Students who aren’t familiar with Salt Lake Community College history professor Henri Miller quickly learn that he takes great pride in teaching the subject.
Miller shares his passion for history by dressing in period attire every day for class. It may come as a surprise to many SLCC students, but the costumes and other historical items he brings to school create a fun, visual learning environment for students in his class.
Miller can’t think of a time that he hasn’t dressed up since he started teaching.
“Wearing the outfits gave people joy, not only for me but for peers, students, and random people,” he says.
Miller has a master’s degree in European history since the Renaissance and a bachelor’s degree in geography. He enjoyed learning about history at an early age, and preferred to read non-fiction over fiction for entertainment.
“Accounts of real people are far more fascinating,” he says.
Miller also loves to travel. This hobby has has led him to many historical sites and allowed him to gain knowledge and firsthand experience. He says that Salem, Massachusetts, home of the infamous witch trials, is one of his favorite historical places in the United States.
Miller has also participated in reenactments at some of the sites he has visited.
Military history and political history fascinates Miller. When he lived in Seattle, one of his neighbors who lived nearby once accused him of living in a war zone because she could always hear explosions and screams coming from his condo.
Despite his profession, Miller likes to watch historical movies, regardless of their level of accuracy. He usually has a good laugh at the dramatizations.
Miller currently teaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Anyone interested in taking one of his classes next semester can look up his schedule when registration opens.
