If you've been reading our blog for a while now, you know that we like to spotlight our faculty members and graduate assistants. These individuals are integral to our department and our academic community.
They're also just plain cool.
Dr. Michael Cahall, who used to be the Director of the Honors College, has finally re-joined the Department of History full-time. And we couldn't be happier! We think you should get to know him, too.
1.What is your favorite historical era or moment?
That’s kind of like choosing a favorite child; you’re “wrong” no matter what choice you make. I would probably choose the Gilded Age in America (1877-1917). When I taught Expansion and Reform I used to mention to the class that that course covered the shortest time span of all our graduate history survey courses, and it would have been possible, or even likely, that the period could have remembered the whole period within a single lifespan. That was the period when the United States became a “modern” nation and there was so much going on—good and bad—that it would be fascinating to observe it first-hand.
2. If you weren’t teaching history, what would you be doing?
(I assume you mean if I haven’t won the lottery or found another source of untold wealth. In which case, I’d be on a beach somewhere sipping pina coladas and wondering where I was going for dinner.) Really, I would probably be back in the museum field as a curator, working with historical artifacts and preparing exhibits. I loved doing that sort of history. Since I am fantasizing about this—it’d be the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. It really has some of the coolest stuff to “play” with!
3. What is your favorite piece or event of Pittsburgh history?
My favorite “piece” of Pittsburgh history is probably the urban “renaissance” of the 1950s and 1960s. I think we are tremendously lucky today that we had a group of leaders in the city then who looked for a way out of the steel era when that was beginning to decline. Other cities weren’t so fortunate. Some of that spirit is still in Pittsburgh and can be seen in the revitalization that is going on in the downtown area with the creation of a permanent live-in population there. There are a lot of “new” areas, like Market Square, that make the downtown a fun place to be. I appreciate living in a city that knows how to redefine itself in order to deal with new realities.
4. What one book would you recommend to every student of history?
I’d recommend Shelby Foote’s three-volume history of the American Civil War. It’s a massive work but exceedingly well researched and lovingly written. If you’ve seen Ken Burns’ film history of the war, you can’t have missed Foote as one of the major “talking heads” in the series. I can hear his voice telling me the story as I read along. Anything by David McCullough has the same effect for me.
5. The classic dinner question—what historical figures (up to 5) would you have to dinner? And just as important—what is the main course?
First, the meal because it’s the most important, right? I make a “killer” peppercorn steak with balsamic vinegar reduction (just ask my wife!). Prepared with excellent meat, it’d be a hit. It’d be accompanied by twice-baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, and my favorite buttermilk biscuits that my wife makes. There’d be something chocolate for dessert. Finally, we’d have a nice red wine to finish it off.
The five people (in no particular order) would be (1) Abraham Lincoln (I’d really love to know what his voice sounded like because some historians think it was high pitched. I’d also want to see his “mind” work.); (2) James Madison because I would like to know what the Founding Fathers really did originally intend when they wrote the U.S. Constitution; (3) Benjamin Franklin because I think he’d be a great dinner conversationalist; (4) Rachel Carson so she could give us her views on the current environmental issues facing the United States and the world; and (5) Madeline Albright to talk about the world scene today.
6. Does history really repeat itself?
No, I don’t believe history “repeats” itself. But I do think that ideas, circumstances, and events today have a strong resemblance to those of the past. We can learn a lot from how people reacted and dealt with them, both positively and negatively, in the past.
7. What historical location and during what time period would you have liked to live?
I think I would have liked to live in Philadelphia in 1876. The Centennial Exposition would have been amazing--to see all the “new” machinery and manufactures created for the exhibition. (Of course I would invest in Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and Thomas Alva Edison’s gramophone—both exhibited at the exposition—and become “filthy rich.” See question Number 2!)
8. Who/what leader had the coolest historical costume?
I think Erik the Red or Leif Ericson probably had the coolest historical costume. Hey—animal skins, swords, spears and horned helmets! How can you go wrong? (OK. I know the Vikings very likely didn’t wear horned helmets, but it’s become an icon, right?)
9. What is the most significant historical moment you have known in your lifetime?
You’re making me admit my age. There were three that immediately came to mind: the assassination of John Kennedy in 1963, the lunar landing in 1969, and 9/11 in 2001. Having to choose one, I would probably select 9/11. I think it was a major turning point for the U.S. and continues to play into our national psyche. Many of the issues we are dealing with as a nation today were a direct result of or were strongly influenced by that experience.
10. Do you have a favorite historical quote or reference?
I had to think about this one; there are so many. I guess I would go with “Houston, Tranquility Base; the Eagle has landed.” Everyone who is my age can probably tell you exactly where they were when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Having been a “child of the sixties” (and I do mean child!), I grew up with the American space program in all its glory. I think it, along with the American effort in World War II, is evidence of what we, as a nation, can do when we are united and dedicated to a seemingly impossible goal. I wish we had leaders who could issue such challenges to us today and lead us, like John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt did in their day, to face and solve some of the problems we face today.
