Congratulations History and Public History Grads of 2015

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2015! Below are the newest NC State recipients of Master of Arts degrees in Public History and History.

See the full May 2015 Graduation Ceremony

View graduation photo album

Public History

Amanda Benter Mandy interned at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore where she worked on an exhibit titled “Great Expectations: Jews, Health, and Healing.”She plans to pursue a career in exhibit development, community programming, or museum education. Rose Buchanan Rose performed her internship at the National Archives and Records Center in Washington, DC, where she processed collections related to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indians Claim Commission, and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. She will be continuing in our dual program with UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Sciences to become an archivist. Amanda Jeude Amanda’s internship was at the Campbell House Museum in St. Louis, where she updated the museum’s docent manual and correlated collections lists. She is taking a break from the job hunt this summer and taking a cross-country trip. Nathan Johnson Nathan performed his internship at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. He worked as a costumed Civil war-era North Carolinian and wrote interpretive materials to assist future costumed volunteers. He is employed at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Rebecca Lowe Rebecca interned at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia where she developed a Collections Management Quality Manual. She also enjoyed 15 seconds of fame when Mike Rowe’s show “Somebody’s Got to Do It” filmed an episode at the museum. This summer, Rebecca will intern at the North Carolina Museum of History. Hayley Moll Hayley worked at the Greensboro Historical Museum for her internship. She inventoried their holdings in order to make their collections available to online visitors. Lauren Roland Lauren’s internship was at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where she researched the provenance and legal status of items in the museum’s collection and digitized early twentieth-century glass plate negatives. Lauren will spend the summer as an intern at the Wayne County Museum in Goldsboro. Samantha Smith – Public History Award Samantha worked at Preservation Durham for her internship. She researched and wrote an exhibit on George Watts Carr, an architect of the mid-twentieth century whose influence may still be seen in buildings across eastern North Carolina, from the Marine Hospital at Camp Lejeune to the North Carolina Ports Authority Terminal in Morehead City to the Durham Athletic Park to NC State’s Nelson Hall. She will be in the Historic Preservation program at UNC-Greensboro in the fall. Josie Titus Josie interned at the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, also known as the Mob Museum, in Las Vegas. She catalogued the museum’s collections, reconciled inventories against holdings, and checked the condition of loaned artifacts. Josie will be doing another internship this summer at the Wayne County Historical Society in Goldsboro. Samantha Vandermeade – UGSA Outstanding Graduate TA Award Samantha performed her internship at the Buffalo History Museum of New York where she processed and documented collections from two local corporations—Wildroot and Fischer Price. Samantha will be attending Arizona State University in the fall to begin a doctoral program in Women and Gender Studies.

History

Madison Cates Madison worked under the direction of Professor Katherine Mellen Charron on a thesis entitled, “‘White Men Without Side-Arms:” Moderation, Manhood, and the Politics of Civil Rights in North Carolina, 1960-1965.” Madison examines how Governor Terry Sanford attempted to reconcile competing versions of southern manhood that emerged in this time of immense social upheaval. Focusing on how white moderates, white segregationists, and black activists deployed their identities as men and ideas about men’s proper roles, Madison argues that Sanford and his allies tried to protect North Carolina’s reputation–and thereby continue to attract economic investment–by reframing southern manhood as consistent with tolerance and the tenets of Christian brotherhood. Throughout, Madison also pays close attention to differences within each group based on class and geography. His thesis provides a novel interpretation and thus a notable contribution to North Carolina political history. Madison will enter the PhD History program at the University of Florida in the fall. Jaime Eagerton Jaime worked under the direction of Professor Gerald Surh on an important and controversial topic. Her thesis entitled, “The Rage of Famine: Social Relations Among Soviet Peasantry During the Great Soviet Famine, 1930-1934” examines Stalin’s forced famine in the USSR. Jaime carved out a theme that navigated past the political dispute surrounding it and went to the experience of the rural villagers involved by gauging the impact of the famine on their social relations. Her diligent search of available sources has produced an important and compelling story. Ashley Jones – Thesis Distinction – Outstanding Thesis Award Ashley worked under the direction of Professor S. Thomas Parker on a thesis entitled, “Motivation, Mechanics, and Magnitude: A Study of Glass Recycling in the Roma World.” This ground-breaking study concludes that the ubiquity of glass recycling throughout the Roman Empire suggests that this industry was much more productive than previously thought by most scholars and thus is a major contribution to the debate about the nature of the imperial Roman economy. Ashley’s thesis earned her distinction from the department and a nomination for the CHASS Thesis Award for outstanding scholarship at the graduate level. Ashley plans to travel to Europe this summer before beginning an internship in at a heritage site in Canada. Steffi King Steffi worked under the direction of Professor Susanna Lee on a thesis entitled, “Consent and Coercion in the Central Piedmont of North Carolina during the Civil War Era.” Drawing upon a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, Steffi examines allegiances in a region known at the time for its anti-Confederate and pro-Union leanings, a history largely forgotten in present-day community memory. Steffi tells the big stories of small communities. She is attentive to both the small details of people’s lives and the larger theories and concepts that inform them. Steffi will enter the PhD program in History at the University of Kentucky in the fall with full financial funding. Pamela Koulianos – Pam worked under the direction of Professor S. Thomas Parker on a thesis entitled, “The Economy of Petra from the First Century BC though the Fourth Century AD: An Analysis of the Perfume Industry.” This brilliant analysis offers a compelling argument for the rise and fall of a major industry in one of the great “caravan cities” of the Roman Empire. Jesica Jayd Lewis – Thesis Distinction Jayd worked under the direction of Professor S. Thomas Parker on a thesis entitled, “The Warrior’s Banquet: Syssitia in Ancient Crete.” This thesis argues that civic communal dining was a fundamental institution of ancient Greek communities on the island of Crete. It also proposes explanations for the widespread practice of communal feasting practices in both the religious and economic spheres. Jayd’s advisory committee awarded her thesis distinction. She plans to work as an independent scholar and develop a podcast devoted to history and archaeology after graduation. Sarah Wenner – Thesis Distinction Sarah worked under the direction of Professor S. Thomas Parker on a thesis entitled, “Petra’s Hinterland from the Nabataean through Early Byzantine Periods (ca. 63 BC – AD 500).” This thesis exploits a wide diversity of evidence to address changes in land use within the city of Petra’s hinterland in southern Jordan over 600 years. It suggests an intimate relationship with both the local desert environment but also with the wider Roman Empire. It explains how changes in regional settlement can be influenced by both local and imperial factors. Sarah’s advisory committee awarded her thesis distinction. Sarah will be moving on next fall to a doctoral program in classical archaeology at the University of Cincinnati, with full financial funding. Kelsey Zavelo – Thesis Distinction – Outstanding Thesis Award – UGSA Outstanding Graduate TA Award Kelsey worked with Professor Mitchell. Kelsey’s meticulous research at the Carter Library as well as in the South African Archives – for which she taught herself Afrikaans – enabled her to draw original and important conclusions about a pivotal time in US-South African relations for her extraordinarily fine thesis, “In Transition: The United States and South Africa, 1976 to 1977.” Kelsey’s thesis earned her distinction from the department and a nomination for the CHASS Thesis Award for outstanding scholarship at the graduate level. Kelsey is working for the History Department and plans to apply to PhD programs in the fall.