Being an effective history lecturer, I think, hinges on being a good storyteller, first and foremost. That being said, Ben Smith definitely has what it takes. Having attended one of his classes at Michigan State University, I can honestly say he was one of the most entertaining professors I had in my college experience. His lectures manages to balance being both informal and informative, and were always packed with plenty of asides. (My favorite was his story of reporting his stolen backpack to the Mexican police, only to be thrown in jail for two days on the accusation of stealing his own backpack, and his eventual freedom by well-considered bribe from lawyer!) A natural storyteller, Smith's lectures were always high on the laughs-to-snores ratio; his ever-present British wit helped keep the history of the world moving swiftly, along with his habit of always bringing interesting facts to light – almost 1 out of every 10 Asians is directly related to Genghis Khan, for example. Outside of the lecture hall, Smith is always busy with research work; his area of focus centers on comparative history of Latin American cultures. His doctoral work focused on the indigenous population of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is also the focus of his first two books, “The Politics of State Formation in Oaxaca, 1920-1952," and a book on women's social movements in Oaxaca, co-authored with Noemi Morales Sanchez. Both books are due out in 2009. He's spent the last couple of years also focused on Mexico's popular politics and the religion of its indigenous peoples, and is currently authoring two articles related to these topics for peer-reviewed journals. My prediction is that with his engaging personality and thorough knowledge of his subject matter, Prof. Ben Smith has a long career ahead of him. I'm not sure how he feels about it, but for better or worse, I think I'll remember him most for those off-book stories. (I'm pretty sure that one he told us about how Catherine the Great died isn't true - at least I hope not.)
Being an effective history lecturer, I think, hinges on being a good storyteller, first and foremost. That being said, Ben Smith definitely has what it takes. Having attended one of his classes at Michigan State University, I can honestly say he was one of the most entertaining professors I had in my college experience. His lectures manages to balance being both informal and informative, and were always packed with plenty of asides. (My favorite was his story of reporting his stolen backpack to the Mexican police, only to be thrown in jail for two days on the accusation of stealing his own backpack, and his eventual freedom by well-considered bribe from lawyer!) A natural storyteller, Smith's lectures were always high on the laughs-to-snores ratio; his ever-present British wit helped keep the history of the world moving swiftly, along with his habit of always bringing interesting facts to light – almost 1 out of every 10 Asians is directly related to Genghis Khan, for example. Outside of the lecture hall, Smith is always busy with research work; his area of focus centers on comparative history of Latin American cultures. His doctoral work focused on the indigenous population of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is also the focus of his first two books, “The Politics of State Formation in Oaxaca, 1920-1952," and a book on women's social movements in Oaxaca, co-authored with Noemi Morales Sanchez. Both books are due out in 2009. He's spent the last couple of years also focused on Mexico's popular politics and the religion of its indigenous peoples, and is currently authoring two articles related to these topics for peer-reviewed journals. My prediction is that with his engaging personality and thorough knowledge of his subject matter, Prof. Ben Smith has a long career ahead of him. I'm not sure how he feels about it, but for better or worse, I think I'll remember him most for those off-book stories. (I'm pretty sure that one he told us about how Catherine the Great died isn't true - at least I hope not.)