Research, Recent Publications, Interviews

My research interests in Latin American history fall in two fields: 20th century Chilean history, specifically the Allende government, the Pinochet dictatorship, and questions of historical memory, and the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration. I also carry out an active research agenda on issues of higher education pedagogy, both in the field of history and in terms of museum education.

The Post-Pandemic Liberal Arts College: A Manifesto for Reinvention (with Beth Benedix) (Belt Publications, 2020).

“Salvador Allende.” In The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History. Ed. William Beezley. New York: Oxford University Press.

“The Historiography of Feminicide in Ciudad Juárez: Critical and Revisionist Approaches,” Forum for Interamerican Research 8.2 (Sep 2015): 20-45.

“Singing a New History: Pathways to Learning in a Liberal Arts Setting,” in Susan McWilliams and John E. Seery, eds., The Best Kind of College: An Insiders’ Guide to America’s Small Liberal Arts Colleges (Albany: SUNY Press, 2015): 157-163.

"How to Navigate an 'Upside-Down' World: Using Images in the History Classroom," in Deandra Little, Peter Felten, and Chad Berry, eds, New Directions in Teaching and Learning (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass), New Directions in Teaching and Learning 141 (Spring 2015): 53-65.

“A Season of Anger,” Chronicle of Higher Education Review, January 8, 2015, p. 2.

“Transfer: Learning in and Through the Academic Museum,” in Advancing Engagement: A Handbook for Academic Museums, Vol. III, Stefanie S. Jandl and Mark S. Gold, eds. (Edinburgh, UK and Cambridge, MA: MuseumsEtc, 2015), pp. 28-63. Co-authored with Liliana Milkova.

“Art as Evidence: Teaching the Mexican Revolution at the Allen Memorial Art Museum,” in Latin American Art in the Allen Memorial Art Museum (Oberlin: Allen Memorial Art Museum, 2014), pp. 20-25.

“College is Still for Creating Citizens,” Chronicle of Higher Education, April 7, 2014 (with Marvin Krislov). http://m.chronicle.com/article/College-Is-Still-for-Creating/145759/

“The Politics of Memory and the Memory of Politics,” NACLA Report on the Americas 46:3 (Fall 2013): 18-22.

“How the Air Felt on My Cheeks: Using Avatars to Access History,” The History Teacher 46:2 (February 2013): 193-214.

“Empathy and Engagement: Using Avatars to Bring Students into History,” Peer Review (American Association of Colleges & Universities) (Summer 2012): 6-9.

"Crossing the Street Pedagogy: Using College Art Museums to Leverage Significant Learning Across the Campus," in A Handbook for Academic Museums: Exhibitions and Education, Stefanie S. Jandl and Mark S. Gold, eds. (Edinburgh, UK and Cambridge, MA: MuseumsEtc, 2012), pp. 88-118. Co-authored with Liliana Milkova.

Awards and Honors

U.S. Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) (Nov. 2011)

Editorial Advisory Board, Peer Review (AAC&U)

Presented with award of official recognition from the Government of Chile for “Working to Restore Democracy in Chile”

Professor of History Emeritus, Oberlin College

Co-Director, Great Lakes Colleges Association Consortium for Teaching & Learning

Founding Director: Oberlin College Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence (CTIE)

Lectures and Workshops

I regularly lecture and give workshops on innovative teaching, "flipping classes," liberal education, technology and education, and the crisis in higher education. In the past few years, I have given pedagogy keynotes and organized workshops at:

Albion College                  Lewis and Clark College

Antioch College                Loyola Marymount University (LA)

AAC&U                             Marquette University

Bates College                   Mercy College

Brown University               Pomona College

Cal State San Marcos       St. Joseph's College

Claremont Colleges          Tulane University

College Art Association     University of California (DC program)

Colorado College              University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Cornell University              University of Minnesota Medical School

Ithaca College

AFTER CLASS: EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY

I currently write about higher education at After Class: Education & Democracy. I began blogging on teaching and learning as the founding director of Oberlin College's teaching and learning center (Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence - CTIE) where I served between 2007-2018.

GREAT LAKES COLLEGES ASSOCIATION CONSORTIUM FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

The Consortium for Teaching & Learning of the GLCA and its partner institutions of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) joins 13 U.S. colleges and its international partners to support and advance effective liberal arts education, providing access to teaching resources and connections to a vital international community of educators with a shared commitment to enhancing liberal arts teaching and student learning.

Steven Volk | Tel: 440-610-5056 | email: steven.volk@oberlin.edu |