Talk:Mark Carnes

Photo

Please add this photo to the article: File:Mark Carnes.jpg HRShami (talk) 06:37, 18 July 2025 (UTC)

Done PK650 (talk) 04:44, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Photo

Please add this photo the article: Mark Carnes1.jpg HRShami (talk) 05:02, 22 September 2025 (UTC)

Done Meepmeepyeet (talk) 04:36, 23 September 2025 (UTC)

Improving lead section

Please replace the original text below with edited text. I have made any edits to the references of content of the section. All the edits are for better sentence structure.

Original text: Mark Christopher Carnes is an American historian and educator known for founding the Reacting to the Past pedagogy.

After earning his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1982, he joined Barnard College, where he has been a professor of History and chaired the history department from 1992 to 1995. In 1989, he and John A. Garraty became co-editors of the American National Biography (1999). As that work concluded, he developed Reacting to the Past, an interactive pedagogy in which students engage in complex role-playing games informed by historical texts. He helped refine the methodology and worked as the founding Executive Director of the Reacting Consortium, a nonprofit that oversees its development.

Edited text:

Mark Christopher Carnes is an American historian and educator best known as the founder of the Reacting to the Past pedagogy.

Carnes earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1982 and joined the faculty of Barnard College, where he has served as professor of history and chaired the department from 1992 to 1995. In 1989 he and John A. Garraty became co-editors of the American National Biography (1999). Later, he developed Reacting to the Past, a classroom pedagogy in which students participate in complex role-playing games informed by historical texts. He contributed to refining the methodology and served as the founding executive director of the Reacting Consortium, the nonprofit that manages its development.

Edit comparison

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'''Mark Christopher Carnes''' is an [[Americans|American]] [[historian]] and educator known for founding the [[Reacting games|Reacting to the Past pedagogy]].

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Mark Christopher Carnes is an [[Americans|American]] [[historian]] and educator best known as the founder of the [[Reacting games|Reacting to the Past pedagogy]].

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After earning his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] from [[Columbia University]] in 1982, he joined [[Barnard College]], where he has been a professor of [[History]] and chaired the history department from 1992 to 1995. In 1989, he and [[John A. Garraty]] became co-editors of the ''[[American National Biography]]'' (1999). As that work concluded, he developed Reacting to the Past, an interactive [[pedagogy]] in which students engage in complex [[Role-playing game|role-playing games]] informed by historical texts. He helped refine the methodology and worked as the founding Executive Director of the Reacting Consortium, a nonprofit that oversees its development.

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Carnes earned his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] from [[Columbia University]] in 1982 and joined the faculty of [[Barnard College]], where he has served as professor of history and chaired the department from 1992 to 1995. In 1989 he and [[John A. Garraty]] became co-editors of the ''[[American National Biography]]'' (1999).Later, he developed ''Reacting to the Past'', a classroom pedagogy in which students participate in complex [[Role-playing game|role-playing games]] informed by historical texts. He contributed to refining the methodology and served as the founding executive director of the Reacting Consortium, the nonprofit that manages its development.

HRShami (talk) 11:41, 30 September 2025 (UTC)

References

Done Uncontroversial wording edit. Rewording maintains WP:NPOV while cleaning up the text. --^The Robot Parade 15:46, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Improving education section

Please replace the original text below with edited text. I have made minor grammatical changes for better readability.

Original text: Carnes was born in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1950. His father worked for J.C. Penney. He studied piano at the Eastman School of Music. At Newburgh Free Academy, he met Mary Elin Korchinsky, his partner and collaborator. They graduated in 1969 and married in 1976.

Carnes earned a B.A. in history in 1974. He then directed the Orange County Nutrition Program for the Elderly before enrolling in Columbia University's history program in 1976. In 1980, he was appointed Orange County Historian and became a visiting assistant professor of history at Vassar College in 1981. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1982.

Edited text: Carnes was born in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1950. His father worked for J.C. Penney. He studied piano at the Eastman School of Music, and attended Newburgh Free Academy, where he met Mary Elin Korchinsky, his future partner and collaborator. Both graduated in 1969 and later married in 1976.

Carnes earned a B.A. in history in 1974 and subsequently directed the Orange County Nutrition Program for the Elderly. In 1976, he entered the doctoral program in history at Columbia University. While completing his studies, he was appointed Orange County Historian in 1980 and served as a visiting assistant professor of history at Vassar College in 1981. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1982. HRShami (talk) 11:51, 30 September 2025 (UTC)

References

Done Uncontroversial grammatical change. --^The Robot Parade 15:51, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Career Section

Please replace the original text below with the edited text. I have made minor edits for better sentence structure. I have made no edits to the references or the content.

Original text: By the late 1990s, Carnes developed simulations to enhance engagement in his first-year seminar on great texts, which evolved into month-long games set in historical contexts such as Athens after the Peloponnesian War, Ming China, Puritan Boston, revolutionary France, and pre-independence India. This led to the development of Reacting to the Past.

