Three UAH History/Education Students Participate in Workshop on Teaching the Holocaust

On Friday May 8, 2009, three UAH History/Education students -- Kim Willis, John Milling, and Eddie Kimbrough -- participated in "Echoes and Reflections: A Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust," a Continuing Education workshop held at Athens State University for area teachers and teachers-to-be. The workshop was organized by the Anti-Defamation League, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, and Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, with funding from Dana and Yossie Hollander and the Braun Holocaust Institute-Glick Center for Holocaust Studies.

Students participated in six hours of workshops and also received extensive curricular material tied to Alabama Education Standards, including multiple lesson plans on themes as varied as Anti-Semitism, the Ghettos, Jewish Resistance, and Children. Participants also discussed innovative ways of using literature courses as well as history courses to teach the Holocaust.

Particularly impressive to participant John Milling were the oral interviews that were done for the project. According to John, "They are a great primary source. It is fascinating to see the emotions people have and the intricate details people remember after more than sixty years. During their conversations, you can see on their faces that they are reliving their past in their memory. It is very sad to see how they are still affected by those events. That is something you miss by merely reading a personal account."

Pictured here are John and Kim with a copy of the curriculum materials they received at the workshop.

The history department commends Kim, John, and Eddie for seeking out this opportunity and hopes future History/Education students will also participate in similar workshops.

Annual History Research Journal Now Available

The History Department is pleased to announce the publication of the 2009 edition of "A Journal of Graduate and Undergraduate Research in History." The Journal features the papers prepared by students enrolled in Dr. Andrew Dunar's senior seminar course (History 490 and History 590) in spring 2009.

The prize winning papers, based on a vote by seminar participants, were:
-- "Camaraderie or Competition: Dissension Between the National Japanese American Citizens’ League and its Seattle Chapter in the Struggle for Redress" by Charity Ethridge
-- "Tense Theology in a Holy Hierarchy: Liberation Theology Versus The Vatican" by Sarah Fisher
-- "Frances Cabaniss Roberts: Teacher and Historian" by Charles Westbrook

The remaining papers were prepared by William Bailey, Christina Barnett, Ruth Behling, Alyson Buck, Arthur Harrison, Rachel Hillman, Eddie Kimbrough, Jonathon Moore, Jonathan Neely, Craig Noneman, Elizabeth Simmons, Elisabeth Spalding, Casey Smith, and Chris Weed.

Congratulations to all students for completing the very demanding senior seminar class. Don't forget to pick up your copy of the Journal in Roberts Hall 409!

Congratulations to Svetlana Jovanov for MA Thesis, "Yugoslav-American Relationships during the Truman Presidency"

The history department is happy to congratulate Svetlana Jovanov on completing and defending her MA thesis entitled "Yugoslav-American Relationships during the Truman Presidency: Truman’s Eggs and Tito’s Separate Road."

According to Svetlana's abstract, "This study addresses the historical, political, military, and economic issues that established the character of the relationship between the United States and Yugoslavia during the Truman presidency. This relationship faced great challenges after the end of the World War II. Although the American government had been supportive during the war, it expressed concerns about Tito’s communism and his loyalty to Stalin after the war. The approach of the American government toward Yugoslavia changed after the Cominform’s expulsion of Yugoslavia in June 1948 and as a result of the Kremlin’s desire to force Yugoslavia down to the level of the occupied East European countries. After overcoming initial obstacles, the Yugoslav-American relationship became generally positive and pragmatic. American aid enabled Yugoslavia to survive as an independent socialist country, following its own socialist path. The historical material used in this study relies on sources from both countries, and presents motives that led the American and Yugoslav governments to overcome initial obstacles and develop a positive relationship."

Pictured here see Svetlana on Honors Day 2009 with her MA thesis advisor, Dr. Andy Dunar. Svetlana received the department's top award for a graduate student on Honors Day.

Congratulations to Whitney Snow on MA Thesis "The Cotton Mills of Huntsville"

The history department is proud to commend recent MA graduate Whitney Snow on completely one of the department's two successfully defended MA theses for academic year 2008-2009. Whitney's thesis was entitled, "The Cotton Mills of Huntsville." According to Whitney's abstract: "The textile industry fueled industrial, economic, and cultural growth in the city of Huntsville, Alabama. The Huntsville industry, a
microcosm of the Southern textile industry, maintained reactionary tendencies while becoming an agent of change. Its mills, though dependent on Northern funds, became regional, national, and international competitors. Mills assisted in the transition from farm to factory by providing employment to the masses, implementing corporate welfare, and fostering village life. The textile industry and its accompanying culture shaped both Huntsville and the South."

Whitney is now working towards a PhD in history in the field of "New South" at Mississippi State University. Congrats, Whitney!

Congratulations to Our Recent Graduates

The History Department is pleased to congratulate our students who graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with BA and MA degrees in December 2008 and May 2009.

In December 2008, Whitney Snow graduated with an MA degree in history, and James Bedsole, Jenna Fanning, Adam Keenum, Dillon Lee, and Stephanie Pinto graduated with BA degrees in history.

In May 2009, Greg Hughes, Svetlana Jovanov, and Carl David Stanford graduated with MA degrees in history, and Ruth Behling, Jeremy Garrett, Stanley Arthur Harrison, Christine McIntosh, Geoffrey Michael, Craig Noneman, Mosheda Pettus, Joseph Richardson, and Jennifer Staton graduated with BA degrees in history.

We are very proud of all of our graduates, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Please stay in touch with the history department!

Congratulations to Chad Pearson on Dissertation Award

The department is pleased to congratulate Chad Pearson on international recognition for his dissertation, completed at SUNY-Albany in 2008, on "’Organize and Fight’: Communities, Employers, and Open-Shop Movements, 1890-1920." The Labor History journal chose Chad's dissertation as one of the best three dissertations in labor history for the year, giving it an "honorable mention."

Chad teaches world history and western civilization courses and US history survey courses at UAH and at Calhoun Community College. He is also teaching an upper-level course on US Labor History at UAH in the fall 2009 semester.

"Organize and Fight" explores organized employers and anti-union activism in three cities: Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo, NY, and Worcester, Massachusetts. He points out that hundreds of employers were active movement-builders, union-busters, and political activists. In the study, he highlights the difficulties of building union-busting associations, the tensions between employer-organizers and rank-and-file members, the drama of breaking strikes and busting unions, and the ways in which employers used public relations in their struggles. This work seeks to explain the chief reasons why organized labor failed to achieve many of its goals during the so-called Progressive Era.

Chad is currently revising the dissertation and has begun working on a new chapter on organized employers and open-shoppery (a philosophy that insists that workers have the right to refuse to join labor unions) in Huntsville and Chattanooga.

History Major Sarah Fisher Wins a Student Government Association Student Leadership Award

History major Sarah Fisher, who is also double majoring in Political Science and has a minor in Sociology, was awarded a Student Leadership Award at the Student Government Association annual awards dinner Monday April 20.

Sarah was nominated and won the award primarily for her successful work as a Peer Mentor in the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) program sponsored by the Student Success Center at UAH. As a PASS tutor for 5 semesters, Sarah has attended the survey courses of 4 different history professors and organized thrice weekly break-out sessions with enrolled students to review course concepts and develop study skills. Dr. Diana Bell, director of the Student Success Center, has chosen Sarah to help coordinate and supervise PASS mentors in Academic Year 2009-2010.

Sarah is also about to start a co-op internship with the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) here in Huntsville. She hopes to work for the government after her graduation in Spring 2010.

Congratulations, Sarah!