Colin E. Woodward's Official Site

Retired historian Michael Holt is one of the most accomplished writers on antebellum politics. A professor at the University of Virginia for decades, he is perhaps best known for his grand 1999 book, The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party. He is also the author of The Political…

In part two of his conversation with Mark Thompson, Colin talks about Mark’s move to the Netherlands, what he teaches there, and comparison between Dutch and American living. Is college in the Netherlands really free? Is it better? And what does Mark miss and not miss about the States? Things…

Mark Thompson is a historian of colonial America and a professor at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. A native of New Orleans, he studied under Jack Greene at Johns Hopkins University before moving to Baton Rouge. He and Colin met at LSU, where Mark was teaching and Colin…

Warning: this review contains spoilers. Earlier this month, I watched the latest Jim Jarmusch movie, the amiable, albeit unsuccessful zombie flick The Dead Don’t Die. I’ve wanted to see it for a while. I mean, Bill Murray in another zombie movie? Hell, yeah. The movie, however, isn’t as fun as…

Dr. Joseph Coohill is the host of the popular history podcast Professor Buzzkill. Trained as a historian of 19th English politics, Joe’s penchant for “busting myths” began in the classroom. Now, it serves as the basis for his weekly show, where he covers everything from Chinese feminists and the Pearl…

Colin reads from his 2012 paper, “4-F: Charles Bukowski and World War II.” Born in 1920, Bukowski was a Los Angeles writer, epic alcoholic, and critic of all things status quo. But was he political? What did he have to say about World War II, where he was arrested for…

Writer and editor Adam Bulger returns to the podcast to talk about some of his favorite books. Along the way, he and Colin discuss how our literary tastes change, how to balance reading and writing, and why great books are kinda like great movies. Harry Potter fans: cover your ears!…

In preparation for (yet another) job talk, Colin talks about what he’s been doing for the last three years: working on the Lee Family Digital Archive at Stratford Hall. In his talk, he discusses what he’s accomplished, the appeals of doing family history, and the pros and cons of digital…

Bill Cooper worked at Louisiana State University for nearly 50 years as a dean and a professor of southern history. A native of rural South Carolina, he studied with the imposing David Donald at Princeton and Johns Hopkins University before moving to Baton Rouge in 1968. Bill has published widely…

Gaines Foster is professor of history at Louisiana State University, where he has taught for almost 40 years and where Colin was a graduate student. Gaines is the author of Ghosts of the Confederacy, which has become a classic study of the Lost Cause, Confederate tradition, and the politics of…