eastern kentucky university’s department of history annual ... · costume society of america,...

A Few Words from History Department Chair Dr. Christiane Taylor

Every week encompasses numerous occurrences

that reinforce the pride and privilege I feel in being part of the EKU History Department. On Monday, Ogechi Anyanwu, our recently tenured and promoted Africanist, came into my office and handed me a copy of his new book, The Politics of Access: University Education and Nation-Building in Nigeria, 1948-2000 and on the way out the door reminded me that his co-authored work with Salome Nnoromele, EKU’s Director of African/African-American Studies would appear in December. On Tuesday, our double history/political majors Mikeal Byerly and Korey Bruck stopped me after our class on U.S. immigration history to discuss their experiences taking the LSATS. Later that afternoon, our history major, Hayley Powell, who is doing an internship at Whitehall this semester, stopped by my office to show me photos of the display she created for the 30th anniversary of Whitehall’s opening as a state historic site and to report on her first weekend as

a site tour guide. On Wednesday, I presided over a department meeting at which my colleagues

spent two hours in thoughtful and fruitful discussion of three proposals designed to better prepare our majors by adding further rigor to our already demanding program. Thursday saw me driving to Murray State with two of our M.A. students, Dustin Hill and Neil Kasiak, who were presenting papers at the annual Ohio Valley History Conference (OVHC). While I

drove westward, Jennifer Spock, our Russianist who was recently promoted to Professor, and David Blaylock, our Asianist and Japanese specialist were on their way to Ohio State University to attend the conferences that they had helped plan and organize. While Dustin and Neil were receiving high praise for the their well-researched and presented papers from OVHC attendees on Saturday morning, three of my colleagues were approaching the finish line of the 200 mile Bourbon Chase as members of a running team aptly named “Intellectual Pursuits.” It was just another week in the History department – a week full of events that made me proud of my colleagues and our students.

Christiane Taylor

Fall 2011

Eastern Kentucky University’s Department of History Annual Newsletter

Boone’s Dispatch

Faculty UpdatesOgechi E. Anyanwu was recently tenured and promoted to associate professor of history. His recent scholarly accomplishments include the release of his book, The Politics of Access: University Education and Nation Building in Nigeria, 1948-2000, published by the University of Calgary Press in 2011, and co-editing a forthcoming book, (Re)tracing Africa: A Multi-disciplinary Study of African History, Societies, and Cultures. His recent article, “The Anglo-American-Nigerian Collaboration in Nigeria’s Higher Education Reform: The Cold War and Decolonization, 1948-1960,” appeared in the Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History 11, no.3 (Winter 2010): 1-26. He was the recipient of the 2010-11 College of Arts and Sciences’ Excellence in Research and Creative Activities Award. He is currently working on a book manuscript focusing on how the colonial history of Mbano, an area in southeastern region of Nigeria, fits into our understanding of the larger political economy of the twentieth century and some of the major events that shaped it such as imperialism, the Great Depression, the two world wars, nationalism, and the decolonization in Africa.

Tom Appleton has been named coordinator of EKU’s observance of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. During the 2012-13 academic year a number of EKU departments and programs, including History, will be offering special courses, exhibits, and speakers to commemorate the war and its legacy. Tom recently published book reviews in the Journal of American History, the Journal of Southern History, and the Military History of the West as well as a short research note in the April 2011 issue of AHA Perspectives. During the summer he spent two weeks traveling in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

David Blaylock was a co-organizer of the conference “Science, Technology, and Medicine in East Asia: Policy, Practice, and Implications in a Global Context” in honor of his Ph.D. advisor James Bartholomew at Ohio State October 7-9 of this year.

John Bowes is enjoying the return of Fall and the cooler weather it brings. This past year was devoted once again to finding the time to research and write his book manuscript on northern Indian removal. But perhaps the two most important events of the past ten months were first, celebrating the birth of his second daughter Reese and second, successfully receiving tenure and promotion. Among other future engagements, John is excited to be one of the speakers in EKU’s 2011-2012 Chautauqua Lecture series. His talk, titled “Living with American Indians and American Indian History” will be the keynote address for November’s commemoration of Native American heritage month.

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Faculty UpdatesDavid Coleman recently returned from the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in Fort Worth Texas, where he presented a paper titled ”Genoese and Castilian Ideals of ‘Liberty’ in the 1516 Málaga Rebellion.” He has also recently had an article on piracy and corsair raiding in the Straits of Gibraltar in the years around 1500 accepted for publication sometime next year in the journal Medieval Encounters. He will be taking some time away from EKU this coming March-May 2012 to teach a course titled “ Art and Science in the Renaissance” at Underwood International Honors College of Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea—a course he is hoping to teach subsequently for EKU’s Honors Program.