In 2013, Carnes was named the first executive director of the Reacting Consortium. He stepped down in 2022.

In 1991, he succeeded Kenneth Jackson as executive secretary of the Society of American Historians (SAH). He became general editor of Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (1995). He also edited Invisible Giants: Fifty Americans Who Shaped the Nation but Missed the History Books (2002). He resigned as executive secretary in 2009 but remained on the SAH Board.

Edited text: By the late 1990s, Carnes began developing classroom simulations to increase student engagement in his first-year seminar on great texts. These eventually evolved into month-long role-playing games set in historical contexts such as Athens after the Peloponnesian War, Ming China, Puritan Boston, revolutionary France, and pre-independence India, forming the basis for Reacting to the Past. He was appointed the first executive director of the Reacting Consortium in 2013, a position he held until stepping down in 2022.

Earlier in his career, Carnes succeeded Kenneth Jackson as executive secretary of the Society of American Historians (SAH) in 1991. During his tenure, he served as general editor of Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (1995) and edited Invisible Giants: Fifty Americans Who Shaped the Nation but Missed the History Books (2002). He resigned as SAH executive secretary in 2009 but continued to serve on its board.

References

HRShami (talk) 04:16, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

Done Uncontroversial formatting and wording change. --^The Robot Parade 15:55, 24 December 2025 (UTC)

Work Section

Please replace the original text below with edited text. I have just made changes in sentence structure and grammar for better reading. I have made no changes to the content or references.

Original text: Early in his career, Carnes worked on editing projects, including The Compensations of War: The Diary of an Ambulance Driver during the Great War (1983) and Dictionary of American Biography, Supplements 8-9 (1988), co-edited with John Garraty. His first book, Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America (1989), argued that middle-class men, responding to the feminization of religion and women's predominant role in childrearing, sought refuge in fraternal organizations such as the Freemasons and Odd Fellows. These groups fostered a secret, male-exclusive culture through elaborate initiatory rituals that functioned as an alternative form of religion and family structure. He also co-edited Meanings for Manhood: Constructions of Masculinity in Victorian America (1990) with Clyde Griffen, an early work in the field of men's history.

In 1989, the American Council of Learned Societies selected Garraty and Carnes to develop the American National Biography as a successor to the Dictionary of American Biography. Published in 1999, the 24-volume work contained 17,400 entries totaling 20 million words. The Times of London remarked, "Not since putting a man on the Moon has an American organisation undertaken such an ambitious logistical project." The American National Biography was released in both print and online formats, winning the R.R. Hawkins Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work from the Association of American Publishers (1999) and the Waldo G. Leland Prize from the American Historical Association (2001).

Prior to this, in 2001, Carnes published Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past (and Each Other). In 2004, he succeeded Oscar Handlin as series editor of the Library of American Biography.

Carnes's Reacting to the Past games have been published as six books. In Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College (2014), he argued that American colleges had long struggled to compete with subversive play worlds such as literary societies, fraternities, football culture, drinking, and video games, which absorbed students' energies. He contended that intellectualized role-playing games like Reacting to the Past effectively harnessed those motivational energies.

Edited text: Early in his career, Carnes worked on several editorial projects, including The Compensations of War: The Diary of an Ambulance Driver during the Great War (1983) and the Dictionary of American Biography, Supplements 8–9 (1988), co-edited with John Garraty. His first monograph, Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America (1989), argued that middle-class men, responding to the feminization of religion and women's central role in childrearing, turned to fraternal organizations such as the Freemasons and Odd Fellows. These groups, through elaborate initiatory rituals, cultivated male-exclusive cultures that served as substitutes for both religion and family life. He also co-edited Meanings for Manhood: Constructions of Masculinity in Victorian America (1990) with Clyde Griffen, an early work in the field of men's history.

In 1989, the American Council of Learned Societies selected Garraty and Carnes to develop the American National Biography as the successor to the Dictionary of American Biography. Published in 1999, the 24-volume reference work contained 17,400 entries totaling 20 million words. Commenting on the effort, The Times of London wrote "Not since putting a man on the Moon has an American organisation undertaken such an ambitious logistical project." Released in both print and online editions, the American National Biography won the R.R. Hawkins Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work from the Association of American Publishers (1999) and the Waldo G. Leland Prize from the American Historical Association (2001).

Carnes continued to explore the intersection of history and culture in later works. He published Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past (and Each Other) in 2001, and in 2004 succeeded Oscar Handlin as series editor of the Library of American Biography. His work on Reacting to the Past eventually resulted in the publication of six books. In his book Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College (2014), he argued that American higher education had long struggled to compete with the allure of student subcultures such as fraternities, athletics, drinking, and video games. He contended that intellectualized role-playing games like Reacting to the Past effectively harnessed those motivational energies. HRShami (talk) 04:42, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

References

Done Uncontroversial wording and format change. --^The Robot Parade 16:04, 24 December 2025 (UTC)