By Olivia Turner | Arts & Life Editor
Some know Dr. Stephen Sloan as their history professor. Some may know him as the guy who created the Waco History app. You may even recognize him in an episode of Waco’s very own TV sensation, “Fixer Upper.” On Friday, however, the history professor and director of the Institute for Oral History was recognized for receiving the Cornelia Marschall Smith Award, making him Baylor’s professor of the year.
Under the muraled, golden ceiling of the Foyer of Meditation in the Armstrong Browning Library, Sloan gave a speech in honor of the occasion on “The History That Matters.” The words he shared with the many attendees seated before him including his family, colleagues and superseding Kappa Omega Tau brothers among others, spoke of amusing anecdotes, such as when he once threw an eraser at a student for dozing off in class.
“It turned out to be the best throw,” Sloan said, to which laughter was reciprocated by the crowd. “It was a tight spiral and it hit the student right between the eyes.”
Sloan continued with more humorous memories, such as the time he went on a date with a girl who questioned him on what he wanted out of life.
“I took the bait and said, ‘If I could, I would go to talk to a lobsterman in Maine. I would go talk to a field worker in California. I’d visit with a housewife in the Midwest. I would talk to the homeless in Texas,’” Sloan said. “I’d like to sit down and visit with him to try to understand how they view the world, what the world looks like to them, and what this whole thing of ‘life’ is to them on their own terms.”
They never went on another date, as she didn’t even recognize his voice the next time he called her, but Sloan said he is eternally grateful to her for helping him to realize what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
Sloan went on to describe to his audience that much of his work as a historian, specifically his role as the director of oral history, involves interviewing people and getting their take on life, fulfilling the dream he spoke of on the date.
“Oral history has seen the ways in which all that aspect of history works out in a single life — the way it’s contested, constructed, built and understood in a single life, and I find that endlessly fascinating,” Sloan said. “How I listen as an oral historian has made me rethink the ways historians not only listen actively, but listen for meaning and significance.”
Referencing bestselling author David Brooks’ lecture at Baylor last Tuesday, Sloan spoke of the importance of asking questions in order to live well, encouraging the audience to question even things they may think they already know.
When it comes to the history that matters, Sloan closed his speech with a few words of advice.
“You may ask yourself, ‘What is the history that matters?’” Sloan said. “I would say it’s the history that’s across from you. My hope is that you will put people across from you that are quite different from you and seek to understand and learn from their experience.”
Among many following the speech, Director of the Academy of Teaching and Learning Toby Brooks spoke of his admiration for Sloan’s words.
“It’s powerful,” Brooks said. “It just reminds me of the importance of storytelling in good teaching and how the ability to both understand the story and share a story is really critical to any professor.”
Nominations for next year’s Cornelia Marschall Smith Award are now open and must be submitted via email to the candidate’s dean by Nov. 1.
