Special Thanks to UAHuntsville History Majors for Hosting Faculty Appreciation Dinner

The history faculty at UAH were greatly honored when our majors, led by Brittney Fore, Kayleigh Last, and Amanda Smith, organized a Faculty Appreciation Dinner on Friday May 8 in the Shelby Center.

Students prepared a buffet with lots of food for dinner, as well as an impressive variety of desserts. Students also created humorous awards for each faculty member.



Pictured here are Kayleigh, Brittney, and Amanda, the main coordinators; a group of faculty and students enjoying the good food; staff assistant Bev Gentry received the "World's Nicest Person" award; and department chair Andy Dunar receiving the "Least Likely to Ever Retire" award.




Thanks so much, history majors! We are so lucky to be teaching passionate, engaged, and considerate students like you!

Congratulations to Our History Students for Recognition on University Honors Day!

On April 4, 2011, the history department recognized several accomplished students during UAH's annual "Honors Day."

Top honors went to Joshua Riddle for "Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement" and to Craig Noneman for "Outstanding Graduate Achievement."

Additional winners were Kenneth "Franky" Garcia, who won the "National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Alabama History Essay Award" and Derrick Chatterton, who received the "Colonel Walter Aston Chapter of the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century History Award."




Rounding out our history honorees was Alyson Buck, who received the second annual "Dr. John Rison Jones Award in Southern History sponsored by the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society."




The Classical Studies Program, led by history professor Dr. Dick Gerberding, honored Julia Paul as its Outstanding Student at Honors Day.

Pictured here are Franky Garcia, Derrick Chatterton, and Joshua Riddle; history Alyson Buck along with Dr. John Kvach; Derrick Chatterton along with Mrs. Bonnie Turner, who presents the Colonel Walter Aston award each year; and Julia Paul along with Dr. Dick Gerberding.



Congratulations to you all! We are very proud of our wonderful students.

Congratulations to Christine Sears on Publications

Congrats to Dr. Christine Sears, assistant professor of history, for two publications out this spring!

The first is "Slavery as Social Mobility? Western Slaves in Late Eighteenth Century Algiers" Research in Maritime History, issue entitled "Rough Waters: American Involvement with the Mediterranean in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," no. 44 (March 2011): 207-220.



The second, co-authored with Dr. Jason O'Brien in UAH's education department, is "Victor or Villain? Wernher von Braun and the Space Race" in The Social Studies 102, no. 2 (March 2011):59-64.

This historical role play focuses on Wernher von Braun's involvement in and culpability for the use of slave laborers to produce V-2 rockets for Nazi Germany. This role play invites students to hone their critical thinking skills as they debate a complex, multi-layered historical scenario.

Kudos to Chad Pearson for Appearance on C-Span

Dr. Chad Pearson, an instructor in the UAH history department and the PASS (Peer Assisted Study Session) coordinator for UAH's Student Success Center, participated in a round table discussion at the 2011 American Historical Association conference in Boston on Beverly Gage's The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror (Oxford University Press, USA, 2009). Several panelists responded to the book, which focuses on the 1920 Wall Street bombing in order to provide a broader analysis of the history of terrorism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chad's presentation discussed the ways in which Gage's book helps us understand an era shaped by employer-led attacks on labor unions and left-wing activists.

C-Span recorded the session.

Good work, Chad!

Student Kayleigh Last Receives Summer Internship through the National Park Service

The history department is pleased to announce that student Kayleigh Last will be spending the summer interning at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park with the Student Conservation Association in partnership with the National Park Service. Her duties will include working at the visitors' center as an historical interpreter and providing help at the bookstore and gardens. This internship will provide her with an opportunity to work with park staff and assist on special park projects. This competitive national internship will aid her development as a public historian and should be a lot of fun. Great job Kayleigh!