Mark C. Carnes is a professor of history at Barnard College, Columbia University. He was Co-General Editor of the 26-volume American National Biography (1999). During the past decade, he has been involved in "Reacting to the Past," a pedagogical initiative in which college students play elaborate games, set in the past, their roles informed by classic texts. His book on Reacting, Mind Games: Revitalizing Higher Education Through Deep Role-Playing, is forthcoming.