Carloyn Dupont has a contract with NYU Press for her upcoming book, Mississippi P r a y i n g : Southern White Evangelicals and the Quest for Black Equality, 1945-1975, which she expects to see in print soon. She also presented a

paper titled “Challenging Southern Exceptionalism: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Central Illinois, and Race” at the recent Southern Historical Association Conference in Baltimore.

Todd Hartch is teaching three writing intensive courses this semester, which requires a fair amount of time for grading, but he thinks that the process is worthwhile. “I’ve taught history now for about ten years, and I’m increasingly convinced that writing is the best single way for students to learn. It’s not just a matter of improving a technique or learning grammatical rules—the writing of a research paper requires a deeper and more profound sort of learning than anything else we do in the classroom. Students will forget most of what we say in class and most of what they read, but they’ll remember what they research and write about.” Outside of the classroom Dr. Hartch is working on books on social critic Ivan Illich and on the transformation of Christianity in Latin America since 1960.

Jackie Jay continues to enjoy being one of the faculty sponsors of the History Club, along with her partner-in-crime Dr. Stearn. The paint on the walls of the new student lab seems to be sticking! This fall, she’s teaching a new course on the ancient Near East, and looks forward to teaching ancient Egypt again in the spring. The big project on the horizon is the preparation of a monograph for Brill, provisionally entitled Orality and Literacy in the Demotic Tales.

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Faculty UpdatesJennifer Spock has had a busy but rewarding year. She was pleased to be promoted to Professor in late spring of 2011. Her article “The Parfiev Family: Northern Free Peasants,” a prosopographical study of the types of experiences encountered by northern peasant families in Russia, appeared in Portraits of Old Russia: Imagined Lives of Ordinary People 1300-1725 this past spring. She and her co-editors have just given final approval to the publishers for a collection of articles that will be forthcoming in mid-November 2011: Religion and Identity in Russia and the Soviet Union: A Festschrift for Paul Bushkovitch. She is pleased to have an article in that collection titled “Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Expressions of Non-Elite Identity and Perspectives in Pre-Petrine Russia.” Finally, one of her articles has been accepted for inclusion in a special edition of Russian History that will focus on monasticism: “Administering a Right Life: Secular and Spiritual Guidance at Solovki Monastery in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.” Besides publications, Jenn continues her work as president of the Association for the Study of Eastern Christian History

and Culture, which just had its fourth bi-ennial conference at Ohio State University in October. She also continues to enjoy her teaching responsibilities at EKU, and has added to her list of fun things to do, occasional attendance at the concerts at EKU’s new performing arts center.

Cat Stearn presented two conference papers over the past year, the first at the 2010 Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in Montreal, and the second at a regional conference of the Costume Society of America, which was much closer to home—at Shaker village here in Kentucky. This conference also involved a dinner cruise on the Kentucky River which, she reports, was especially fun, since many of the conference participants dressed in period costume ranging from the early nineteenth-century to the 1940s (Dr. Stearn simply dressed as a history professor from 2011—very unoriginal!). The highlight of her publication achievements for this past year came when she received notice from The Sidney Journal that they have accepted for publication her article on Lady Mary Sidney and her relationship with Elizabeth I. This fall, she

is teaching two sections of World Civ. to 1500 along with an upper division on Women in European History to 1800. In the spring she is looking forward to team-teaching three sections of Honors Civilization again with her talented colleague Jackie Jay, in addition to an upper division class on English History to 1603. She and Dr. Jay also continue as co-faculty advisors for the EKU History Club.

Christiane Taylor has expanded her administrative role beyond serving as department chair. She continues to head the Social and Behavior Sciences’ group charged with how the Social Sciences will meet state-mandate literacy and content standards in their general education classes. As of August, she became the Chair of the Chairs’ Association. In that role she meets with the Provost monthly to discuss issues of concern to department chairs, serves on the Provost Council and University Diversity Committee, and has just been appointed to the Eastern Initiative, which is charged with improving the university’s admission, advising and financial aid systems .

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Faculty Updates Rob Weise’s article, “A New Deal in the Cold War: Carl D. Perkins, Coal, and the Political Economy of Poverty in Eastern Kentucky, 1948 – 1964,” published in the fall of 2010, was awarded the Richard H. Collins award from the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, for best piece published each year in that journal. Meanwhile, Prof. Weise spent most of the 2010-2011 academic year organizing the program for the 2011 conference of the Appalachian Studies Association. The Conference brought about 800 people in 110 sessions to EKU and was a smash hit.

