Current Events
2007-2008
Dr. Lynne Fallwell Receives Grant to do Research at Holocaust Museum
Lynne Fallwell, assistant professor in the History Department, has
been awarded a follow-up grant to her two previous Curt C. and Else
Silberman Summer Seminar Grants for University Faculty for study at the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She will be working at the
Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies.
Dr. Fallwell received the Curt C. and Else Silberman Summer Seminar
Grant for University Faculty in 2004 and 2005. That month-long
research/teaching seminar brought selected faculty from across North
America together to meet with each other and work with leading experts
in the field. This summer the Holocaust Museum awarded two follow-up
grants to previous participants, one of which went to Dr. Fallwell.
Dr. Barbara Hahn gives Invited Lecture in Berlin
Barbara Hahn, Assistant Professor, gave an invited lecture on March 28 at a conference at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. Her paper was entitled "Making Tobacco Bright: The Social Construction of an Agricultural Commodity, 1617-1937."
Dr. Barbara Hahn publishes article in Agricultural History
Barbara Hahn, Assistant Professor, published “Paradox of Precision: Bright Tobacco as Technology Transfer, 1880-1937,” in the Spring 2008 issue of Agricultural History.
Award Winners Announced at annual Phi Alpha Theta Banquet
The following awards were presented at the Annual Phi Alpha Theta Banquet held on April 10th:
Graves Scholarship:
Mary Ann Suhl and Jon Crider
Hayes Latin American History Scholarship:
Valerie Martinez
Kinchen Scholarship:
Jonathan Strickland and Shawna Prather
Mozelle Rushing Scholarship:
John Huntington
Vigness Memorial Scholarship:
Kenna Lang
Phi Alpha Theta Scholarship:
Christopher Trobridge
Woods Scholarship:
Patrick Harned
Wallace Phi Alpha Theta Scholarship:
Brittany Rosales
Chamber Scholarship:
John Southard
Barr Dissertation Fellowship:
Cory Beene
Best Senior Seminar Paper:
Clinton Ball and Brian Kuebler
Harper Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
Krystal Humphreys
Balch Outstanding Graduate Part-Time Instructor Award:
Travis Childs
Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award:
Elizabeth Barnes and Sebastian Arandia
Outstanding Graduate Student Award:
David McDaniel
Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award:
Dr. Sean Cunningham
Congratulations to all those who won awards this year! You represent the best of a very active and intellectually rigorous History Department!
Dr. Patrick McDevitt to present Lecture at the International Cultural Center
Dr. Patrick McDevitt, Associate Professor of History at SUNY Buffalo will present a lecture titled "Not Cricket: Sport, Scandal & Imperial Masculinity" on Tuesday, April 8 at 6pm. The Lecture will be held at the International Cultural Center with a reception to follow. McDevitt is the author of several works including, "May the Best Man Win": Sport, Masculinity and Nationalism in Great Britain and the Empire, 1880-1935, as well as numerous articles on the history of nationalism and sport in the British empire. He is currently working on two projects that explore Ireland's interaction with the wider Atlantic world.
Dr. William A. Link to Deliver Annual Phi Alpha Theta Lecture
Dr. William A. Link, the Richard Milbauer Chair in History at the University of Florida will present this year's Phi Alpha Theta Lecture on Friday, April 4, at 7pm in the Escondido Theater in the Student Union Building. Dr. Link will be speaking on his new book Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism. A reception will be held prior to the talk at 6:30 pm. Link is also the author of four other books including The Paradox of Southern Progressivism and Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia.
Dr. Gretchen Adams Wins Gloria Lyerla Grant
Dr. Gretchen A. Adams, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, is a 2008-09 recipient of the Gloria Lyerla Library Memorial Fund Research Grant. Prof. Adams will travel to the library of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the purpose of completing the research on her second book.
Dr. Schmidt publishes Book Review in Itinerario
Dr. Ethan Schmidt, Assistant Professor in the Department of History
recently reviewed Transatlantic Encounters: American Indians in
Britain, 1500-1776 by Alden Vaughan. The review appears in the
current issue of Itinerario, the International Journal of the
Forum for European Expansion and Global Interaction.
Dr. Barbara Hahn publishes in Enterprise and Society
At the invitation of the Business History Conference, and as part of the Herman E. Krooss plenary in business history, Dr. Barbara Hahn, Assistant Professor of History, published a summary of her dissertation in the December 2007 issue of Enterprise and Society.
Dr. Elena Shulman publishes book chapter
Dr. Elena Shulman, an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, published "'Those Who Hurry to the Far East': Readers, Dreamers, and Volunteers," in Peopling the Russian Periphery: Borderland Colonization in Eurasian History, edited by Nicholas Breyfogle, Abby Schrader, and Willard Sunderland (Routledge, 2007).
