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North/Central America

US pamphlet parody of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Teaching

Short Teaching Module: Transnational Connections and the Long Cold War in Nicaragua

A strength of teaching from a transnational perspective is that it forces us to reorient our viewpoint and consider new approaches to our subjects. This is particularly true when looking at modern Latin American history.

US pamphlet parody of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Source

Somoza cartoon

This pamphlet cover, published in 1978 by a U.S. solidarity organization, is a fantastic focal point for exploring periodization in the history of U.S.-Nicaraguan relations.

1987 letter from the Nicaraguan embassy to Richland County Citizens for Peace and Justice
Source

Letter from the Nicaraguan embassy

This 1987 letter from the Nicaraguan embassy to Richland County Citizens for Peace and Justice, RCCPJ, a Wisconsin solidarity organization, highlights the ways in which non-state actors can craft impactful foreign policies.

Frontpage of the French pamphlet Femmes Nicaragua
Source

Femmes Nicaragua

This pamphlet is an excellent example of the alternative diplomacy pursued by the  FSLN in its struggle with the United States government in the 1980s.

Title page of Dr. William Ruschenberger's memoir
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Memoir of William Ruschenberger

Dr. William Ruschenberger (d. 1895) was a United States Navy surgeon and was assigned to the USS Peacock, serving with Edmund Roberts as part of an American delegation representing the Jackson Administration to negotiate treaties with the Omani Empire and the Kingdom of Siam.

Picture of Stephen Robinson Parson's notebook where he recorded an ideal ration
Source

Ideal ration recipe

This is one page out of a notebook kept by Stephen Robinson Parsons, a somewhat improvement-minded farmer in South Paris, Maine. Around 1896, Stephen copied into his fact book an ideal ration: 

Clip from Wolff's article on hay's nutritional values
Teaching

Short Teaching Module: Agricultural Knowledge in the Late Nineteenth Century

Knowledge knows no national boundaries. Therefore, the history of knowledge also has to move beyond national boundaries to understand how knowledge was produced, moved, and adapted. Telling such a history without the limitations of national boundaries is challenging.

Map of North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand outlines the lands that surround the Kimihia and Hakanoa Lakes.
Methods

Primer: A Global History of Higher Education

Histories of higher education tend to focus on a single institution – the university biography – or address the subject within the context of the nation-state.

Map titled Map Showing Cornell University Lands in Wisconsin for sale. Description in annotation
Source

Map of Land Grant for Cornell University, 1877

Similar to the New Zealand land grant, yet within a distinct political context, the development of land-grant universities in the United States followed and encouraged an institutional financing model based u

List of items in several columns. Explanation in annotation.
Source

Outward Cargo Manifest of the Rowena, 1841

Cargo manifests and other shipping records offer a tangible glimpse into expansive commercial networks, reminding observers of the physical goods underwriting long distance trade.