As a current graduate student in History at the University of Minnesota, my friends and family from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York often ask me what it’s like here in the Twin Cities. I find myself thinking of the Chain of Lakes a few miles from my apartment; my favorite local places to study…

  Those of us in academia generally acknowledge the ongoing state of U.S. empire. However, in high school, and even some colleges and universities, colonialism and imperialism are taught as temporal periods. The Age of Imperialism, as it’s usually called, allegedly ended in the early 20th century. In actuality, the United States has continued to…

A few weeks ago, as I was standing outside Target on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, an elderly woman approached me and shared her life experiences in the Twin Cities. She told me something that has been troubling me since our conversation. I asked the woman how she likes living in the Twin Cities and her…

December 05, 2013: The Obama administration sends two more GTMO detainees to Algeria. Belkacem Bensayah and Djamel Ameziane follow two other detainees transferred to Algeria this year. Both of the newly transferred men have expressed fear of facing persecution in Algeria. December 12, 1972: A group of Haitian ‘boat people’ arrive in South Florida on…

‘Voices from Guantánamo’ is a three-part cultural event series, produced by UNCG Public History graduate students, that will take place at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. This series accompanies the Guantánamo Public Memory Project traveling exhibition, which will be showcased at the museum from December 12, 2013-February 1, 2014. Behind the Cactus Curtain:…

How does one “bring” Guantánamo to the United States? Can Guantánamo, as a symbol of imperialism and history of detainment, be compared to a national historic site in America? How do we challenge a community that would be largely offended by such a suggestion? These questions, among others, are what drive my involvement with the…

How do you make the history of the U.S. naval station at Guantánamo relevant and engaging for diverse public audiences? This is the central question we encountered in our undergraduate public history class at the University of Minnesota last fall. Many of us grappled with this question as we developed a panel for the Guantánamo…