Season 7, Episode 1: Are We History? Historians in the Age of AI – Part I

In this episode of Reverb Effect, we look at the ways in which undergraduates in the humanities have been responding to the rise of AI. Last year, the University of Michigan’s history department put on workshops to begin discussing the impact of AI on teaching and learning and these first two episodes of the new season of the podcast seek to follow up on those conversations. In this episode we had a chance to talk to Cameron Amiot and Arjit Agarwal, two undergraduates involved in organizing a roundtable discussion on AI in the department, as well as Ella Hengeveld, the president of the university’s undergraduate History Club. The episode also features discussions with Sandy Rozek, Education Lead at LSA’s Generative AI Center of Excellence, and Richard Bachmann, a PhD candidate who was involved with focus groups that examined first year undergraduates’ interactions with generative AI.

In this episode of Reverb Effect, we look at the ways in which undergraduates in the humanities have been responding to the rise of AI. Last year, the University of Michigan’s history department put on workshops to begin discussing the impact of AI on teaching and learning and these first two episodes of the new season of the podcast seek to follow up on those conversations. In this episode we had a chance to talk to Cameron Amiot and Arjit Agarwal, two undergraduates involved in organizing a roundtable discussion on AI in the department, as well as Ella Hengeveld, the president of the university’s undergraduate History Club. The episode also features discussions with Sandy Rozek, Education Lead at LSA’s Generative AI Center of Excellence, and Richard Bachmann, a PhD candidate who was involved with focus groups that examined first year undergraduates’ interactions with generative AI.

David Mori is a PhD candidate in the history program at the University of Michigan whose research examines the intersections of Asian American history, activism, and the rise of policing and mass incarceration in the United States. He has conducted research for the Carceral State Project and is currently a researcher for the Bentley Historical Library’s Shared Stewardship project, where he works to connect historical archives with local communities.

Sandy Rozek is the education and training lead for the LSA TS GenAI Center of Excellence, where she develops and leads workshops and educational videos for LSA staff.  Sandy has worked in teaching and research roles at U-M and EMU since 2003.

R. Cameron Amiot is a senior at the University of Michigan, where he double majors in history and philosophy and won the 2026 Alfred G. Meyer Prize from Michigan’s Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies for his paper “The Unplanned Body in a Planned Economy.” He serves as a research editor for the Michigan Undergraduate Law Review and co-founded a student-faculty initiative on the use of AI in History and humanities coursework.

Arjit Agarwal is an Honors student at the University of Michigan studying Economics and Spanish on the pre-law track, with interests in law, finance, and public policy. On campus, he is involved with the Michigan Undergraduate Law Review and Michigan Undergraduate Moot Court Team.

Ella Hengeveld is a junior double majoring in History and Anthropology. Ella is passionate about public history and historical education, and is hoping to pursue a career in museums and archives.

Richard A. Bachmann is a PhD candidate in History, focusing on the history of science and technology. As part of the Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Equity (AIEE) research group of the Rackham Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Problem Solving Initiative, Richard has co-facilitated a series of focus groups with first-year undergraduate U-M students in the Winter 2026 semester which explored how the students experience and use AI in the classroom and their personal lives.

Production Credits

Episode Producers: David Mori

Season Producer: David Mori

Executive Producer: Joseph W. Ho

Editorial Board: Stephen Berrey, Elizabeth Collins, Joseph W. Ho

Music: David Mori

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