News

Mar 23, 2011

History Weekend Educates and Enlightens

The Tea Party in America. Pirates of the Atlantic. Murder in America. Each year, the Department of History sponsors History Weekend “to ignite discussion, and to invite the public into that conversation,” according to Department Head Jonathan Ocko. “We bring first-rate speakers to campus to help explore and explain what historians do and how history…

Mar 16, 2011

The Public History of the Civil War, a Sesquicentennial Symposium

by Lauren Lopez-Ibanez, CHASS Communication Intern On April 12, 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter triggered the beginning of the American Civil War–a war that would consume our country for four long years and change it forever. As the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaches, the Department of History is holding a symposium to…

Mar 16, 2011

“Make the Letters Big and Plain” : A History of Black Education in North Carolina

Duncan, Eric. “‘Make the Letters Big and Plain’ : A History of Black Education in North Carolina.” (Under the direction of Dr. Susanna Lee.) This paper traces the history of black education in North Carolina from the antebellum era through Reconstruction. During the antebellum period, this paper examines how slaves, through largely individual efforts, used…

Mar 15, 2011

Found in translation: student reflects on why he studies the Middle East

Evan Garris (Political Science 2011) says he was overcome with emotion recently while watching television reports of the jubilant crowds celebrating Hosni Mubarak’s resignation in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The Smithfield, NC, native described his reaction to his Arabic teacher in the email reprinted below. Garris had spent the summer of 2010 travelling in the Middle…

Jan 5, 2011

The Pains of Withdrawal: Carter and Korea, 1976-1980

Brown, Aaron. “The Pains of Withdrawal: Carter and Korea, 1976-1980.” (Under the direction of Dr. Nancy Mitchell.) This thesis focuses on President Jimmy Carter’s attempt to withdraw American forces from the Korean peninsula. During his presidency (1976-1980), Carter tried unsuccessfully to remove all US ground forces from South Korea. His policy was met with almost…

Jan 4, 2011

MSNBC Taps CHASS Historian for Reaction to Mississippi Governor’s Account of Civil Rights Era

Professor of History Blair Kelley was featured recently on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann regarding Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s comments about the role of the segregationist Citizen’s Councils during the civil rights era. See the interview here.

Nov 10, 2010

The Triumph of Patriarchy in Kentucky’s History

In his newly-published book, Kentucke’s Frontiers (Indiana University Press, 2010), Professor of History Craig Thompson Friend explains how fear and terror transformed that region’s early promise of an egalitarian life for all into a patriarchal society that favored white men. “The frontier offered opportunity, not just for white men, but for blacks and white women,”…

Oct 28, 2010

Beechland and the Lost Colony

McMullan, Philip. “Beechland and the Lost Colony.” (Under the direction of Dr. Holly Brewer.) In a well known story, Sir Walter Ralegh’s attempt to settle ‘Virginia’ in 1587 became ‘The Lost Colony;’ 117 men, women and children simply disappeared. John White, the colony’s governor, described how the colonists were forced to remain on Roanoke Island…

Jun 1, 2010

Partial Views and Private Interest: Corruption and Politics in Colonial North Carolina, 1754-1760

Stroud, Jason. “Partial Views and Private Interest: Corruption and Politics in Colonial North Carolina, 1754-1760.” (Under the direction of Dr. Holly Brewer.) Under the governorship of Arthur Dobbs (r.1754-1763) colonial North Carolina witnessed a number of serious political debates that culminated in an effort by opposition political leaders to unseat the governor. This thesis examines…

Apr 30, 2010

Naturalized Citizens: Conservation, Gender, and the Tennessee Valley Authority during the New Deal

Bradshaw, Laura Hepp. “Naturalized Citizens: Conservation, Gender, and the Tennessee Valley Authority during the New Deal.” (Under the direction of Dr. Katherine Mellen Charron and Dr. Matthew Morse Booker.) Broadly, this thesis is an examination of the conservation movement and the Tennessee Valley Authority from the Progressive Era through the New Deal. The creation of…