TAMU-CC History Professor, Dr. David Blanke, to be Featured on HISTORY Channel Series ‘The Machines that Built America’
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Dr. David Blanke, Professor of History at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, is making another primetime appearance as a commentator on a HISTORY Channel docuseries. “The Machines that Built America,” will debut Sunday, July 18, from 8-10 p.m. CST. “The Machines that Built America” reveals the surprising stories and rivalries behind the ground-breaking innovations that turned America into a superpower.
Blanke was also featured in 2017 on the HISTORY Channel docuseries “The Cars that Made America.”
“’The Cars that Made America’ proved to be a significant success for the HISTORY Channel, with over 30 million viewers and numerous airings since its debut,” Blanke said. “I was asked to again contribute for the automotive sections, including Ford and Chevy, but also offer historical context for Harley-Davidson, Boeing Aircraft, and Nintendo.”
Blanke has been with the Island University since 2001. For 20 years, he has instructed classes at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including U.S. History since 1865 and Modern U.S. Popular Culture. He also recently published new literary works in 2019 and 2020. Blanke says he encourages his students consider the many ways that history can reach people eager to learn more about the past.
HISTORY Channel Series ‘The Machines that Built America’ Premieres Sunday, July 18 at 8-10 p.m. CST
Dr. David Blanke, Professor of History at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, is making another primetime appearance as a commentator on a HISTORY Channel docuseries. “The Machines that Built America,” will debut Sunday, July 18, from 8-10 p.m. CST. “The Machines that Built America” reveals the surprising stories and rivalries behind the ground-breaking innovations that turned America into a superpower.
“Public history adapts scholarship into new formats – like museums, walking tours, podcasts, movies, and television shows – that offer content through media that is more accessible… and, yes… more fun,” Blanke said. “This presents interesting challenges but also makes public history one of more rapidly growing fields in history today.”
According to the HISTORY Channel website, “The Machines That Built America” will blend dramatic reenactments and archival footage with interviews from experts, biographers, and others. The show will bring to life some of America’s most storied inventors including Nikola Tesla, William Harley, Alexander Graham Bell, Duncan Black, Alonzo Decker, and many more. In eight one-hour episodes, viewers will meet these larger-than-life characters, learn about their rivalries, and ride the rollercoaster of triumph and failure as they search for breakthroughs that will change humanity, the website reads.
Excited for the debut of the new series, Blanke says it is the role of historians and experts like himself to broaden the lens for viewers to see the true impact of some America’s greatest history-makers.
“My most significant role, as well as that of the other historians, occurred well before the cameras rolled,” Blanke said. “We spent quite a bit of time in conversation with the series producers about the key ancillary changes that occurred beyond simply the businesses who made these products. Ultimately, it was the actions of everyday Americans that made these innovations meaningful.”
