raised issues concerning the state’s authority over individuals’ bodies.



Episode Links:

Sue Lederer is the Robert Turell Professor of Medical History and Bioethics in the Department of History and the Department of Medical History & Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/lederer-susan-e/

Judy Houck is Professor of History of Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with joint appointments in the Department of History and the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies.  https://history.wisc.edu/people/houck-judith-a/

Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu

Are nursing homes for seniors a relatively new concept? How did nursing homes become a key institution for elder care in the United States?

Professor Emeritus Tom Broman talks to Christina Matta (Ph.D. ’07) about the history of elder care in Europe and the United States. They discuss the origins of hospitals in medieval Europe, the 19th and 20th-century demographic and social changes that shifted responsibility for care of the poor and elderly to the public, and the federal policies that shaped the development of the the nursing home industry in the United States.



Episode Links:

Tom Broman is Professor Emeritus of the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/broman-thomas-h/

Tom is the co-director the Wisconsin 101, a collaborative public history project that explores Wisconsin’s diverse, interconnected history through objects. https://wi101.wisc.edu/

Christina Matta is the Career Advisor and Alumni Coordinator in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She received her Ph.D. in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from UW–Madison in 2007. https://history.wisc.edu/people/matta-christina/

Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (London: Picador, 2014). https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250076229

Karen Humes, “The Population 65 Years and Older: Aging in America,” in The Book of the States v. 37 (Council of State Governments, 2005), pp. 464-468. https://www.csg.org/knowledgecenter/docs/BOS2005-AgingInAmerica.pdf

Frank B. Hobbs with Bonnie L. Damon, 65+ in the United States (Bureau of the Census, 1996). https://www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/p23-190/p23-190.pdf



Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu

Is the Game of Ur the oldest game in history? How and why do historians study games, and what can games tell us about the people who played them?

Professor Elizabeth Lapina talks to Professor Sarah Thal about the history of games. They discuss the games people played in the past, including those still familiar to us today (like Snakes & Ladders and chess) and those that are less well-remembered. As Elizabeth explains, games were a means of self-improvement, demonstrating one’s status, showing respect, and winning friendship and love. Elizabeth says that games were important to people in the past, so they should be important to historians, too.

The full show transcript is available on our website. https://history.wisc.edu/ask-a-historian/



Episode Links: 

Elizabeth Lapina is Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/lapina-elizabeth/

Sarah Thal is the David Kuenzi and Mary Wyman Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/thal-sarah/

Elizabeth’s newest book, which she co-edited with Vanina Kopp, is Games and Visual Culture in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (Brepols, 2021). http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503588728-1



Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu

The full show transcript is available on our website. https://history.wisc.edu/ask-a-historian/

How did evangelical missionaries in India communicate with the people they were trying to convert? Professor Mitra Sharafi talks with Professor Mou Banerjee about the history of evangelical missionaries in colonial India, where the colonial and evangelical enterprises never fully overlapped as they did elsewhere in the world. Mou emphasizes that the history of Christian conversion in India has not been one of force. Rather, people converted for complex political, spiritual, and personal reasons.

Mou and Mitra also talk about the longer history of Christianity in India. Contrary to narratives that cast Christianity and Christians as alien to the Indian nation, the history of Christianity in India is nearly as old as Christianity itself. Across centuries, there has been a long history of peaceful side-by-side coexistence and fascination with the ethical precepts of Christianity.



Episode Links:

Mou Banerjee is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. https://history.wisc.edu/people/banerjee-mou/

Mitra Sharafi is Professor of Law & Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she is also affiliated with the Department of History and the Center for South Asia. https://secure.law.wisc.edu/profiles/sharafi@wisc.edu



Our music is “Pamgaea” by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea CC BY 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Please send us your questions for a historian: outreach@history.wisc.edu