History Department News

Faculty

Dr. Robert Burk, Professor of History, was named Arthur and Eloise Cole Distinguished Professor of American History in April 2005. The late Arthur G. Cole and Eloise Barnes '33 Cole established their distinguished professorship to ensure a permanent quality of teaching of American History at Muskingum. In April of 2006, the Ohio Academy of History named him their Distinguished Historian at their annual conference. He appeared on an ESPN Classic program, "You Can't Blame the 1919 White Sox for 'Throwing' the World Series." He also authored book reviews of Neil Lanctot's Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004 in The Journal of American History, Volume 92 (1) (June 2005): 270-271 and Kevin J, McMahon's Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004) in American Historical Review, publication forthcoming. He has also been invited to present a paperbased upon his research on the Eisenhower presidency at "The Little Rock Crisis: A 50-Year Perspective," co-sponsored by the history departments of the University of Alabama Little Rock and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The international symposium has been organized to coincide with both the 50-year anniversay of the crisis and the grand opening of the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. Dr. Burk is continuing to work on researching and writing a biography of Marvin Miller, head of Major League Baseball's Player's Association (1966-1981) and one of the most important American labor leaders of the 20th century.

Dr. Alistair Hattingh, Assistant Professor of History, spent the summer in London visiting the National Archives in order to further his investigations of economic reorganization in Argentina during the 1930s and early 1940s. He also traveled to Berlin, where he visited many historical sites and also managed to join other soccer fans in taking in the atmosphere of the World Cup Finals. In May Term 2006 he and Meghan Fox, of the English Department, led a group of students on a three-week study tour to Puerto Rico. This was Alistair’s second trip to the island with students as well as his second trip to La Isla del Encanto in the space of a few months. In March 2006 he delivered a paper, “Conservative Parties during the Era of Mass Politics: Argentina 1928-1943,” at the annual meeting of the Latin American Studies Association in San Juan. Alistair’s entries on the Cuban Revolution, the Conquest of the Southern Cone, Argentine Independence, the Falklands-Malvinas War, and the history of South American football were published in Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. 3 Vols. Edited by J. Michael Francis. Santa Barbara and Oxford: ABC-Clio, 2005.

Dr. Laura Hilton, Associate Professor of History, will present a paper, entitled "The Struggle to Establish Law and Order: An Examination of the Participation of Displaced Persons in Economic Crimes in Postwar Germany," and serve as a commentator for a panel, called "Problems of Occupation: The Allies in Europe after World War II" at the German Studies Association meeting in October 2007.  She wrote a book chapter, “The Jewish Communities in Frankfurt and Zeilsheim in Comparative Perspective” for an edited collection, which will be published in 2008 by Wayne State University Press called We Are Here: New Approaches to Jewish Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany. Avinoam Patt and Michael Berkowitz (eds.). She wrote six articles for The Encyclopedia of World History, to be published in November 2007, covering the following topics: Baltic States, 1991 to present; Darfur; Germany, post WWII; Germany, 1991 to present; Lateran Treaty; and Prague Spring. She authored book reviews of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, for the journal Jewish Culture and History and Displaced Persons im Landkreis und in der Stadt Münster, 1945-1951, for the H-German list serve. In March of 2007, she was recognized by the Women’s Resource Center at Muskingum College with their Strong Woman Award. In April, the Muskingum College Board of Trustees awarded her tenure and promotion to Associate Professor.  She gave birth to a daughter, Kate, on 17 April.

Dr. Bil Kerrigan, Associate Professor of History, co-authored Images of America: Salt Fork State Park (2007) with student co-authors Alicia Seng and Meredith Bowman. This is the second student-authored project he has directed. The first, Images of America: Cambridge, Ohio, was published in May 2006. His article, “Apples on the Border: Indians, Europeans, and Orchard Agriculture in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1850” has been accepted for inclusion in a special issue of the Michigan Historical Review on the Great Lakes as a Borderlands to be published in the Fall of 2007. During May Term 2007, he will be co-leading his fourth Civil War study tour with Dr. Tom McGrath. He is also continuing to work on his book about John Chapman, the itinerant missionary and planter of apple seeds.

