Human Powered: In Conversation with Sergio González

“History is an argument we have about the past and what it means for us in the present,” says Sergio González. He is an assistant professor of Latinx Studies at Marquette University and was the founding editor of Wisconsin101, a collaborative history project using objects as the centerpiece of understanding. Currently one of the hosts of “The Look Back” for Wisconsin Public Television, he collaborates with the Wisconsin Historical Society to engage middle school students in big questions, like why do we commemorate some things and not others, and what that means for us as Wisconsinites and as Americans. In this delightful conversation, co-hosts Jen Rubin and Jessica Becker talk with González about how a familiar bunk bed can open a conversation with kids about migrant farmworkers, why he is passionate about representation of the LatinX community in our historical record, and what it means to be a public historian. 

Additional Links to check out:
 

→ “The Look Back” educational resources and episodes from Wisconsin Public Television  are designed for educators and students  in collaboration with Wisconsin Historical Society, UW-Madison Libraries, and the Center for Campus History. Check it out here. 

→ Supported by a major grant from Wisconsin Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s HOLA Archives podcast brought little-known Wisconsin Latino/a history to light for a new generation of K-12 and undergraduate learners, voiced by people who contributed to that history. Learn more here.

This episode of Human Powered was produced and edited by Chrissy Widmayer. All rights reserved.