The Leisurely Historian… Old and New Media, Leisure, and Entertainment Through a Historic Lens

About Me

My name’s Tad Suiter. I’m a PhD student in George Mason University’s History program. I’m an Americanist, with a primary focus on US cultural and social history 1820-1920.

My primary area of research is the cultural history of media and entertainment– basically, I try to look at how people used to waste their time, say, a hundred years ago, and try to figure out what it tells us about them– and about ourselves. I look at old newspapers, dime novels, movies, etc. and try to glean something new from them. It’s a lifelong interest and I feel very lucky to even get a chance to pursue it professionally.

In addition to old media, I have a strong interest in new media– that is to say, I have a little bit of an obsession with thinking about how computers and network technologies can, will, or should change how we approach the teaching and study of the humanities. I’m a bit of a technophile.

When I get sick of computers and dead people, I try to teach myself the ukulele.