Dr. James Longhurst, Assistant Professor of History and Political Science, joined the department in 2005 as a joint hire with the Political Science department. Dr. Longhurst received his Ph.D. in 2004 from the History and Policy program at Carnegie Mellon University. In the history department at Muskingum, he teaches the U.S. history survey courses, readings courses on the cold war, the History of Environmental Policy, the senior research seminar, and other courses in 20th century U.S. social and cultural history. He also teaches the interdisciplinary "GRE Preparation" course. In the political science department, he has taught Public Policy, courses on Environmental Politics, the American Political Systems survey course, and a course in urban history and politics titled "The Rise and Fall of Industrial Cities." These courses reflect his research interests in postwar environmental activism and air pollution control. His doctoral dissertation focuses on the impact of citizen's groups on the process of air pollution control in Pittsburgh from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. Articles from that dissertation have appeared in the journals Environmental Monitoring and Assessment and EM: The Magazine for Environmental Managers. He is now working on a manuscript based on the dissertation and titled "Citizen Environmentalists." On a personal note, Dr. Longhurst enjoys traveling internationally with his wife, Jennifer Trost, who is also a professor of American history. Their most recent trip was to Mexico in the summer of 2006, though they have also traveled to Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Costa Rica. Their future plans include travel throughout equatorial Africa.

Dr. Thomas McGrath, Associate Professor of History and department chair, conducted a research tip to Carlisle Barrack, PA, the U.S. Army War College on the subject of the American training and utilization of Chinese soldiers in the China-Burma-India theater during the Second World War. This research trip was funded by the Muskingum College Faculty Development Grants. He is authoring several articles in the Encyclopedia of World History, including entries on Southeast Asia during the Great Depression, Collapse of Chinese and Japanese Empires, and Decline of the Qing Military. He currently is co-advising both the history honorary, Phi Alpha Theta and the Sophomore Honorary, Lambda Sigma here on campus. In addition, he is coordinating the Annual Meeting of the Ohio Academy of History, which will be held at Muskingum.

History Graduates

Allison Avolio (2006) was one of the student contributors to the recent publication on Cambridge, Ohio, edited by Dr. Bil Kerrigan. She is currently in an MA program in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, where she holds the position of Graduate Assistant in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership.

Mark Baserman (2006) has started law school at Capital University.

Meredith Bowman (2006) is pursuing a MAT at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. She served as one of Dr. Kerrigan’s Summer Muskie Fellows during 2006 and co-authored a book on Salt Fork State Park with Dr. Kerrigan and current student Alicia Seng. She won the 2007 Schooley Award as outstanding senior and the 2007 Taylor Stults Senior Seminar Research Award. She also wrote an entry for the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment that focused on the Supreme Court case Citizen Publishing Co. et al v. United States.

Daniel Cowden (2006) was awarded the Schooley Award by the Muskingum College Department of History for outstanding senior in April 2006, is currently working at Philmont in Cimaron, New Mexico, and will be pursing a career in the U.S. Navy.

Adib Dixon (2006) is teaching high school social studies at New Richmond High School, near Cincinnati.

Rebecka Hackett (2006) was awarded the Schooley Award by the Muskingum College Department of History for outstanding senior in April 2006, and is currently pursuing an MA in Public History at Middle Tennessee State University, where she holds a Teaching Assistantship.

Ryan Miller (2006) joined the U.S. Army and is currently stationed in Germany.

Eugene Saunders (2006) was chosen as a participant in the John Glenn Public Policy Institute, run by The Ohio State University, worked in Washington, DC as an intern for the National Defense University. He is currently working as a Research Assistant at the Dayton Daily News.

Jessica Brugler (2005) is pursuing a D.VM. at The Ohio State University.

Pat Cotter (2005) is teaching American History and is the Assistant Football Coach at Lakewood Ranch High School near Bradenton, Florida.

Michael Faeth (2005) finished his MA in history at the University of Akron and is beginning a PhD program at the University of Minnesota in Comparative Early Modern History where he holds a Teaching Assistanceship.

