SW059 College History Professor Illuminates Seminole War Research Hurdles, Faddish Academic Theories, and Joy of Discovery

Following three weeks of how-to research methods from Chris Kimball, Seminole War historian and author, we bring an academic into our fold to discuss the view from inside the proverbial ivory tower. Professors battle over arcane academic theories but to do history right, this week's guest says one still must do basic gumshoe detective work to find out what happened and, possibly, why. The great news for researchers is that the Seminole Wars were well documented in writing from the highest levels of government down to the foot soldier or pioneer. Materials are available, even if they are crumbling in one's hands when inspected today. 

Florida-native, Dr. John Wesley Moody III, has been a professor of history since 2007, Dr Moody has worked as a professor of history at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He compares and contrasts historical research methods, such as those Chris Kimball highlighted. And he discusses contentious contemporary approaches to historical research. Dr. Moody prefers the narrative aoproach, telling a coherent and possibly unified story to understand what happened at a given place and time. Other historical approaches include applying race, class, gender, and sexual identity as the lens through which a historian should view the past. Dr. Moody discusses pros and cons of historical approaches.

Born and raised in Pensacola, Dr. Moody received a Bachelor's from the University of Southern Mississippi; a Master’s degree from University of West Georgia; and a Ph.D. from Georgia State University. He specializes in 19th century American history, specifically military. He is in preliminary stages of a textbook proposal to tell Florida history from first European contact to the present. He is also presently in preliminary stages for a biography of Major Robert Anderson, the commander at Fort Sumter when the first shots there began the military aspects of the American Civil War. Dr Moody is author of four books already, including Demon of the Lost Cause: Sherman and Civil War History; Seven Myths of the Lost Cause; the Battle of Fort Sumter; and a biography of a civil war Marine.

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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