History Research Forum

The History Research Forum is held monthly on Thursday afternoons in Faculty Hall and is sponsored by the Department of History. For information or directions contact: Jim Humphreys at 270.809.6573 or jhumphreys@murraystate.edu

Past Forums

All Fall Research forums will be held in Faculty Hall Room 505 or 208 at 4 p.m. on the date specified.

  • January 25: John R. Burrow, from Mississippi State University, presented his research on "The Necessary Evil: The British Income Tax and the British Fiscal State, 1799-1850."

All Fall Research forums will be held in Faculty Hall Room 505 or 208 at 4 p.m. on the date specified. 

  • October 12: Dr. Kathy Callahan (History), Dr. Joshua Easterling (English & Philosophy), Dr. Christine Lindner (History), and Dr. Benjamin Post (Global Languages & Theater), moderated by Dr. William Mulligan on The Protestant Reformation. 

All Spring forums will be held in Faculty Hall Room 505 at 4 p.m. on the date specified.

  • February 2: Dr. Stephen Brain of Mississippi State University and PhD candidate students John Burrow and Michael Adams.
  • February 16: Dr. J. Duane Bolin on "Eudora Welty and a Sense of History."
  • March 9: Western Kentucky University's Audra Jennings on Out of the Horros of War: Disability Politics in World War II America.
  • March 16: To be Announced.
  • March 30: Dr. Christopher Willoughby on "Unheroic Medicine: Students, Dissection, and the Circulation of Black Bodies in the Antebellum United States."
  • April 6: World Civilizations Forum; details to be announced.

Sessions are in Faculty Hall Room 505 beginning at 4 p.m. unless otherwise noted. For further information, contact Bill Mulligan at 270.809.6571 or wmulligan@murraystate.edu.