Peter Coclanis to Deliver Wood Lecture on Friday, February 22nd
Dr. Peter Coclanis, Albert R. Newsome Professor of History and Associate Provost for International Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will give the 24th Annual Wood Agricultural History Lecture this Friday, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the International Cultural Center. His topic will be "Two Cheers for Revolution: The Virtues of Regime Change in World Agriculture." A reception will be held at 7:00 p.m. before the lecture.
History Department Ph.D. Graduate Cecilia Gowdy-Wygant Featured on Graduate School Website
Dr. Cecilia Gowdy-Wygant, an August 2007 Graduate of the History Department's Ph. D. program was recently featured on the Website for Texas Tech Graduate School. You can check out the feature at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/gradschool/profiles/Highlighttext2_08.php . Congratulations Cecilia!
Dr. Milam Interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Company about the Tet Offensive
Dr. Ron Milam, Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Interim Director of the Center for War and Diplomacy in the Post-Vietnam Era was recently interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Company for a story on the 40th Anniversary of the Tet Offensive. Text and audio of the interview are available at http://www.abc.net.au/ra/connectasia/stories/s2151018.htm (2/1/08)
Dr. Reckner becomes first American awarded medal by Vietnamese.
Officials from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam recently awarded Dr. Jim Reckner a medal of honor for his work with the Vietnam Archives. Dr. Reckner is the first American to receive such an award from Vietnam.
Dr. Schmidt quoted in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Article on Coronado
Dr. Schmidt was recently quote in an article appearing in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about recent reinterpretations of the route of Spanish Conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado.
Several Graduate Students Present Papers at Phi Alpha Theta Conference
History graduate students Jon Crider, James Jones, Valerie Martinez, Richard Driver, and Chad DeMars all presented papers at the Phi Alpha Theta - History Honors Society - 2008 Biennial Convention, held from January 3-5 at The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, sponsored by the University of New Mexico's Sigma Chapter of PAT.
Dr. Schmidt gives paper at Hall Center for the Humanities
Dr. Ethan Schmidt recently attended the Hall Center for the Humanities' British Seminar at the University of Kansas to discuss his paper "The Well-Ordered Commonwealth: Sir Thomas More's Utopia and the Colonization of the Americas." (12/5/07)
Dr. Adams Appointed to Department of Education Grant Review Panel
Dr. Gretchen Adams, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to the grant review panel for the 2008-09 "Teaching American History" grant competition. (12/5/07)
Graduate Students Present Papers at Texas Medieval Association
Graduate Students Judd Burton and David McDaniel each presented papers at the at the annual Texas Medieval Association conference held at Texas A&M in October. Both Judd's paper, "The Religious Periphery of Medieval Banias: Cult Figures, Saints, and Sects." and David's "The Royal Victory of Las Navas de Tolosa, 1212," were well-received. (12/5/07)
Dr. Howe Serving as Project Director for Upcoming Exhibit
Professor John Howe of the History Department is serving as the project director for “The Medieval Southwest: Manifestations of the Old World in the New,” an exhibit which will run from August 14, 2008, to April 5, 2009, occupying much of the public space in the Southwest Collection Building. Sections will highlight discovery, the development of southwestern institutions, and contemporary echoes. Among the topics to be covered are the origins of local cattle culture, of local musical traditions, and of the campus’s Spanish Renaissance architectural theme. Unique features will include unprecedented Lubbock public displays of recently discovered Coronado artifacts from Blanco Canyon and of artifacts unearthed during Texas Tech’s excavations of the San Sabá mission. Howe, aided by faculty members and staff members from across the campus and by volunteers from the Lubbock community, has been the lead writer on successful grant applications from Humanities Texas, the government of Spain, and the Helen Jones Foundation. (11/15/07)
Dr. Schmidt Presents Paper at American Society for Ethnohistory's Annual Meeting
Dr. Ethan Schmidt, Assistant Professor of History, recently presented a paper entitled "Realignment, Relocation, Refuge and Indian Resistance on the Mid-Atlantic Frontier, 1646-1774" at the annual meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (11/15/07)
Dr. Howe Begins Term as President of the Texas Medieval Association
Dr. John Howe, a Professor in the Department of History, began his term as President of the Texas Medieval Association on October 13 at TEMA's 17th annual meeting, held at Texas A&M.
Dr. Stoll Appointed to Program Commitee of the First International Conference in Environmental History
Dr. Mark Stoll, an Associate Professor in the Department of History, has been appointed to the Program Committee for the First World Congress of Environmental History. The international conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 4-8, 2009. The conference will be hosted by the International Consortium of Environmental History Organizations (ICEHO) and Roskilde University. (11/13/07)
Dr. Schmidt Delivers Lecture as part of Texas Tech's American Indian Week
Dr. Ethan Schmidt, Assistant Professor of History, delivered a lecture entitled "Beyond Myth, Manifest Destiny and the 'Cameo Theory:' Native Americans and the American Revolution" as part of Texas Tech's 3rd Annual American Indian Week.
Dr. Iber Delivers Presentation on Mexicans and Mexican Americans
Dr. Jorge Iber, Professor of History and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, delivered a presentation on October 12 on the contributions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to the American West. Given at the Ranching Heritage Center, the talk was reported on the front page of the Avalanche Journal. The presentation was given in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Dr. Howe Delivers Paper in Italy and Launches the Italian Translation of his Book
Dr. John Howe, a Professor in the Department of History, spoke on "Baronio e S. Domenico di Sora" in Sora, Italy for a Convegno internazionale di studi, October 10-13. Dr. Howe later launched the Italian translation of his prize-winning book, Church Reform and Social Change in Eleventh-Century Central Italy: Dominic of Sora and His Patrons. This ceremony was held at Dominic's tomb in the crypt of the church of San Domenico, and was attended by a large crowd of Dominic's devotees, scholars, and local civic and ecclesiastical officials.
Dr. Forsythe Featured in Presidential Lecture and Performance Series
On October 30 at 3:30 in the Merket Center, the President's Lecture & Performance Series will feature a panel discussion by the most recent winners of the President's Book Award: Dr. Gary Forsythe of History, Dr. Hafid Gafaiti of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, and Dr. Stephen Graham Jones of English. The event and reception to follow are free and open to the public.
Dr. Carlson Publishes Book Chapter
Dr. Paul H. Carlson, a Professor of History, published a chapter, "William R. Shafter: Commanding Black Troops in West Texas," in Bruce A. Glasrud and James M. Smallwood, editors, The African American Experience in Texas (Texas Tech University Press, 2007).
Dr. Reckner Recognized in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Editorial
In an editorial appearing in the Saturday, September 29 edition of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Dr. Jim Reckner, Director of Texas Tech's new Institute for Modern Conflict, Diplomacy, and Reconciliation, was recognized for his almost 20 years of leading and growing the Texas Tech Vietnam Center.
Vietnam Center and Archive Included in New Lucasfilm DVD Set for Young Indiana Jones
Lucasfilm is about to release a new DVD set for the series, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. To increase the educational value of the series for educators and students, Lucasfilm created a number of documentaries on key historical figures featured in the series which include historical materials from Texas Tech's Vietnam Archive and features a website link for additional materials and information for interested viewers.
Dr. Carlson Publishes Chapter on Buffalo Soldiers
Dr. Paul Carlson, a Professor of History, published "William R. Shafter, Black Troops, and the Opening of the Llano Estacado, 1870-1875" in Bruce A. Glasrud and Michael N. Searles, eds., Buffalo Soldiers in the West: A Black Soldiers Anthology (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2007).
Dr. Howe Publishes Study in Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Dr. John Howe, a Professor of History, has his article entitled "St. Berardus of Marsica (d. 1130): 'Model Gregorian Bishop'" appearing in the July issue of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, England's premier journal of Church history (Cambridge University Press).
Dr. Schmidt Named Contributing Editor-at-Large for Encyclopedia of Colonial North America
Dr. Ethan Schmidt, an Assistant Professor of History, has accepted an invitation to be Contributing Editor-at-Large for the Encyclopedia of Colonial North America, to be published by ABC-Clio.
Dr. Stoll Elected to the Executive Committee of the American Society for Environmental History
Dr. Mark Stoll, an Associate Professor in the Department of History, has been elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Society for Environmental History for a four-year term. ASEH is an international society of 1500 members (1100 individual members) and holds annual meetings.
Dr. Rainger Elected to the Executive Council of the History of Science Society
Dr. Ronald Rainger, a Professor in the Department of History, has been elected as a member of the Executive Council of the History of Science Society for a three-year term.
Dr. Carlson Interviewed for Irish Radio
Dr. Paul Carlson, Director of the Texas Tech Center for the Southwest and a full professor in the History Department, was recently interviewed via telephone on Irish radio by Patrick Geoghan, a lecturer in history at Trinity College in Dublin. Geoghan and his program partner, Susie Barnett, interviewed Carlson about his book, The Cowboy Way.