Bethany Jay PhD is an associate professor of history and the program coordinator for both the master of arts in teaching history and the graduate certificate in public history programs at Salem State.
What do you teach and how did you become interested in the field?
I grew up in New Jersey, which is a lovely state despite what everyone up here thinks! As an undergraduate, I attended Connecticut College in New London, CT where I majored in both history and anthropology. After graduating, I got a job in Manhattan but realized that history was my true passion when I noticed that I was the only one reading monographs about the Civil War on my commute! I went back to school and completed my PhD at Boston College.
I have been lucky to be able to teach in many different fields at Salem State. At the undergraduate level, I teach courses in 19th century U.S. history, particularly the Civil War, African-American history, and public history. As the Coordinator of the MAT history program and the public history certificate, I primarily teach history education and public history classes at the graduate level.
What are your research interests and how do they contribute to your teaching?
My dissertation at BC focused on the ways that slavery has been interpreted in museums from the founding of Mount Vernon in 1853 through the early 21st century. This topic combined two of my interests: the history of slavery and public history, particularly the way that “difficult” histories like slavery are discussed in public spaces. Through my work on this project, I became convinced of the need to create more honest narratives of American history, particularly as it pertains to the history of slavery. My students have benefitted from this commitment as many of my classes offer new perspectives on familiar events and provide them with the opportunity to grapple with some tough questions in a supportive environment.
This year, my research interests have allowed me to partner with the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. As their Salem State Scholar-in-Residence, I am helping them to research and create materials to incorporate the history of Salem’s enslaved and free black population into their programming. This has been challenging but invigorating work. Students in my Historic Heritage of the North Shore class have helped with this project – I have used them as guinea pigs to test out different activities for the site and have benefitted from their perspective on the sources that we have unearthed.
Rumor has it that you recently worked on a manuscript about teaching American slavery. Could you share more details on what the book is about and what inspired you to write it?
I co-edited a book entitled Understanding and Teaching American Slavery, which provides strategies and resources for secondary and non-specialist university instructors to incorporate slavery into their classrooms. The book was released on February 2 and was the number one new release for Social Studies teaching materials on Amazon.com for a bit! Working on this book was a phenomenal experience. I prepared a list of scholars who I would love to collaborate with on the project and almost all of them agreed. It was a dream to get to work with so many brilliant people such as my co-editor, Lynn Lyerly, who was my advisor at Boston College, acclaimed historians like Ira Berlin, Joanne Pope Melish, and Bernard Powers as well as up-and-coming historians. The book is an amazing resource for anyone who wants to learn more about American slavery. But, more importantly, by providing both content and resources from across the time and landscape of American slavery, this book will help teachers to envision and teach slavery as fundamental, and not incidental, to the history of the United States.
What is public history and what excites you about the field?
Public history can be difficult to define. The field is both theoretical and practical. Public historians both study the ways that the public engages with historical topics and actually work with the public to study and practice history. Millions of people every day encounter history as part of their everyday lives. Whether they pause to look at a memorial, view a historical film or television show, visit a museum, work in a historic building, or click on a link about a historical topic, they are encountering historical content. Understanding the meaning that people derive from those interactions and learning how to use them to tell a story or prompt critical thinking is fascinating and important work.
What book are you reading now?
I have three small children so I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series with my 8-year-old son. Right now, we are on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – it’s my favorite! Academically, I have been making my way through Sven Beckert’s Empire of Cotton, a fascinating study of the impact of a single commodity on world history.
Is there a book that has made a particular difference in your life that you would recommend that others read?
For anyone who is interested in the history of American slavery, Walter Johnson’s Soul By Soul is essential reading. Johnson explores the inner-workings of the slave market in the antebellum South, clearly demonstrating the impact of the commodification of enslaved bodies and convincingly arguing for the centrality of slavery (and the slave market) to understanding antebellum southern culture. But, Harry Potter is also good!
