Author Archives: Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda

I figure a great way to start 2017 is with a blog! In preparation for planning and teaching Mexican American History II this Spring 2017 semester, I gave Petter Bratt’s La Mission (2009) another view this evening. Watch the trailer here. (I’m trying to select a few of the best movies for us to examine. There’s notContinue reading ““La Mission” (2009): Ubiquitous Mammy and White Savior Characters”

As a result of Republicans and their failure refusal to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965, states have drastically reduced the number of possible locations where people can vote. And no surprise, Texas leads the nation – it has closed over 400 voting locations! In Brazoria County, a geopolitical area with over 330,000 people,Continue reading “Voter Suppression and Voting Locations”

Again and again this election cycle I see people advising others to “vote for who best represents you,” “vote for who promises to make things better for you,” “vote for the person who you think will make the nation better for you.” One Facebook comment I found reads: If you want to feel good about yourContinue reading “Voting Should Not Be A Selfish Act”

Upon hearing that I am a college professor and frequently teach History, people sometimes respond with conditional and reserved words of enthusiasm. In some way or another, these people inquire as to whether or not I teach History correctly. What does that even mean? I usually respond that I teach according to evidence. And this does notContinue reading ““As long as you teach history the correct way.””

Excellent memories are a blessing and a curse. This blogs recalls teachers’s comments that remain baffling, shocking, and offending but are important to recognize as children are at risk and words matter.

Ava DuVernay’s 13th (2016) is an excellent Netflix’s documentary. It explores the long history of the many disastrous consequences for Black people that have resulted from the loophole in the 13th Amendment and examines the desire by many White people to perpetually exploit Whiteness and White privilege.  Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment forContinue reading “Ava DuVernay’s “13th” (2016) and Reel Black History”

This evening I read and throughly enjoyed Sara Goldrick-Rab’s Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream (2016). Clear writing, scholarly activism and clear passion for simply doing the right thing regarding college costs, and an excellent balance of quantitative and qualitative data make this monograph a must read for college students andContinue reading ““Paying the Price”: The Must Read Book on the Many Taxing Costs of College”

A haiku poem about the contradiction between human concerns, observations, and the broader world.