The History Division awarded five winners for the inaugural Transformative Teaching of Media and Journalism History teaching-idea competition. The recipients were:
- Nick Hirshon, William Paterson University
- Gerry Lanosga, Indiana University
- Kimberley Mangun, University of Utah
- Shearon Roberts, Xavier University of Louisiana
- Amber Roessner, University of Tennessee
The competition featured original and tested transformative teaching ideas and practices that address pedagogies of diversity, collaboration, community, and/or justice.
“Watch for five thoughtful and innovative presentations in Toronto,” Kristin Gustafson, the Division’s teaching standards chair, said of the 12- to 15-minute mini, hands-on teaching module that each winner will present at the 2019 AEJMC Conference in Toronto, Canada. Gustafson, University of Washington, will moderate the 9:15–10:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, panel.
Gustafson and the History Division created the competition to acknowledge and share best practices publicly that journalism educators and media historians use in their classrooms. The contest was designed to serve three AEJMC History Division goals: (1) help the division grow and diversify by inviting people from other divisions; (2) encourage pedagogies of diversity, collaboration, community, and justice; and (3) support an equal balance of History Division attention to teaching standards, research, and professional freedom and responsibility.
The acceptance rate for this year’s competition was 55.5 percent. The History Division will recognize the five winners at its pre-conference Awards Gala held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6, and then again at the teaching panel.
“I am thoroughly impressed by the quality of these teaching ideas and activities, as well as the level of commitment and passion that our historian colleagues demonstrated through the entries they submitted,” said Yong Volz, Missouri School of Journalism, one of this year’s six judges.
John Ferré, University of Louisville, another judge, said, “I’m once again reminded of the high level of creativity and dedication among media historians.”
In addition to Volz and Ferré, Melita Garza, Texas Christian University; Teri Finneman, University of Kansas; Earnest Perry, Missouri School of Journalism; and Erika Pribanic-Smith, University of Texas-Arlington, helped judge this year’s contest.
Winners will each receive a $75 prize at the teaching panel. One prize was to go to a student scholar or team entry with a student; however, there were no student entries this year. In addition to the conference teaching demonstrations, winners may publish their ideas on the History Division’s website and will be featured in the Division’s Clio newsletter.
For more information on AEJMC History Division, visit aejmchistory@gmail.com.