Dean Gorsuch (2005) is the Assistant Editor for high school Geography textbooks for McGraw-Hill, working in their headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

Veronica Balogh (2004) is teaching in seventh-grade Social Studies at Bedford City Schools near Cleveland, Ohio.

Bill Carlson (2004) is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Studies at Ohio University.

Nachiket Chanchani (2004) finished graduate work at the Research Training Program offered by the renowned Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, in Calcutta, India and is currently pursuing a PhD in Art History at the University of Minnesota, where he holds a Teaching Assistantship.

Brady Dunbar (2004) joined the U.S. Air Force, beginning his training in August 2004. He is currently stationed in southeast England.

Traci Gump (2004) is working as the Site Manager at the P.A.L. mission with teenage girls in foster care in New Philadelphia while also completing coursework for a degree in nursing.

Amanda Jones (2004) is completing graduate work in Public History at Indiana University—Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). Following an internship at the Indiana Historical Society in the Press Department, she secured employment with the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana as a Survey Coordinator.

Anthony Lorenz (2004) has completed his degree at Princeton University’s School of Divinity.

Kristin Losey (2004) has earned a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration in 2006 and is currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Counseling at Kent State University, while working at KSU as a Retention Advisor in the College of Business Administration.

Seth McKinney (2004) is working for Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, and was recently engaged to fellow Muskie Amy Ilers.

Mindy Nash (2004) is pursuing an MBA at Kent State University and is studying abroad in France for Fall semester 2005.

Shaun O’Brien (2004) joined the U. S. Marines, beginning his training in August 2004, and is currently stationed in Iraq with the Second Military Logistics Group.

Jonathan Carte (2003) is working for Federated Department Stores.

Erin Crosby (2003) is currently Executive Director of Camp Kern in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Adam Foltz (2003) is working as a high school social studies teacher in the Northern Local School District.

Meagan Galloway (2003) is pursuing a MA degree in Library Science at Kent State University.

Dante Goosby (2003) is teaching high school in the Columbus City School system.

James Kosek (2003) is teaching at Wilson Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Erin Lyons (2003) is teaching grades 6-8 in Uhrichsville at the Rush Christian School.

Deewayne Marlowe (2003) is enlisted in the United States Navy.

Joshua McQueen (2003) is a firefighter in South Carolina.

Merryn Pinch (2003) is pursuing an MA in History at Miami University of Ohio.

Josh Smith (2003) is pursuing a PhD in environmental science at The Ohio State University.

Traci Rucker (2002) just completed her MA in Public History at IUPUI.

Erin Stevic (2002) completed her MA in Material Culture at Winterthur in Delaware, taught Ohio History and U.S. history here at Muskingum in the Fall of 2004, and is currently Curator of the Windsor Historical Society in Windsor, Connecticut.

Christy Bohl (2000) received an M.A in History at Indiana University and is in the PhD program at University of Kentucky.

Current Students

Kelsey Eilers is studying Sustainable Community Development in an Eco-Village with the Living Routes program in Senegal through UMass Amherst during the Fall of 2007.

Matthew Harris is the recipient of the 2007 Dubbert award. He wrote an entry for the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment that focused on the Supreme Court case Greer v. Spock.

Andrew Luallen was awarded the 2007 Schooley Award for outstanding senior and the 2006 Dubbert Award for outstanding junior by the Department of History.

Kimberly Marks was awarded the 2006 Dubbert Award for outstanding junior by the Department of History. She wrote an entry for the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment that described on the Supreme Court case Grove Press v. Maryland State Board of Censors.

Alicia Seng served as one of Dr. Kerrigan’s Summer Muskie Fellows and co-authored a book with Meredith Bowman and Dr. Kerrigan on Salt Fork State Park. She also was one of the student contributors to the recent publication on Cambridge, Ohio, edited by Dr. Bil Kerrigan.

Debra Swaro was awarded the 2007 Schooley award for outstanding senior.

Ashley Swetye is studying at the University College of Dublin in Ireland for the fall semester of 2007.