Wendy Vencel ’18

Posted by Elly Fieffer

This interview with Wendy Vencel was conducted November 2021

Describe your current work? Have you completed any post-graduate training or education? 

After Butler, I earned my Masters from the University of Edinburgh in Medieval History, focusing on genders in early medieval Scotland. Currently, I teach courses through Ivy Tech Bloomington’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Over the summer I taught Greek Myth & Art for their “College For Kids” program and now I am teaching Exploring Epics: Beowulf for adults. I am also currently applying to PhD programs in Public History where I will focus on the use of material culture in the study and presentation of history. 

What did you learn through your major that you find useful today? 

There is one major skill that I learned from my double major in history and classics that I have consistently used since graduating: being able to hold small group discussions. It is easy to blurt something out in class or crank out a paper, but it takes time to develop discussion skills and be able to express your thoughts and engage with the thoughts of others. I not only was this useful during my master’s program, where every course was discussion based, but also in the professional world when having to work collaboratively and efficiently with colleagues. 

Describe a transformative experience you had at Butler? 

I would have to say that Dr. Scarlett’s Historiography course was a transformative experience. I was really shy and soft spoken my first two years at Butler, but Historiography really forced me out of my comfort zone and got me to engage with history on a whole new level than before. I think if it wasn’t for that course, I wouldn’t have decided to pursue a master’s and not a PhD. 

Is there anything you wish you would have done differently? 

I wish that I had made more of an effort my first two years at Butler to connect with other students in my departments. Once my cohort finally started to do things together, the last two years flew by! It was a big help when studying or going through finals because we were, mostly, all in the same classes together. It also helped so much more to have people to bounce project ideas off of! 

What advice would you give to current students?

1) Make use of department resources and alumni/ae connections! If there is a conference outside of Indy or a study abroad opportunity you want to take, see about applying for some funding. 2) Go to department events (even if they aren’t BCRs!)! Not only will you definitely learn something, you might find a new interest that isn’t covered in your classes. They are also great opportunities to chat with professors and network, and you never know when those connections might come in handy! 

Is there a question you wish I would have asked? What is it and how would you answer it?

I wish I had asked more about student life at Butler and the transition from a high school mindset to a college one. I definitely think that that is partly why I struggled my first two years. So ALWAYS ask the schools/departments that you are applying to to put you in touch with current students, and don’t be scared to ask them those sorts of questions because the sooner you figure out how to best do college for you the better.

Prof. Waterhouse’s FYS and Urban History of Latin America

Posted by Elly Fieffer

Professor Amanda Waterhouse is one of the IU Fellowship Doctoral students who is here at Butler teaching for the year. Next semester, she will be offering a continuation of her FYS: Student Power as well as a new course, Urban History of Latin America. Both of these course are new to Butler this year and with her specific expertise, she offers a different perspective on these issues for our current students.

Why do you feel that it is important to teach first year students about student power?  

Students are often implicitly taught to accept the world as it is, or, if they want to change things, to do so through institutions in ways that do not directly threaten existing power structures. I think it is a critical part of ethical college teaching to invite students to question that belief in ways that might challenge the very institutions or classrooms in which they learn. In a more socially connected way, we are running out of time to fix the many global inequalities and harmful policies that structure our country and our world, especially related to climate change. In some regions of the world, especially in Latin America, where I did my doctoral research, student activists take on a large role in civic and political life, both historically and today. I believe that we need more young people in the United States to heed the lessons of history and hear the call of political inspiration to help build new powerful collective movements that will benefit us all.   

Do you feel that your upcoming course on urban history of Latin America or your FYS course works to continue to reveal unseen histories?

My course on the urban history of Latin America aims to show Butler students the urban realities of the region, from Central and South America to the Caribbean. To many people in the United States, Latin America is largely “unseen,” even though the region’s history and politics are deeply intertwined with those of the United States. There is also a persistent stereotype that Latin America is a rural region, when in fact it is heavily urbanized. In learning about the large-scale, innovative, and often contentious reality of Latin American cities, my hope is that new questions will emerge for students about the U.S. role in the region and some of the urban problems and opportunities that might exist right here in Indianapolis.  

In Spring 2022, my FYS class, “Student Power,” will cover the global history of student activism from the 1960s to today. This course seeks to make seen the often forgotten ways in which students have fought for political and social rights, changed the course of history, and shaped modern universities. Beyond recovering student history with young people embarking on their time in college, the course also tries to make visible to students their own political agency. In the last few years, I think that young people in the United States have gained a greater sense of their potential power, as movements around issues such as gun control, racial justice, and climate change have grown. By looking at historical moments when students wielded even more power, we will recover how collective movements are built, destroyed, and reborn, and what happens when young people do nothing.