Politics as it Applies to 2020

History doesn’t repeat itself, but we’ve been down this road before. In this set of videos, filmed the week before and the day after the 2020 election, historian Margaret O’Mara connects the dots of the past to the pixels of the present. From the beginnings of the tech industry to modern day politics, understand how history can work in your own life and how an interdisciplinary perspective is a form of superpower.

 

Connecting dots of the past to pixels of the present

Presented to students on November 3, 2020.

A Post-Election Conversation with Margaret O’Mara

Presented to students on November 5, 2020.

Featuring Margaret O’Mara

Margaret O’Mara is the Howard & Frances Keller Endowed Professor of History at the University of Washington and a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times. She writes and teaches about the growth of the high-tech economy, the history of U.S. politics, and the connections between the two.

Photo of Margaret O’Mara by Jim Garner.

Related reading

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” by Margaret O’Mara // Perspectives on History, September 10, 2020

“The Coronavirus Could Rewrite the Rules for Silicon Valley,” by Margaret O’Mara // The New York Times,  April 30, 2020

“The Last Days of the Tech Emperors?” by Margaret O’Mara // The New York Times, July 30, 2020

“Washington is named for a president who owned slaves. Should it be?” by Ron Judd // The Seattle Times, October 11, 2020

“Why the Social Media Rage Machine Won’t Stop,” by Margaret O’Mara // The New York Times, November 3, 2020