Name
Ben Hamburger
Which degrees did you earn from CAS?
Undergraduate
Major(s) or area(s) of study
Political Science, History, Women's and Gender Studies
Graduation year
2004
Who is your employer, and where are they located?
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin
What is your job title and what kind of work does it involve?
I'm a Lecturer in the Department of History. I teach introductory World History courses, First-Year Seminars, and occasionally Broadfield Social Studies Education courses. I also coach the policy debate team at La Crosse Central High School, and I'm running for my local school board in Holmen, Wisconsin.
What sparked your interest in your major(s) or area(s) of study?
I was raised in a family that was passionate about justice, and I always had a fascination with history, government, and social movements. I developed an early understanding of how both masculinity and femininity can be policed and used as social control and to enforce hierarchy, and became fascinated with the variety of ways people have tried to articulate their individuality by subverting hegemonic versions of gender–but I didn’t have the vocabulary to put it that way!
What do you see as the value of your major(s) or CAS degree?
All three of my areas of study pushed me to be a critical thinker, but also a critic of the established social order. Political Science and my International Relations and Comparative Politics emphases pushed me to see my local community in a more global context. As a result, I've always been traveling, learning, and teaching about other cultures, and the diversity of human approaches to life. My History major led me to understand that every institution has an origin, and that everything is contingent. Nothing human made is inevitable or unchanging. My Women's and Gender Studies minor allowed me to turn those understandings into praxis, writing and participating in the community in a way that advocated for justice.
Were there any other people, activities, or events from your time at UNL that helped you get to where you are now?
There are a lot of professors that I still remember fondly from my days at Nebraska. The ones that stand out the most are Professor Andrew Wedeman from Political Science and Professor Carole Levin from History and WGS, both of whom inspired and pushed me to think deeper. One of the experiences that changed my life was an internship with the Lincoln Rape and Spousal Abuse Crisis Center (R/SACC) where I helped teach units on healthy and just relationships in Lincoln Public Schools--I realized the power that I had as a man to be an example of responsible, positive masculinity and speak out against violence.
Tell us about the path you took to get to where you are today in your career and how you applied your education in your major(s) or area(s) of study to get here.
After I graduated from UNL, I ended up pursuing a teaching career. I received an M.A. from the University of Iowa and taught at Washington High School and McKinley Middle School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for several years as a social studies teacher teaching history and government. I am very proud of both the ways I was able to integrate global and gender history into my teaching and community. In addition to coaching the debate team, at various points I advised feminist and GSA student groups. While teaching in Iowa, I met my partner Kate, who is a professor in Communication Studies. I had a daughter with Kate, and moved to Holmen, Wisconsin, just outside of La Crosse. I taught at Logan and Central High Schools in La Crosse for several more years, where I led an effort to revamp the history curriculum to include a! more glo bal focus. Four years ago, I left the K12 classroom to teach in the History Department at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Recently, I have decided to put my Political Science education into more concrete use, and run for local office--the school board of Holmen Public Schools.
What are your future professional goals?
Outside of working to win my school board election, things are fairly stable now. I've thought about getting a Ph.D in History or Education, but that's on hold until my daughter graduates. If things go well on the school board, who knows what the future holds in terms of local politics!
February 25, 2026