Bradford Wood is wrapping up some of the same research projects he has been working on for the past few years. He is waiting for the publication of his edited volume of the letters of North Carolina colonist James Murray, and he is finishing up the co-editing of a collection of essays about the Carolinas in the early eighteenth century. This fall he has been teaching in Honors Civ and the graduate historiography

course, but he is excited to return to teaching a lot more early American history. In Spring 2012, he has also been invited to present scholarship in North Carolina and in Nova Scotia.

Mina Yazadini: After a long wait, on March 2nd, 2011, Mina Yazdani finally received her H1B visa, which allowed her to enter the U.S. and start work at EKU. Arriving in the middle of the semester, she took over the two sections of HIS 247 which Professor Anyanwu taught in her absence (She is thankful to Professor Anyanwu!). She also started her eight-week intensive upper division course. She found that first semester hectic and short, but also exciting--full of learning, meeting new colleagues and students, and acclimating to beautiful Richmond. She spent the summer in Canada where she co-organized, together with her former advisor, an international academic conference, titled “Intellectual Othering and the Baha’i Question in Iran,” at the University of Toronto. This semester, she is enjoying teaching her first graduate course. In late October, she served on a panel

following the premiere of the documentary “Education under Fire” at Columbia University. She is now preparing for the annual meeting of the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) in December where she will be presenting a paper. Meanwhile, she remains busy preparing two papers for publication and researching material for invited entries in Encyclopaedia Iranica and Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women.

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

In March 2011, for the third consecutive year, EKU hosted the district event for

Kentucky’s National History Day competition. Middle and high school students from Rockcastle and Clark counties presented posters, websites, plays, and formal papers that discussed and analyzed a variety of historical events based on the theme, “Debate and Diplomacy in History”. Members of our faculty along with several of our graduate

students served as judges for the contest. The winners at EKU went on to the statewide

competition and our district helped contribute to the total of 55 students from Kentucky who traveled to the national contest at College Park, MD, in June. We are looking forward to hosting the district competition once again in March 2012.

Matt Thacker who besides being a history major is a McNair Scholar, Phi Alpha Theta mem-ber, and EKU VETS co-founder. He is presenting at the 2012 Biennial na-tional Phi Alpha Theta Convention Jan 3-7 in Orlando,

Florida. The title of his presentation, which was done under the supervision

of Carolyn Dupont and John Bowes, is “Catholicism and the Cold War: Fulton J. Sheen’s Integration of Catholicism as an American Religion.

History Day CompetitionMarch 2011

Congratulations ...

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

History Club UpdateHistory Club had an exciting year last year: in the fall of 2010, Dr. Stearn, Dr. Jay, and a group of students painted the new student lab space in Keith 341 (with the expert supervision of Dr. Taylor!). In the spring, we travelled to Cincinnati to see the exhibit Cleopatra: Search for the Last Queen of Egypt. This fall, our field trips were to the University of Louisville to see an exhibit on the Holocaust and to the Waveland historical site in Lexington.

Several of our most active members graduated last spring, including three of our intrepid painters (Chasity Hunt, Luke Morgan, and Andrea McQueen). Although we miss our graduates (and would love to hear from you), our meetings continue to be well-attended, in no small part because of the new History Club Facebook page launched and maintained by Emily Knight. Look for us there!

Student Lab

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Catching up with...

1. How are you staying busy in retirement?

During my teaching career at EKU, I was fortunate enough to do a great deal of traveling on grants and fellowships. In retirement, I have been fortunate again to travel a good deal, this time in the company of my wife, Claudia. We have spent a month abroad once or twice during each of the last several years, concentrating on France and the British Isles. We exchange our home in Sarasota, Florida, with couples from Europe and we have made great friends by means of these exchanges. I hope we can continue to do this as long as we are able.

Claudia has also been encouraging me to teach again. There is in Sarasota an institution for adult learning, the classically named Pierian Spring Academy. The students are largely retired professionals who have an interest in a wide variety of subjects and the Academy allows them to exploit these interests. I have talked with the Dean of the Faculty and they are currently offering nothing on the Middle East, a subject that should prove attractive to the local adult population. I may offer something next year. Claudia wants to make sure I don’t get bored.

Otherwise, I spend much time reading (mostly fiction, some history and philosophy) and taking my 94 year old mother out for occasional shopping forays. I do try to stay abreast of what is happening in the world and more specifically the Middle East. Occasionally I still make presentations before church and civic groups.

