Susan Holly: State Dept. historian discusses role of diplomacy in foreign policy
Students and teachers from local high school history classes had an opportunity to learn about an important subject in today’s world — diplomacy — from a person with extensive first-hand experience in the field.
Susan Holly, a senior historian with the State Department, visited Humboldt County on Thursday and Friday to speak to students about the United States government’s role in the Guatemala Coup of 1954.
On Thursday, Holly addressed four separate groups of high school students, many of whom were familiar with the topic at hand but did not fully understand exactly the significance of the U.S.’s involvement.
Holly, who has undergraduate degrees in history and journalism, as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history, spent several years going through classified files at the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., analyzing the documents in an attempt to better understand the government’s role in the coup.
McKinleyville High School history teacher Jack Bareilles organized Holly’s visit after forming a relationship with historians at the state department through the Teaching American History grant process, which he directs. Bareilles said his students were interested in Holly’s role in uncovering pieces of the past and came away with a better understanding of the historical event as a result.
“For us to have access to a historian who has more experience than anyone else with secret documents and hands-on experience with the CIA is a really unique thing,” Bareilles said. “The students who have studied this … they can read about it in a book, but when you actually get to talk to an eyewitness, it’s much more interesting.”
During her presentation on Thursday, Holly discussed the importance of looking at media reports on current events with a grain of salt. “You have to understand that there is a filter there … that there is something between you and the event, that it is somebody’s interpretation of the event,” she said.
“I want to open their minds to the idea that there are different stories that you can pull out of official documents,” Holly said. “There are a lot of different interpretations that you can get.”
Bareilles said Holly’s presentation was a learning experience for teachers as well.
On Friday, she presented a group of local history teachers with showings of DVDs created by the State Department and discussed the CIA’s involvement in the Guatemalan coup, as well as presented on a separate topic: the turn of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of several major figures in American history.
For more information about the State History Department or its publications, visit www.state.gov. A site geared toward youths can be accessed at www.futurestate.gov.
Read entire article at Eureka Reporter
Susan Holly, a senior historian with the State Department, visited Humboldt County on Thursday and Friday to speak to students about the United States government’s role in the Guatemala Coup of 1954.
On Thursday, Holly addressed four separate groups of high school students, many of whom were familiar with the topic at hand but did not fully understand exactly the significance of the U.S.’s involvement.
Holly, who has undergraduate degrees in history and journalism, as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history, spent several years going through classified files at the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., analyzing the documents in an attempt to better understand the government’s role in the coup.
McKinleyville High School history teacher Jack Bareilles organized Holly’s visit after forming a relationship with historians at the state department through the Teaching American History grant process, which he directs. Bareilles said his students were interested in Holly’s role in uncovering pieces of the past and came away with a better understanding of the historical event as a result.
“For us to have access to a historian who has more experience than anyone else with secret documents and hands-on experience with the CIA is a really unique thing,” Bareilles said. “The students who have studied this … they can read about it in a book, but when you actually get to talk to an eyewitness, it’s much more interesting.”
During her presentation on Thursday, Holly discussed the importance of looking at media reports on current events with a grain of salt. “You have to understand that there is a filter there … that there is something between you and the event, that it is somebody’s interpretation of the event,” she said.
“I want to open their minds to the idea that there are different stories that you can pull out of official documents,” Holly said. “There are a lot of different interpretations that you can get.”
Bareilles said Holly’s presentation was a learning experience for teachers as well.
On Friday, she presented a group of local history teachers with showings of DVDs created by the State Department and discussed the CIA’s involvement in the Guatemalan coup, as well as presented on a separate topic: the turn of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of several major figures in American history.
For more information about the State History Department or its publications, visit www.state.gov. A site geared toward youths can be accessed at www.futurestate.gov.