Faculty present at world history conference in San Francisco

Two Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the World History Association, held recently in San Francisco. Recognized as a major conference in the world history field, the event hosts scholars from across the globe.

Craig A. Miller, professor of history/political science and department head of social sciences and humanities, and Jennifer R. Wahl, instructor of social sciences, led the workshop session: “The Politics of Teaching World History to Non-History Majors.” Wahl also chaired a panel session titled “Imperial Currents in World History.”

Teaching history to non-history majors is a relevant topic for educators.

“Many college and university professors find themselves with a growing number of non-majors in their courses. Additionally, many find it difficult to exemplify the importance of learning history as a non-major,” Wahl explained. “More specifically, we discussed controversial topics in history and how to make them applicable in a variety of programs. The idea was to help those instructing history learn new techniques to ensure rigor but guarantee relevance.”

The Penn College educators’ session was an interactive experience for the participating college and university professors, high school teachers, graduate students and independent scholars.

“In this workshop, multiple professors who teach world history to exclusively non-majors shared their approaches by discussing pedagogical strategies and sharing specific examples of lessons on topics that incorporate current events and methods to overcome the lack of basic knowledge non-majors have on the topics,” Wahl added. “They also tied together relevant historical information with current events and information applicable to a variety of programs of study.”

With an increasing number of high school teachers attending the WHA Conference, Wahl noted that the gathering “was also a recruiting opportunity as we were able to discuss, with high school teachers from all over the United States and the world, the unique opportunities that Penn College has to offer, the benefits of taking general education classes and how those classes apply to a variety of majors.”

With the theme of “Currents,” the conference was held in partnership with San Francisco State University. The WHA is a professional association of scholars, teachers and students organized to promote world history by encouraging teaching, research, publications and personal interactions.

Miller, who serves as the chief reader for the World History: Modern Advanced Placement exam, teaches world history, constitutional history, Native American history and international relations courses. He holds a doctoral degree in American Indian history, history of the Atlantic world, and constitutional and legal history from the University of Buffalo, where he also earned a master’s in colonial history. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from SUNY Geneseo.

Wahl teaches world history, psychology and sociology courses at Penn College. A former teacher in the Loyalsock Township School District, she was named Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year in 2018. Wahl earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Penn State and a bachelor’s degree in history from Cabrini University.

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