Skip to content

Michael Vavrus

Countering the Master Narrative

Menu
  • About Michael Vavrus
  • Commentaries
  • Chapters & Articles
  • Books
  • Papers
  • Workshops
Menu

About Michael Vavrus



Dr. Michael Vavrus is Professor Emeritus at The Evergreen State College and author. He fully retired from formal education June 2023. He taught interdisciplinary courses focused on the intersection of education, history, and political economy.  His teaching and research critiques and counters distorted master narratives of history and current events. Below are some of his published works.

Michael is past president of the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education and the past president of the Washington state chapter of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He has also served as the scholarship/research committee chair for the “Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, & Gender,” a special interest group of the American Educational Research Association.

With Evergreen State College Master-in-Teaching candidates and two colleagues after completing his last lecture and workshop June 2023.

As a student, Michael approached his studies from an interdisciplinary perspective:  Graduated from Drake University with a B.A. in political science with a minor in history; studied at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico, and at the United Nations through Drew University; earned a M.A.from Michigan State University in social & philosophical foundations of education with a minor in African history (an interest from his time as a classroom teacher in rural Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer); and graduated from Michigan State University with a Ph.D. in instructional design with a minor in economic, which led to his research on teacher labor and alienation.

In West Virginia, Michael applied his interdisciplinary interests as teacher/director of a parent-run one-room elementary school and as a public school teacher of the gifted.  His research and teaching continues to reflect his interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. For example, one of his last courses was “Political Economy of Fascist Politics: Consequences and Resistance.”

Michael lives in Olympia, Washington, with his wife and has three children and three grandchildren. When not in the college library, he can often be found hiking along the college’s forest trails that lead to the Eld Inlet of the Puget Sound/Salish Sea.

Dr. Vavrus can be contacted at vavrusm@evergreen.edu

  • “Refuse Fascism” InterviewMay 30, 2023
    I was recently interviewed by RefuseFascism.org. Note: First 1 minute contains short clips from the full interview. Next, host Coco Das provides anti-fascist news and commentaries. At about 8 minutes … Read more
  • A New Governing Regime: Far-Right ExtremismJuly 10, 2022
             It’s taking us far too long to recognize the ugly hand of fascism. Why, you may ask?  History demonstrates rising fascist politics from far-right movements become increasingly entrenched, operating … Read more
  • Failed Coups & Far-Right Electoral PoliticsJune 20, 2022
    Adolph Hitler’s “behavior during imprisonment convinced the authorities that, like his political organization…he was no longer to be feared.  It is believed he will retire to private life and to … Read more
  • Critical Race TheoryJune 20, 2021
    Here we are in the 3rd decade of the 21st century and the denial that race was central to the founding of the U.S. continues from conservative and far right … Read more
  • Time for a Multi-Party Political SystemJanuary 6, 2021
    The takeover of the U.S. Capitol by violent right-wing extremists that resulted in Congress being shut down today is telling by the support such paramilitary groups have received from key … Read more
© 2023 Michael Vavrus | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme