Dr. Bernardo A. Michael is a historian of Modern South Asia. His research has focused on the relationship between Nepali state formation, British colonialism, and territorial reordering on the subcontinent. He teaches courses in Asian and World history, and Historical Methods. He has lived and worked in South Asia, including spending nearly eight years in community development work in Nepal. He is currently co-chair of the history department at Messiah University. The following are his responses to a series of interview questions written by the history department work studies.
Interview Question: What courses are you teaching this semester?
Dr. Michael: HIST 374: History of Modern India & Pakistan. It is my favorite class as it allows me to return to South Asia, which was home to me for the first half of my life. In many ways it still is. I typically end the semester by cooking a simple meal for my students—rice, curry, lentils, spiced vegetables, served with chilies and yogurt and topped off with Mango ice cream and sauf (sugar coated fennel seeds)! This is the first year I won’t be doing this given the pandemic we are in. A tradition that lasted nearly two decades will be broken!
Q: In your work as a historian, what is one of the most interesting subjects that you have researched?
A: There are many such moments here, too many to recount. However, gaining a better understanding of my family’s history was most fascinating—given the variety of sources—DNA, textual, churches, cemeteries, photographs, landscapes, maps, oral histories, and even cuisine! Discerning the regional and global connections has placed the entire story within a world historical perspective. I am always excited to see what I can learn as I continue the research for this project, because it has been full of surprises and has forced me to extend my readings around the world, most recently on Nabatean graffito found in remote areas of the Arabian Peninsula!
Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work as a professor and as a historian?
A: Yes, indeed it has. The way I teach and participate in scholarly and other networks has certainly changed. For one, moving to an online format has been both very challenging and beneficial. Picking up new technological skills in a short amount of time and delivering content has taken a lot of my time as I prepared to teach. I also have had to cancel conference presentations and research trips, mostly overseas. On the other hand the move to online has helped me to flip my classroom and have more time for discussion and student engagement. Having students online can make this challenging, but I don’t think it is going to go away anytime soon. Finally, the move online has forced many institutions to open up their lecture to the general public, as well as nudge scholars to collaborate more intentionally. I have been able to attend, when I get a moment, webinars organized by, for example: the Royal Asiatic Society, the Oxford Bibliographic Society, and scholarly coalitions working digital history, the Indian Ocean, decolonizing area studies, and even ceramics! In fact, there now seems to be a glut of great presentations that it is becoming difficult to choose–so much so, that on one occasion I attended two webinars that overlapped a bit! All this “zooming” is certainly exhausting and does not really compare to the joys of being in the embodied company of fellow humans, animals, landscapes. I suppose this is the great takeaway of all this!
Q: What is something you have learned from history that is applicable in other areas of your life?
A: History is life and is constantly flowing through us, as we create and recreate it for others in the future whose inheritance it will become…maybe the matrix that forms the context for us—not just human, but all forms of life, and even the non-living! In simple terms I can focus on the mundane act of cooking which I enjoy doing on weekends. Here I make it a point to explore some of the history behind the food while I proceed to experiment and modify the recipe. And why not? Our grandmothers (mostly) did it all the time! When done well, everyone relishes a good meal. While there are many more examples I could think of, I hope this has left a good taste in your mouth!
We would like to thank Dr. Michael for his thoughtful and heartfelt responses!
History on the Bridge 