Department of History

Message from the Chair

Jason CoyThe knowledge and skills that students gain as History majors are vital for preparing for the challenges facing us in the 21st century. Today’s problems—epidemic disease, racial oppression, political unrest, violent extremism, environmental crises, economic inequality—also confronted people in the past, and historians’ efforts to understand how they faced these threat provide valuable insights for us today. Our faculty, made up of dynamic teacher-scholars, offer courses that afford students a fascinating glimpse into how societies in the past sought to overcome these threats and how they changed in the process. Likewise, the History major equips graduates with valuable skills for launching successful careers after graduation. read more

Professor Jason Coy
Department Chair

Department News

Assistant Professor Sam Payne Wins Prestigious Award
CONGRATULATIONS to assistant professor Sam Payne on winning the prestigious Allan Nevins Prize from the Society of American Historians! The Nevins Prize is awarded “annually for the best-written doctoral dissertation on a significant subject in American history.” Sam won the prize for her work, “The Last Atlantic Revolution: Reconstruction and the Struggle for Democracy in […]
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Adjunct Professor Brings History to Life with Hands-On Assignment
We love seeing the artistic sides of our students! During the Spring 2023 semester, Adjunct professor Joshua Mayes brought history to the present with his Byzantine mosaic assignment. His HIST 115 students really knocked it out of the park, creating beautiful artwork & tying the symbolism featured in their images to Byzantine culture. Read on for […]
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Cara Delay’s ‘Catching Fire’ Published with Oxford University Press
Dr. Cara Delay’s latest book was recently published with Oxford University Press. Catching Fire: Women’s Health Activism in Ireland and the Global Movement for Reproductive Justice, co-written with Beth Sundstrom, narrates the rise of women’s health activism in Ireland within a global reproductive justice framework. Congratulations, Cara! For more than a generation, activists and advocacy […]
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