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For a rebel, Jim Walsh is awfully mild-mannered. He's soft-spoken, articulate, polite - hardly a wild-eyed madman. Yet step into his Immigration and Ethnicity in American History class and you'll find that his teaching style is nothing short of revolutionary.
Walsh has been teaching history at UCD for eight years, and Immigration and Ethnicity remains his signature course. He teaches it every semester to packed classrooms with 70 or 80 students. Given his teaching style, it's easy to understand the attraction this course holds.
Walsh believes that history is a fascinating, vibrant subject, and he refuses to tread the traditional path. Don't look for a textbook - there isn't one. Rather than some dry, dull-as-dirt tome that's "had the blood drained out of it," Walsh has a trademark technique of using novels to present the immigrant experience. For example, students learn about Irish immigration by reading 'Tis by Frank McCourt. As they laugh at the struggles of a young Irishman just off the boat, they gain an appreciation for Irish culture they'd never get from a textbook. "I use novels as a way to engage students - not just novels, but memoirs - because it puts the human story back into the history," says Walsh.
Music is another of his distinguishing trademarks. On a given day students might be greeted with an 18th century sea shanty or songs by Woody Guthrie, Flogging Molly or Billie Holiday. Walsh is drawn to "history from below," the stories of the poor working class, and music was often a balm for their struggles.
Walsh doesn't just want his students to learn about those who came before; he wants them to learn about themselves. As he says, "The teaching and learning of history is a journey inward, just as much as it's a journey into the past." He asks students to write their own personal history; he also has them write and perform a play based on some historical figure or theme. "I've taught over 3,000 students. And when I pass students on the campus now, I can never remember most names, but the students always remind me of the character they played. 'I was Mahatma Gandhi…' and that's how I remember them."
Theater is more than just a teaching tool; it's also a personal passion. Walsh founded the Romero Theater Troupe in 2005 with several UCD students and a handful of friends. The name comes from martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero, a priest who died fighting for the rights of the poor in El Salvador. If you missed their production of "Speak American," you're in luck. Regis University will host a free performance Oct. 23. A new play about the Iraq war will be staged at the Oriental Theater in mid-November.
As you plan your schedule for next semester, be sure to keep this course in mind. Experience history as it should be: one hell of a page-turner - a marvelous, contradictory, heartbreaking, messy, glorious spectacle. It's an amazing journey, and Jim Walsh wants to be your travel guide.
"I want to teach till I'm 100. And I'd love to stay here at UCD and do that. I've been at UCD either as a graduate student or teacher since 1993. For over 13 years I've been a part of this campus. I love the students, I love my department, I love my colleagues. This is the place I want to be."
Be sure to look for Walsh's signature class as well as others this spring semester: HIST 3345: Immigration and Ethnicity, HIST 4238: U.S. History through Fiction and HIST 5464: Problems and Methods In Teaching History. "Speak American" will be playing at Regis University, Oct. 23, 7 p.m., 3333 Regis Blvd. Call (303) 458-4100 for details. For information on the Romero Theater Troupe visit www.romerotroupe.org.
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