Dr. Meredith May Q&A

Teaching in the MLA since:				2023
Specialty/Area of Research:				American History
MLA Courses Taught:				Gender at Work in the United States Creating the Past through Oral History

 

 

 

 

 

How many years have you been teaching in the MLA program and what class or classes have you taught?

I’ve taught in the MLA program since August 2023, and I’ve led Gender at Work in the United States and Creating the Past through Oral History

Tell us a little bit about your specialty or area of research?

My PhD from TCU is in American History. I focus on twentieth-century East Texas history, particularly gender, race, and entrepreneurship. My current manuscript project is on women business-owners in Houston in the early Cold War years.

 

How does your background inform your teaching and scholarship?

I grew up in a one-red-light town, Huntington, in Deep East Texas. In addition to my parents, I was raised by several generations of incredible women who had worked hard, both inside and outside the home since the 1920s. So when I began taking history classes and read about what most women faced, particularly in the post-World War II years, I wondered why the women in my family had taken the paths they did that led them in to employment outside of the home. That question led to my research projects on women in East Texas in the timber products industry and as entrepreneurs.

Growing up with my family also informed my teaching to a high degree. My maternal uncle was passionate about history and shared that love with me through stories. As a child, that’s how I viewed history: as a series of stories that involved ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. That stuck with me, and as a professor, that’s how I encourage students to view the past as well. 

How do you try to make the material in your class engaging considering most students complete their MLA degree 100% online?

To make the material in my class engaging for students completing their MLA degree 100% online, I employ several strategies:

• Finding assessable material for students to interact with: My graduate school experience involved reading a book a week per class and a few articles. That’s a ton of reading for students who are often working full-time, so I endeavor to provide students with the essential points.
• Real-World Applications: I emphasize the practical applications of the material by incorporating case studies, simulations, and projects. This makes the content more relevant.
• Engaging Assignments: I design assignments that encourage creativity and critical thinking, such as writing blogs, crafting teaching plans, or producing multimedia presentations. This makes the learning process more hands-on and interesting.
• Flexibility and Accessibility: I design the course content with flexibility in mind, allowing students to access materials at their own pace while still adhering to deadlines. Clear communication and a user-friendly interface are key to keeping students engaged.
• Continuous Improvement: I gather feedback from students regularly to assess what is working well and what can be improved. This ensures that the course content remains engaging and relevant to students' needs and expectations.

What are you currently working on that excites you?

I am currently part of a team, the Longview 1919 Remembrance Project, that is filming a documentary on the 1919 race riot in Longview, Texas. Our team has been hard at work since the spring of 2020, right when the pandemic hit. We put together an application for a historical marker for the event, which was approved by the Texas Historical Commission and should be arriving for placement in Fall 2024. The team fundraised, researched, and hired a production team from 2020 to 2022. In 2023, filming began. I serve as the historian on staff and provided the training for all of the interviews. We are almost done filming and should be in post-production in late summer 2024 with a hopeful release date of fall 2025.