In Praise of YouTube: Interviews on Civil Rights, Early Modern England, Writing, and Teaching History
Randall Stephens On a recent browse through the loud, garish halls of YouTube I found several interesting history clips. Without diminishing the importance of LOL catz videos and the endless Fail compilations, I'd like to praise/point to some of the history gems on YouTube . In the last 5 years YouTube has served as a go-to source for me. Interviews , documentary films , and materials on teaching draw me in. It's been a boon to my teaching and research. For example . . . Hear the late esteemed historian and former master of Balliol College, Oxford, Christopher Hill speak about his work on 17th-century England. He also reminisces on why he became a historian, the nature of revolutions, and more. ("Conversations With Historians: Christopher Hill," BBC Radio 4, October 14, 1991) In this much more recent video (April 11) see historian Taylor Branch discuss the critical year of 1963 and the context of the black freedom struggle. Branch pieces together ...