Notes and reflections on history and education
Latest Posts
Media Literacy Challenge: What does it mean to “be informed”?
"Technology" is more than any particular tool. Fundamentally, technology is the tendencies and values of our particular tools. The tendencies and values of our particular tools include things like efficiency, extraction, productivity, progress, metrics, and results.
Media Literacy Challenge #16: The Technological Mindset
"Technology" is more than any particular tool. Fundamentally, technology is the tendencies and values of our particular tools. The tendencies and values of our particular tools include things like efficiency,…
Media Literacy Challenge #15: ”Revenge of the humanities”?
What do you think—are literate people only becoming more valuable, or are they trying to justify their own interests? Trying to slap away a tidal wave that is coming for…
Media Literacy Challenge #14: What is “AI culture”?
Learn the posted definitions of “typographical culture,” “entertainment culture,” and “the medium is the message,” and use them to help you define our final term—what kind of “culture” are we…
Media Literacy Challenge #13: Long-form information
In this latest installment, we look at three rules of thumb I like to follow in my media consumption, and a few quick recommendations for good long-form media: 1) If…
Media Literacy Challenge #12: Epistemic humility
In this latest installment, we take a look in the mirror to discuss epistemic humility: a fancy way of saying that someone is not self-righteous, not dogmatic, not dismissive, not…
Media Literacy Challenge #11: Define "journalism"
“Journalism” is not some universal and unchanging ideal, sometimes reverently called “the 4th estate” because it theoretically sits outside the three branches of government in order to hold them accountable.…
Media Literacy Challenge #10: "Fact-checking the mailman"
If your only move after hearing a claim is to look into the source of that claim, you might be guilty of a version of this absurd scenario: you’re fact-checking…
Media Literacy Challenge #9: Polarization
Polarization in the United States seems obvious—but what explains it, and is it as bad as we think? Perhaps understanding some of the mechanisms behind (1) polarization and (2) the…
Media Literacy Challenge #8: Journalism vs. advocacy
When reading articles online, always ask: Is this outlet trying harder to inform the audience or promote a point of view? In the following example, most of the evidence supports…
Media Literacy Challenge #7: The Quiet Majority
If you use social media, this one’s a must: check out The Noisy Room, an interactive essay on the quiet social media majority from Tobias Rose-Stockwell, an author whose book,…
Media Literacy Challenge #6: “Attention budget”
Note the expression, pay attention. You should take this pretty literally. The cost of taking in new information is the attention you have to pay to process that information. Like…
Media Literacy Challenge #5: “The medium is the message”
Socrates famously worried about the invention of writing for the way it would change what it means to know something. If Socrates was worried about moving from an oral culture…
Media Literacy Challenge #4: Emotional reasoning
“The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.” E.O. Wilson, sociobiologist The embedded claim is that our emotional and psychological lives…
Media Literacy Challenge #3: Knowing your limits
To be literate with the media, we have to be honest about our own limits and vulnerabilities. Perhaps we spend too much time pointlessly confusing ourselves with random bits of…
Media Literacy Challenge #2: Corroboration
In 1983 Stanislav Petrov’s decision to “corroborate” the information his computer was giving him may have averted nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Petrov was the…
Media Literacy Challenge #1: Lateral reading
The Nomadic Professor’s 2026 Media Literacy Challenge: Read Smarter Online! Twice a month throughout 2026, America’s 250th anniversary year, we'll share one small skill to help you read better online—social…
What kind of history does the Nomadic Professor do?
Nomadic Professor teaches history as method, not ideology: build knowledge, then master bias, evidence, and context to judge competing narratives with confidence.
Q&A with The Nomadic Professor: Behind the Scenes on the American History series
With the recent roll-out of the complete American History series by The Nomadic Professor, we’ve asked the NP to share his experience of creating the courses over the last several…
Whose "Last Frontier"?
How do we explore history without choosing sides? In tackling various angles of the contested narratives surrounding Alaska’s past, this course challenges simplistic, one-sided interpretations. The History of Alaska: America’s…
Instructor/Parent Question: Do your courses center God?
Recently, we received another question from a parent considering our courses for her children. After sharing a belief that God stands at the forefront of the historical events that have…
Instructor/Parent Question: Do you teach a whitewashed version of history?
We received the following question this week from someone considering our courses for her son. As it’s an excellent (and recurring) question, we’re glad to have received her permission to…
A Suggestion for Improving Student Writing
An excerpt from Nate Noorlander’s recent article on Bookshark’s blog, published 1 August, 2024: Students seem to like writing as much as adults like public speaking: It’s almost universally dreaded.…
Media Literacy Is an Essential Skill. Schools Should Teach It That Way
An excerpt from Nate Noorlander’s EducationWeek article, published 12 July, 2024: You can read this essay in a number of ways. You might skim it and forget it—the fate of most…
Is Tibet really "an integral part of China"?
The NP’s Answer: I once debated the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. on this topic. The very first (and really only) thing he brought up: the marriage of a Tang…
Recommended Posts
Q&A with The Nomadic Professor: Behind the Scenes on the American History series
With the recent roll-out of the complete American History series by The Nomadic Professor, we’ve asked the NP to share his experience of creating…
Is History a Waste of Time?
If you’ve been to one of our in-person or online sessions on teaching history, you may have heard us talk about the value of…
Should history teach information or skills?
In college I had a history teacher who didn’t teach us history. Instead he gave us two texts—A Patriot’s History by Larry Schweikart and…
On Being Skeptical
History is a good place to learn how to be skeptical in a good way. The distinction between “good” skepticism and other kinds of…
Whose side is The Nomadic Professor on?
*NB: Access the student guide using the link after the article. In George Orwell’s 1984, the hero, Winston Smith, gets tortured and indoctrinated by…
Archive
Media Literacy Challenge: What does it mean to “be informed”?
"Technology" is more than any particular tool. Fundamentally, technology is the tendencies and values of...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #16: The Technological Mindset
"Technology" is more than any particular tool. Fundamentally, technology is the tendencies and values of...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #15: ”Revenge of the humanities”?
What do you think—are literate people only becoming more valuable, or are they trying to...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #14: What is “AI culture”?
Learn the posted definitions of “typographical culture,” “entertainment culture,” and “the medium is the message,”...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #13: Long-form information
In this latest installment, we look at three rules of thumb I like to follow...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #12: Epistemic humility
In this latest installment, we take a look in the mirror to discuss epistemic humility:...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #11: Define “journalism”
“Journalism” is not some universal and unchanging ideal, sometimes reverently called “the 4th estate” because...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #10: “Fact-checking the mailman”
If your only move after hearing a claim is to look into the source of...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #9: Polarization
Polarization in the United States seems obvious—but what explains it, and is it as bad...
Read MoreMedia Literacy Challenge #8: Journalism vs. advocacy
When reading articles online, always ask: Is this outlet trying harder to inform the audience...
Read More