2. What do you miss most, and least, about teaching at EKU?

Without question what I miss most about teaching at EKU is the interaction with the students, the play of question and answer in both directions in the classroom. I have always been attuned to the economist Kenneth Boulding’s notion that knowledge grows in the very act of giving it away.

3. Is there a favorite memory or two of your faculty colleagues and/or students that stands out as emblematic of your work in the EKU History Department?

I loved team teaching in the honors program with Bruce MacLaren, Dave Coleman, Jenn Spock, and others. When Jenn first came to the department, her office was across the hall from mine, and I always enjoyed her coming to me with what she called “la question du jour.” I always valued time spent with Tom Appleton, Brad Wood, and the late, great Jim Webb. A week does not go by without my thinking about something he said to me, always something memorable and important.

My memories of students are so many and so grand that I dare not mention one or two or a dozen for fear of leaving out the best and brightest. I would be remiss, however, if I did not name my student and friend, Lorin “Rocky” Rockwell, a 33-year veteran of the Air Force who earned a degree in history at the age of 70 and delivered the commencement address at his graduation. I have been proud of many students, but his achievement was a wonder to behold.

Michael (Mick) Lewis, Professor Emeritus

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Catching up with...

1. How are you staying busy in retirement?

We have been retired for twelve years. And yes, there is life after retirement. We’ve spent two three-month periods in Sitka, Alaska, volunteering at a little college there. We’ve also worked as volunteer desk clerks at a convention center/B&B in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both locations are among the most beautiful in the United States, and we feel lucky to have had those opportunities. We traveled to Ireland and Scotland; Nancy toured Russia; we have visited a number of National Parks and recently started spending

our winters in Naples, FL near our grandchildren. In the meantime, Gene hikes (Red River Gorge, Grand Canyon and elsewhere), swims and exercises a lot more than he used to. Lazy Nancy exercises when the spirit moves her, continues to read constantly and enjoys her friends and the warm weather in Naples.

2. What do you miss most, and least, about teaching at EKU?

We miss our interactions with colleagues and so many fine students in our classes. Neither of us miss giving or grading exams, or some of the bureaucratic tasks associated with University teaching. We have loved the freedom of retirement.

3. Is there a favorite memory or two of your faculty colleagues and/or students that stands out as emblematic of your work in the EKU History Department?

We have many great memories. We enjoyed academic life: reading and discussing history, research, and interacting with similarly inclined colleagues. We had a compatible Department, many delightful students and years of good conversation. We remember the charming old University Building with its creaking floors, clanging radiators, steep stairs and no air conditioning. We remember parties (especially Halloween and election nights) with students at our house. Gene taught the senior research class and was gratified by many fine research projects. Nancy taught the senior reading class and cherished the interaction with students in those seminars. These were required classes. Hence (and some may have said unfortunately) few could avoid the Forderhases, but we enjoyed the opportunity to know almost all history majors. We occasionally see some of them and encourage those who visit Richmond to come see us. We will be glad to explain the glories of retirement, but we won’t read your blue books!

Nancy & Gene Forderhase, Professors Emeriti

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

The Chase Is On...

For the second year in a row, EKU History faculty members Carolyn Dupont, John Bowes and David Coleman teamed up with a group of Transylvania University faculty on October 7-8 to run the Bourbon Chase, a 200 mile overnight relay across Kentucky.

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Catching up with...

1. What are you doing professionally these days, and how did your time in the EKU History Department help prepare you for the work that you do?

Currently I am an assistant professor of history at Morehead State University. EKU’s history program amply prepared me for graduate work at the University of Notre Dame, where I earned my Ph.D. Because my professors taught me the value of rigorous research and the basic principles of historical inquiry, I was able to make the transition and be successful there. Furthermore, my EKU professors were great teachers, very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I have essentially taken them as my role models as a professor.

2. Is there a particular memory (class, professor, fellow student or students) that stands out to you in some way as a symbol of your experiences as a student in the EKU History Department?

What I remember most of all about my time at EKU was how accessible and sharing the professors were with their time and knowledge. For example, I would often talk to Dr. Mick Lewis and Dr. A.G Dunston about the teaching profession as well as history in general. I also remember going to lunch and dinner with my fellow history majors and professors. It was just a great, collegial atmosphere.

3. What advice would you give to one of today’s EKU History majors?

I would advise the students to wring as much knowledge and experience from the program as possible. Students can often get tunnel vision: due dates are approaching, more hours at work, etc. Looking back I have to say that being an undergraduate at EKU was one of the best times of my life. It was an intellectual awakening in a way. So I would advise students to take advantage of various learning opportunities: listening to guest lecturers on campus, joining the history club, or just stopping by to visit a professor. Making those types of connections can make a big difference in how one envisions their history degree.

Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Ph.DPh.D. - University of Notre Dame, 2009

B.A. - Eastern Kentucky University - 1999

Currently - Assistant Professor of HistoryMorehead State University

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Catching up with a few of our recent alumni...

CRYSTAL ALLEN (2011) is working on an M.A. in Library Science at the University of Kentucky.

THOMAS “T.J.” CLARK (2011) is enrolled in the M.A. in Public Administration program at EKU.

ERIN DIANE COPE (2011) received her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in History and English and was immediately hired at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester, where she teaches Pre-AP and general English II classes.

LINDSEY CROSS (2009) is in the Ph.D. program in History at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

HARLEY DAVIDSON (2010) is enrolled in the Ph.D. program in History at the University of Kansas. This year he received a highly competitive pre-dissertation travel grant from the Council for European Studies, which he used in the summer of 2011 for a research trip to Valladolid, Spain.

KATHLEEN ELBERSON (2009). SPC Elberson enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard in July 2009 to work in Military Intelligence. For eighteen months she studied Modern Standard Arabic at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California. Upon graduation from the institute in November 2011, she will continue training in Texas to complete her assignment as a cryptologic linguist.

TOM FOHL (2005) is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force soon to be assigned to the base RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. He has been in the service for almost six years. He works as an airborne cryptologic linguist, proficient in both Hebrew and Farsi.

ANDREW GREER (2009) enlisted in the Marine Corps in November 2009 after graduating from EKU. Currently an E-4 Corporal, his occupational specialty is field artillery cannoneer.

TAYLOR HOFFMAN (2010) is enrolled in the M.A. program in Public History at Wright State University in Dayton, OH.

HELEN KAIBARA (M.A. 2010) is pursuing her Ph.D. in Japanese History at Michigan State University.

ROBERT MILLER (2009) is in the Ph.D. program in History at the University of Kansas.

JONATHAN SHERRY (2009) is in the Ph.D. program in History at the University of Pittsburgh.

PATRICK SNYDER (2004) was commissioned as an officer in the US Army upon graduation from EKU. He and his wife have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter Sophia with another daughter due in March. He returned from commanding in Iraq in 2010 and immediately took another command which ended in June 2011. In May he will graduate from USMC Expeditionary Warfare School in Virginia and move on to serve as a Company Tactical Officer working with cadets at USMA, West Point. Chosen for the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program, he will pursue a master’s in organizational psychology at Columbia University. ZACH TRIPLETT (2011) is teaching freshman social studies (civics) and sophomore English at Western Hills High School in Frankfort.

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Are you interested in recruiting prospective students in your area to coming to Eastern? The EKU admissions office is stepping up its recruiting efforts and making better use of EKU alumni. If interested in learning more about how you might become involved, please send your contact information (Names, address, telephone number, email address) to the History Department Chair, Chris Taylor at [email protected]. Do you know any prospective students who might be interested in coming to Eastern next year or even the next two or three years? If so, also send their contact information to Chris Taylor as well (Name, address, telephone number, email address, year in school, and if known area of interest). Remember that if you know of students who are interested in majoring in History or History Teaching, we can arrange not just a campus visit, but most days during the week, attending one of our upper division history classes.

Alumni Opportunity

Congrats to senior History major Mack Maynard,

who earned a Kennamer Study Abroad Scholar-

ship. Mack used the scholarship to spend five

weeks in the summer of 2011 studying in the

Kentucky Institute for International Studies

(KIIS) Morocco-Spain program. Here’s Mack

soaking up the sights and sounds of Granada,

Spain...

Congratulations

Mack Maynard

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

Due to the expense of printing and the tight budget contraints, we have decided to go exclusively to an online publication. While we know that this may be inconvenient for some of our alumni we feel that it is the best way for us to continue to stay in touch with alumni and reach as many future students as possible. Please feel free to contact us with your comments, concerns, news and updates at the following email address. You may also send us snail mail at the address listed below.

Email address:

[email protected]: “Boone’s Dispatch”

Snail Mail: Boone’s Dispatch EKU History Department 324 Keith Building 521 Lancaster Avenue Richmond, KY 40475

Phone: 859-622-8050 859-622-1357 FAX

Have a great year and we hope to hear from you soon.

Everyone at “Boone’s Dispatch”

Contact Information

Fall 2011


Boone’s Dispatch

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