35 Years and Still Going Strong!

At the annual Service Luncheon on April 27, 2007, the university honored Dr. Lee Williams II, Professor of History and Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, for 35 years of service to UAH. After the lunch, Dr. Williams remarked on several key changes during his time at UAH, noting in particular the expansion of the campus, the growth of the student body, and the increasing diversity of students and faculty. When asked of what he is most proud in his 35 years at UAH, Dr. Williams first responded "longevity!" He then emphasized that he is particularly proud of his work helping students reach their academic potential, walk across the stage at graduation, and become productive citizens. He has also enjoyed experiencing the "dynamism" of the history department and is particularly proud that his department has set high standards for teaching, scholarship, and service. We wish you many more years of longevity, Dr. Williams!

New Course Offering for Fall 2007: Women in U.S. History

The UAH History Department would like to announce a new course offering for Fall 2007, HY 367-01, "Women in U.S. History." The course will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:35-10:55 in Roberts Hall 423. Please consider registering for this course!

Congratulations New Phi Alpha Theta Initiates!

On Friday April 13, faculty, students, and friends of the UAH History Department traveled to Rogersville, Alabama, to the "Castle," the home of Dr. Richard Gerberding, to celebrate the initiation of thirteen students into the Phi Alpha Theta national history honorary.

Congratulations to new initiates Diane Allaway, Jimmy Bedsole, Thomas Bockhorn, Winston Boyd, Jennifer Coe, Veronica Ferreira, Brittany Luchtefeld, Christine McIntosh, John McLaughlin, Alex Methvin, Christopher Paysinger, Jennifer Staton, and Daniel Taylor.

Several already initiated members also attended the initiation, including chapter president Whitney Snow, chapter vice president Daniel Lofgren, and Brad Lewis, John Michael Huggins, and Thomas Reidy.

The photograph, from left to right and front to back, features John Michael Huggins, Alex Methvin, Chris Paysinger, Veronica Ferreira, Brittany Luchtefeld, Jennifer Coe, Tom Reidy, Christine McIntosh, Daniel Lofgren, Whitney Snow, Daniel Taylor, John McLaughlin, and Brad Lewis.

Congratulations to all new members, and special thanks to Dr. Gerberding for welcoming over 40 people to the Castle!

2007 History Tournament

The annual Liberal Arts Tournament took place on April 12, 2007 in Chan Auditorium (for History and Political Science) and in Roberts Hall for Art. Nearly one hundred students from five schools (Ardmore, Catholic, Covenant Christian Academy, Hazel Green, and Randolph) participated in the World History and U.S. History portion of the competition, with awards given to teams and to individuals. The spirited team competition came down to a tight contest in which UAH history graduates coached the top two teams: Jeff Murphy at Randolph and Ann Lawson at Catholic (pictured here). By the narrowest margin in recent memory, Randolph won both history competitions, with Catholic High second. (Catholic won an equally close battle with Randolph in the Government competition.) Covenant Christian Academy finished third in the World contest, and Ardmore (coached by UAH history grad student Brad Lewis) finished third in the U.S. test. This is the first time that UAH history students or former students coached all three of the top teams in either contest. Kudos to Beverley Gentry, who pulled things together as she has in every Tournament since the first one, and in this case she rescued the day’s festivities by overcoming two daunting challenges: construction material (for a stage set) littered the auditorium when she arrived, and later in the morning lunches arrived much later than requested. Dean Sue Kirkpatrick and retiring UAH President Frank Franz, both long-time supporters of the Tournament, spoke briefly to the students.

Congratulations to our Student Award Winners!

At the Honors Convocation on April 10, four of our history majors received honors and awards. Daniel Lofgren received two awards, the "Outstanding Undergraduate Achievement Award" for the history department and the "National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Alabama History Award." John Michael Huggins won the "Outstanding Graduate Achievement Award" for the history department. The final departmental award went to Diane Allaway, who won the "Colonel Walter Aston Chapter of the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century History Award." In addition, history major Veronica Ferreira won second prize in the Kathryn L. Harris Women's Studies Paper Competition.

Check out the photographs of our students after the Liberal Arts Convocation, one featuring Daniel, Diane, and John Michael, and the other featuring Veronica with her husband Brian and children Cece, Timothy, and Lily.

Congratulations Daniel, John Michael, Diane, and Veronica. We are very proud of you!

Welcome Dr. Christine Sears!

The History Department welcomes Christine E. Sears as its new expert on the early American republic, comparative slavery, the Atlantic World, and public history. During the first week of April, Christine successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Delaware, and we offer her our hearty congratulations! In addition to teaching at Delaware, Christine has taught high school and community college, and has also worked as a guide at the Winterthur Museum. Christine studies Barbary pirates! Her dissertation examines the roughly seven hundred Americans held in North African bondage between 1776 and the 1830 occupation of Algiers. Christine found that the experiences of American captives varied greatly, depending on how one was captured, by whom one was owned, how long one's captivity lasted, as well as one's class, race, and, sometimes, pure luck. Her work examines these variations, as well as the processes through which Americans were released from their bondage, and with what frequency this occurred. She explores how American captives were used, how they interacted with each other and with other slaves, and how they interacted with local inhabitants. Sears' work will provide a broader, comparative context for American captivity in Barbary, and will thus sharpen understanding of North African enslavement of Westerners during this period. Welcome Christine!!

Welcome Dr. Samuel Thomas!

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Samuel Thomas will join our department in August as a specialist in early modern European history. Sam earned his Ph.D. at Washington University in St. Louis in 2003 and has been teaching at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH since then. Sam’s current research explores religious community in early modern England. He uses the diaries of Presbyterian minister Oliver Heywood, maintained over many decades, to provide a micro-history of religious community in early modern England. His work enhances historical understanding of conflicts between the Church of England and nonconformists and reassesses the presumed impact of the Reformation on community life. He has already begun developing a new research project on midwives and medicine in early modern England.

Sam will teach courses on early modern Europe and medieval and early modern England, as well as religion, medicine, and women’s history in a British and European context. Sam also plans to introduce a course on African history, and to take students to York, England via a Global Studies class. Welcome Sam!