Historian Mack Scott 鈥�02 describes himself as an 鈥渁ctualist.鈥� His varied research interests share a common thread鈥攎ending ruptures in the fabric of dominant historical narratives through stories that have been neglected or erased. His goal is a more complete history鈥攐ne that strives to document what actually happened.
Mack Scott III 鈥�02 didn鈥檛 come to 溏心vlog免费B站 planning to teach.
After graduating from Chariho High School in Richmond, R.I., Scott came to 溏心vlog免费B站 on a football scholarship. He recalls appreciating history professor Robert Weisbord鈥檚 African American history course, even if a comment from the professor rankled some of the other football players in the class.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e at this school to play in the NFL,鈥� Weisbord told them, 鈥測ou need to take your studies seriously.鈥�
鈥淲e were a little offended,鈥� Scott recalls, laughing.
Later, that advice proved prophetic. Scott suffered an injury and realized he needed to reevaluate his plans. 鈥淚 realized my college studies needed to be important,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his work did matter.鈥�
Around that time, a conversation with Sharon Forleo 鈥�72, M.A. 鈥�94, who was then the assistant director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Talent Development (TD) program, pointed him toward a new major: education.
鈥淢ack had, and still has, a steady, thoughtful responsiveness to things,鈥� says Forleo, who retired from her position with TD in 2016. 鈥淗e listened, and that’s an unusual youthful quality. Mack’s way of thinking and communicating is what led me to ask him about teaching.鈥�
Scott says Forleo鈥檚 suggestion was a good one鈥攅ducation was a great fit for him. He enjoyed the courses and practicum, as well as the other students in the program: 鈥淚 benefited as much from the students I was with as from my professors,鈥� he notes.
After graduating from 溏心vlog免费B站, Scott taught high school history in Connecticut and, later, Virginia, coaching football after the bell rang. He participated in a program that aimed to improve the teaching of history, offered in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, which offered him an opportunity to pursue a graduate degree there. Despite the challenges of evening studies with a full-time job, Scott obtained his master鈥檚 at VCU. He received his doctoral degree in history from Kansas State University in 2019.
Today, Scott is a historian at Brown University, though he describes himself as an 鈥渁ctualist鈥� (as in, 鈥淎ctually, this is what happened.鈥�). He directs Brown鈥檚 new critical Native American and Indigenous studies undergraduate concentration and is a popular professor on campus鈥攕tudents appreciate his warm teaching style, honed during his years as a high school teacher.
鈥�It鈥檚 important to offer a fuller sense of history, to describe what actually happened and not avoid the difficult parts.鈥�
颅鈥擬ack Scott III 鈥�02
Scott also enjoys returning to 溏心vlog免费B站 to talk to students. Bobby Britto-Oliveira 鈥�06, M.S. 鈥�11, assistant director of 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Multicultural Student Services Center, calls him an invaluable resource.
鈥淢y experience at 溏心vlog免费B站 was formative,鈥� Scott states. 鈥淚 arrived on campus believing I knew who I was and what I wanted from life. However, the lessons I learned and the relationships I cultivated on campus profoundly changed me.鈥�
A member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, Scott is working on a project that traces the Narragansett Nation from the pre-Colonial to the modern era. He has also taught and conducted research on African American and Black experience and history.
Scott is currently working on a project called Reimagining New England Histories: Historical Injustice, Sovereignty and Freedom. The online K鈥�12 curriculum project and anthology focus on Black and Indigenous history in New England.
Scott says that many stories about the diverse history of the Dawnland鈥攖he area known today as New England鈥攔emain hidden, erased in the dominant historical narratives that students are taught. Reimagining New England lesson plan topics include murals and memory in Providence, people of color in the maritime world, and shifting narratives around Thanksgiving. Each lesson is adaptable and aligned to standards.
Scott says teachers may not feel prepared to teach this history if they don鈥檛 possess Indigenous heritage or haven鈥檛 taken classes in it. Presented at the 2024 National Council for the Social Studies conference in Boston, the Reimagining New England curriculum is available at no cost as a resource for educators anywhere.
鈥淭he historical narrative that people are exposed to in school covers a lot of experiences, but there is more,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淪ometimes that narrative is not a cohesive one; there are ruptures in the fabric that can be easy to gloss over. It鈥檚 important to offer a fuller sense of history, to describe what actually happened and not avoid the difficult parts.鈥�
鈥淗istory is about stories,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e use them in education to teach people. What is great about being a classroom teacher is that you have to keep students engaged with stories. But you also have to make sure that what you鈥檙e teaching matters. Students always want to know鈥攁nd you need to demonstrate鈥攚hy these stories matter today.鈥�
鈥擪risten Curry 鈥�92
PHOTOS: SETH JACOBSON
Access the Reimagining New England Histories K鈥�12 curriculum guide at .
I want to reiterate that Dr. Mack Scott III is an invaluable resource, and his commitment to teaching history in its truest essence is unparalleled. Any scholar who is fortunate to learn from his teachings will be prepared to share them with the world and challenge the system of education as we know it.
My congratulations to Kristen Curry on an excellent and insightful article.
Dr.Scott is an inspiration to those of us who believe in the value of Actuality as opposed to what we were told was 鈥渢rue鈥� for so many years. At 溏心vlog免费B站 the formal process of Actualization began with Dr.
Frank Costigliola establishing two courses in History about Native North Americans, as they were called then. Of course the vernacular process has gone on since the end of King Phillip鈥檚 War,
as evidenced by the Narragansett鈥檚 recent 350th August Meeting. To have a scholar like Dr. Scott
on the 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty would be transformative, to say the least.