Allison Bumsted

(Humanities)

What do I teach?

Humanities I: Prehistory to Renaissance
Humanities II: Renaissance to the Present
Humanities I: Great Questions Seminar

What were my college majors?

Education 8-12 Grade Levels (AAT, ACC)
History and Political Science (w/minor in Geography) (BA, Texas State)
The Beatles, Popular Music, and Society (MA, Liverpool Hope University)
Cultural Studies (PhD, Liverpool Hope University)

My advice to undergraduates . . .

I had absolutely no direction during my studies, but I knew what I wanted to do. Although I found my way, I wish I would have had access to an advisor that could have provided guidance towards a path that may have been more suitable for my direction. So, I encourage you to take the time to explore the world around you to ensure that you enjoy not only your path, but the direction it takes you - and this is where a faculty advisor can come in!

Three favorite jobs I've had

Two moments that led me to my chosen career . . .

I was already in college when The Beatles, Popular Music & Society MA was announced, and I was slated to be a secondary ed history teacher. However, I was accepted into the Beatles MA program just as I finished my student teaching, so I left for the UK just after graduation. I did come back and teach secondary ed for many years before obtaining my PhD. Were it not for my insatiable interest in the Beatles, popular music, and my experience in the UK, I would have never left my secondary role.

When I was in high school, I took creative writing my senior year. I received a failing grade on a paper, as I was told I could not write a story "that was one big hallucination." I knew then that I was not in the hands I needed to be, as one could argue that many stories could be one big hallucination. At that moment, I dreamed of the teacher I wanted, and I left with the decision that I would become that teacher for others.

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