Mark+Helmsing

Mark Helmsing is a University Distinguished Fellow in the College of Education at Michigan State University and a doctoral candidate in the college’s Curriculum, Teaching, and Education Policy Ph.D. program. A former high school social studies and English teacher in the U.S. and abroad, Mark teaches courses in MSU’s teacher education program and instructs preservice social studies teachers during their student teaching internship. In 2011, Mark was a Visiting Fellow at Columbia University's Oral History Center and worked with a team from the MSU College of Education in establishing learning partnerships at the University of Botswana in Gaborone.  Mark enjoys traveling, reading, and is an avid TV & film buff. He tends to get off topic in class during Oscar season. Current research interests revolve around thinking critically and historically about theories and practices of schooling and teaching
 * 1) Research on the knowledge, beliefs, and worldviews of social studies teachers and the history and philosophy of social studies curriculum.
 * 2) Research on the intersubjective nature of teachers’ memories through analyzing what is (un)said in oral history testimonies of teaching in times of trauma (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Columbine)
 * 3) Research on the pedagogical content of popular culture, focusing on the construction of adolescent "monsters" in //Twilight, True Blood, & Teen Wolf// and the social studies-related aspects of //Mad Men// and //The Jersey Shore//

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