Joshua Donovan is an Instructor in History and Social Sciences, a coach for Outdoor Pursuits, and a House Counselor in Foxcroft Hall. Prior to coming to Andover, Donovan attained a PhD in Middle Eastern History at Columbia University, where he was a Dissertation Fellow at Columbia’s Sakıp Sabancı Center. In his free time, Donovan enjoys collecting scarves, hiking, and cooking with his husband.
For students who are also interested in writing publications, what is your advice for them?
Find topics or questions that really interest you. That could be whether you’re doing research at the high school level or even professionally. One of the things that motivates me to keep writing and researching and thinking and teaching are questions. I’m a naturally curious person and a lifelong learner, and that mentality will benefit you wherever you end up going.
You came to Andover from a teaching post at Boston College, Columbia, and the United Arab Emirates. What drew you to a secondary school classroom at this point in your career?
I still do some research myself, but I’ve been surprised at how close the caliber of Andover students are to university students. I’ve certainly made some adjustments, of course, but for the most part, Andover students are really curious. We read, wrestle with difficult texts, and talk about important moments in history. The History Department here in particular cares a lot about student research, so I also have opportunities for mentorship, which are really exciting.
We noticed you sing for the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. How has that been?
I’m a big music guy. Grew up playing piano and singing all throughout middle and high school and into college as well. And so when I moved to Boston a couple of years ago, I auditioned for the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, and it was a wonderful sense of community. I sing as a lower base, and it’s just great to gather with them and rehearse each week and put on shows in Boston.
How was your experience teaching History-300?
It’s been really great. One of the major assignments that I did for this term to get students ready for that big 300 paper in the spring was to have people look for a primary source themselves and just tell me a little bit about it, analyze it, contextualize it, and think through how you might use it for historical research. I was instantly blown away by the creativity, the originality, and again, the caliber of student research. I told parents at family weekend that I’ve done similar assignments like this at the college level, and there really is not much of a difference in the output. It’s really impressive.
What is your favorite book and movie?
I’m a big fan of the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. If I had to pick a single standalone movie, maybe “Birdcage,” “Robin Williams” and “Nathan Lane.” Books, I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite. [The] one I’m reading right now and really enjoying is a memoir by a historian named Abby Schle, called “Three Worlds Memoirs of an Arab Jew.” He’s a historian who’s trained at Oxford and born in Baghdad in the early, mid 1940s prior to the creation of the state of Israel. [He] talks about his family being forced or pressured to leave Iraq, about discrimination as an Arabic speaking person in Israel, and then about his career as a historian. It’s a book that really complicates simplistic narratives about the Middle East and is a really rich and well written account. I’ve been enjoying that lately.
What is it like serving as a host on the New Books in Middle East Studies podcast?
It was a great opportunity to talk to other historians about their work. In academia, there’s a common practice of reviewing other people’s scholarship, and that can be sort of impersonal. You read a book and then you type something without necessarily having met them. But these were conversations where I could ask questions about their research process or what they were thinking, and they could offer a deeper understanding that went sort of beyond what was typed on the page, which I thought was a really cool opportunity.
What do you enjoy the most about being an outdoor pursuits instructor?
Being outdoors. There are some cultures [in Scandinavia] and Japan that have this notion of forest bathing, where you immerse yourself in the wilderness and open your mind to reflection and contemplation and the serenity of the outdoors. I really like doing that, and I like bringing students outdoors to also experience some fresh air. It’s really restorative.
Do you have a favorite hiking trail?
The favorite trail, I would have to go back to the [Cochran Bird Sanctuary] at least on campus. I still haven’t seen very many birds in this bird sanctuary, but it’s a great place… It’s just an amazing place to have on campus. I often go there, with my husband and my dog, we just sort of walk around, and I know the students really get a lot of enjoyment out of that, too.
Do you have a favorite recipe to make?
In terms of cooking, I’m pretty open-minded, but I’m a big fan of world cuisine. We cook a lot of Middle Eastern food, South Asian food. My husband came from the American Southwest, so he’s a big fan of Mexican food. Paresky [Commons] does a pretty good job, too. I’ve been cooking far less than I normally have, which has been surprising to me.
How did your childhood shape you as a person?
I came from a public school background. I would describe it [as] sort of a blue collar background, not overly academic, but one where I was allowed to explore my passions and creativities. One really formative moment in my childhood was when I was 11 years old. I traveled to Australia and New Zealand with a student ambassador program without family. And that gave me the travel bug, this passion for exploring the world and learning about different peoples and places, and that I’ve continued into my adulthood.
How did you get into collecting scarves? Which is your favorite?
I started wearing scarves in college. Somebody knit me two scarves, actually. Then, some part of it is motivated by my travel. If I go to places and I see lovely scarves, I get them. The one that I have on right now is from Tunisia. It also keeps my neck warm and gives a little pop to my outfit. I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite, there are too many to choose from.
