S2E21 Tait Keller - Rhodes College

Today’s guest is environmental historian Tait Keller. Tait is an Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. He is also the former Director of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Rhodes. Tait received his BA in History from the University of Rochester and earned his MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University and his PhD in History from Georgetown as well. Tait’s first book, Apostles of the Alps: Mountaineering and Nation Building in Germany and Austria, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2016. In 2018, he co-edited Environmental Histories of the First World War (Cambridge University Press) with Richard P. Tucker, J.R. McNeill, and Martin Schmid. That volume was awarded a Society for Military History Distinguished Book Award in 2019. Tait’s second book, A Global Environmental History of the Great War, is under contract with Cambridge University Press. 

Tait’s work has been supported by a plethora of prestigious grant organizations, including the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research, and the German Academic Exchange Service. Tait has given talks in Africa, India, Turkey, Germany, England, and other sites worldwide. Tait is a nationally certified instructor with Krav Maga Alliance (KMA). When he’s not leading his department or writing the environmental history of conflict, he teaches at Endurance Krav Maga in Memphis. 

Journey, the Incredible Hulk, unexploded WW1 ordnance, management software for higher education (very exciting!), tattoos, and the love we have for our dogs - we cover a lot of ground in this episode. Join us for a delightful chat with Tait Keller! 

Shout-out to the Bar-B-Q Shop and Central BBQ in Midtown Memphis!

Rec.: 10/21/2022