About Me

Photo by Heidi Fam Photography (2024)

About me:

My name is Dr. Jamie L.H. Goodall and I am a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. All views expressed on my website are my own and are not reflective of my employer, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense. I also teach part-time at Southern New Hampshire University in their College of Online & Continuing Education.

I am the author of Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2020), National Geographic’s Pirates: Shipwrecks, Conquests, and their Lasting Legacy (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2021), Pirates and Privateers from Long Island Sound to Delaware Bay (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2022), and The Daring Exploits of Black Sam Bellamy: From Cape Cod to the Caribbean (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2023).

Formerly, I was Assistant Professor of History at Stevenson University in Baltimore, MD for five years where I taught courses on a wide variety of historical subjects, including American and World History surveys, Intro to Public History, and Pirates of the Caribbean among many others.

I wish I could remember the exact moment I decided to enter the historical profession, but the truth is, a love of history has been with me since before I can remember. I recall mentally devouring my mother’s old Time Life books on ancient Egypt and Rome. As fond as I am of the fiction genre, I was always that weird kid whose nose was stuck in a non-fiction book–and it was usually a history book. It was a long and windy road that brought me to the PhD in history, but history has been the underlying theme of everything I’ve done.

Academically:

My doctoral dissertation examined the ways in which taste making and material culture developed in Caribbean islands via informal commercial networks among pirates, smugglers, merchants, government officials, and residents of the 17th and 18th century Atlantic world.

I received my B.A. in Archaeology and my M.A. in Public History-Museum Studies from Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina) in 2008 and 2010 respectively.  I received my PhD in History from The Ohio State in 2016.

Professionally:

I taught a variety of history courses at The Ohio State University while earning the PhD, at DeVry University, at Southern New Hampshire University, and at Stevenson University. My experience includes online teaching, the classroom environment, and hybrid-learning that combines the two. I also volunteer for organizations like the Society for Military History and GlobalMaritimeHistory.com. And I’ve been a consultant for television programs like National Geographic’s Appetite for Adventure and Saloon Media’s Mysteries from Above and The History Channel’s History’s Mysteries.

Additionally, I served as a reviewer for both the 2021 Harriet Tubman Prize Reader’s Committee and the Discovery Grant for the National Endowment for the Humanities. And I have helped MarineLives.org with transcriptions of the High Court of Admiralty records as part of a massive digitization effort. My other professional development includes serving as a freelance editor/academic consultant for McGraw-Hill Education, contributor to the online textbook The American Yawp, subject matter expert for Cengage Learning and for Southern New Hampshire University, and as a judge for the Maryland State finals of the American Legion Oratorical Scholarship Contest. I have published book reviews for various organizations and a digital exhibition review for HASTAC.

You’ll often find me presenting my work at regional, national, and international conferences. Past presentations include the 2022 Society for Military History Annual Meeting, 2021 American Historical Association Annual Meeting, the 2020 Annual CLAH/AHA Meeting, the 25th Annual Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture Conference, the New York University Atlantic Workshop, and the 49th Annual Association of Caribbean Historians Meeting, among others.

I have been interviewed for numerous podcasts, news segments, and have given a variety of talks to diverse groups.

Personally:

I grew up a Navy brat before my father left the service and we settled in North Carolina. The military lifestyle we had for some years instilled in me a perpetual case of wanderlust. I cannot travel enough! My heart belongs to my three beautiful puppy dogs: Thomas Jefferson (T.J.) and his brother John Tyler (J.T.), both Boxers; and my dearly departed Laddie, who was an eleven year old mixed breed of mysterious origins. I am adept at procrasti-cleaning and procrasti-napping. I enjoy being crafty (jewelry making, painting, designing, etc), taking photographs, reading, and writing. My passions include tattoos, history, teaching, true crime, sunshine, the ocean, the mountains, and–of course–pirates.

I  can be found on Twitter and Instagram (both handles are the same): @L_Historienne

You can also find me sometimes at the Maryland and Virginia Renaissance Festivals dressed as my alter ego: Torienne, Ship’s Scholar of the crew Mare Nostrum! I drink and I know things.

Torienne, Ship’s Scholar of Mare Nostrum
Torienne, Outfit #2
Alt Identity
Torienne

5 Comments

  • Bob Covey

    Hello Jamie,
    I just picked up the new National Geographic, PIRATES. It took me by surprise to see Sir Francis Drake / Replica of the Golden Hinde on the cover.

    In the fall of 1975, I sailed that boat to LA and then to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to film the movie Swashbuckler.

    I have multiple photos of the ship and from the ship. I believe the photo on the cover was taken in the San Francisco Bay during fleet week. I also have that photo and I believe I am in it.

    From Puerto Vallarta, Mexico the ship sailed back to San Francisco, then Japan and then back to England. In the early 1990 the ship returned to Vallejo at Mare Island Base – was on display for tours and then it was shipping out for another movie.

    Thanks for the memories,
    Bob Covey

    • Jamie Goodall

      Thanks for picking a copy up and for sharing your connection with the replica of the Golden Hinde! I hope you enjoy! -Jamie

  • Emanuel

    A lecture you’re making of gender and 1960s activism is on c-span. a question came up about why they’re apparel of jeans took a trend over the Sunday best apparel wear. I couldn’t help but noticed a book I recently picked up on “The Confederate Nation” by Emory M. Thomas. The first chapters speak about the cultural impact that gave way to the confederacy. It’s main points were far from be the “lazy south”. Many aristocratic families preferred the finer things of daily life. Land holders wanted congressional autonomy. Farmers wanted to be considered land-holding aristocrats. Also added how not only slave owners were identified as part of the “cultural renaissance” .but land owners, farmers, laborers, and slaves. Perhaps the reason why jeans were a choice of appearance for the SNCC. Is due to the cultural impact the south had while it identified itself as the “ante-bellum” of living. It’s Greek like aspirations to be a Democratic society. while land-holding and driving the laboring of slaves. Perhaps I wrote all of this incorrectly. And none of what I said have anything to do with your topic. I just thought maybe to the civil rights movement. the southern states still held on to the southern belle outlook it made a legend of. I live in the south its never brought up as a dinner topic. English is not my first language as well. But I just started reading this book and it struck me when you’re class were giving their take.

    • Jamie Goodall

      Hi Emanuel,

      Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching my lecture! I love to hear other people’s thoughts on the subjects I teach in my classes. I’ll have to take a look at the book you mentioned by Emory Thomas as I don’t believe I’ve read it before.

      Best,

      Jamie

  • Tim B

    Jaime,

    I was inspired to write by your blog on mental illness. I had PTSD when I was in the Forces combined with Panic and Anxiety attacks. I overcame them all, Mindfulness was a key driver, which is why I now sit as a trustee of the Oxford Mindfulness Trust. I now mentor people with anxiety and panic as well as PTSD and GAD. I’m reaching out if you need it! Live life and battle hard! Tim

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