  • Nov. 17: Jie Selina Gao (History), "Twentieth-Century Chinese Women's Clothing"
  • Nov. 10: Eleanor Rivera (History), "Working from Home: Teachers and their Schoolhouses in Third Republic France"
  • Nov. 3: Jeffrey McLaughlin (History), "'As long as we live, you shall be remembered:' Canadian Veterans of the Vietnam War and Their Struggle for Recognition"
  • Oct. 27: Melony Shemberger (Journalism and Mass Communication), "Driving Literacy: The Bookmobile as an American Cultural Icon"
  • Oct. 20: Matthew Robertson (UC-Santa Barbara), "History of Microcosmology in Indic Traditions", Co-sponsored by the Religious Studies Program
  • Oct. 13: Panel Discussion: "Nativist and Racist Groups in the United States: A Historical Perspective": Duane Bolin, Brian Clardy, Urmi Engineer, Jim Humphreys and Bill Mulligan, Meets in Faculty Hall 208 at 4 p.m.
  • Sept. 29: Christine Lindner (History), "Doing Digital History: Employing the Techniques of the 'Future' to Better Understand (and Teach About) the Past:
  • Sept. 22: David Pizzo (History) and Jamie Rogers (Engineering and Physics), "Engineering (and History?) in Germany: Education Abroad Across the Disciplines"
  • Sept. 15: Aaron Irvin (History), "Competition, Meaning, and Monumentalization in Gallia Comata"
  • Sept. 24: Rachel Mittelman, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, "Of Pots and People: Mapping Libyan Identity and Demographics in Egypt, Ca. 1000-713 B.C.E."
  • Sept. 17: Eamonn Wall, Smurfit-Stone Corporation Professor of Irish Studies at U. of Missouri-St.Louis, "Georgia O'Keefe as an Irish-American"
  • Sept. 3: Rebecca Dames, Hammack Scholar 2015-16, "(R)Evolutionary? Exploring the Limits of Dynastic Individualism"
No forums. History faculty candidate searches conducted.
  • Nov 20: Samuel Baum, Hammack Scholar 2014-15, “Genocide in the Spanish Civil War”
  • Nov 13: Benjamin Linzy, McNair Scholar, "The Rivalry: Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini, Arab-Nationalism and Islamic Fundamentalism in the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988."
  • Nov 6: Kevin Binfield, Professor of English, Murray State, “Laboring-Class Poetry in Nineteenth-Century Britain”
  • Oct 30: Tracey Newport, History Major, “Central African Republic”
  • October 23: J. Duane Bolin, Professor of History, Murray State, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ‘the American Problem,’ and ‘the Jewish Question’”
  • Oct 9: Panel, After the Sunset: The Aftermath of British Imperialism:
    • David Pizzo, Associate Professor of History, Murray State, “A Bitter Legacy: The British Empire in Uganda”
    • Taufiq Rashid, Lecturer in History, Murray State “Concepts of Colonial Shame and Postcolonial Shame: The Context of Reform and Modernization”
    • Kathy Callahan, Associate Professor of History, Murray State, “London as Imperial Metropolis”
    • Zackery Heern, Assistant Professor of History, Murray State, “Shi'i-British Relations and the Creation of Iraq
  • Sept 25: Kit W. Wesler, Jesse D. Jones Endowed Professor of Geosciences, Murray State, "Was There a Pope at Cahokia? Exploring Comparative Methods in Medieval and Mississippian Archaeology"
  • Sept 11: William H. Mulligan, Jr. , Professor of History, Murray State
    “George Washington and Alcohol: The Founding Father as Businessman”
  • April 24: David J. Pizzo, Associate Professor of History, Murray State, “World War I Commemoration in Europe”
  • April 17: CIV Seminar: Slavery and Emancipation in World History, Part Two, Panel organized by James Humphreys, Associate Professor of History
  • April 10: CIV Seminar: Slavery and Emancipation in World History, Part One, Panel organized by James Humphreys, Associate Professor of History
  • April 3: Brian K. Clardy, Assistant Professor of History, Murray State, “From Union City to Brussels: Congressman John Tanner and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization”
  • February 27: CIV Seminar: Zackery Heern, Assistant Professor of History, “Defining Modernity in World History”
  • February 20: Timothy J. White, Professor of Political Science, Xavier University, “Lessons from the Northern Ireland Peace Process”
  • January 30: LTC Robert Michael Paul, USA (Ret.), “Afghanistan: The Perfect Failure”
No forums. Coordinator, Dr. Bill Mulligan, taught abroad during Study Abroad Program- Regensburg.
  • Nov. 29: Brian K. Clardy, Assistant Professor of History, "Trial By Fire: Race Relations, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Development of American Jazz."
  • Nov. 15: Erin Ragsdale, Graduate Assistant in History, "Through the Eyes of Women: Illinois Frontier Life"
  • Nov 8: Melinda Grimsley-Smith, Coordinator of International Scholarships, Office of Scholar Development, WKU Honors College, "Does Neuroscience Belong in Historical Methodology?"
  • Nov 1: William H. Mulligan, Jr., Professor of History, “Race and Religion in the Mexican War: Beyond the San Patricios
  • Oct 25: Aaron Irvin, Assistant Professor of History, “Roman Religion and Celtic Conversion in the Gallic Provinces”
  • Oct 18: Gerry Mooney, Open University of Scotland, “The Open University: From University of the Air to ITunesU”
  • Oct 11: Audra Jennings, Director, Office of Scholar Development, WKU Honors College, "’Justice, Equal Rights, and Opportunity’": U.S. Disability Activism, 1940-1960”
  • Sept 27: Joseph T. Fuhrmann, Professor of History, emeritus, Rasputin
  • Sept 20: Richard B. Davis, MA Candidate in History, Gallery Lecture: War and Remembrance: An Exhibit at the Wrather Museum
  • Sept 13: Brent Taylor, Lecturer in History, “Teaching History Using Photo Albums”
  • April 26: HIS 400 Student Research Presentations
  • April 19: Erin Ragsdale, GA in History, “U.S. Representative Frank Albert Stubblefield’s Impact on Flood Control Measures in and around Western Kentucky”
  • April 12: Stephanie A. Carpenter, Associate Professor of History, “The ‘Pretties’ in the Field: The Women’s Land Army in World War II”
  • April 5: Matthew Holdman, MA Candidate in History, “The Columbian Exchange: Old World/New World Origins of Modern Foods”
  • March 29: Kathy Callahan, Assistant Professor of History, “A Tale of Two Duchesses: Anna of Buccluech and Anne of Hamilton”
  • March 15: Jonathan Headford, GA in History, “Golf: Trying Times during War”
  • March 8: Brent Taylor, Lecturer in History , “Instructive Images in American History”
  • March 1: Terry W. Strieter, Professor of History and Dept. Chair, “Louis-Napoleon’s Coup d’état & the French Police.”
  • February 23: Senate Bill 1 Learning Community and Update on CIV Common Expectations and SB-1
  • February 16: Marjorie Hilton, Assistant Professor of History “Mass Consumption and the Dream of Cultural Transformation in Revolutionary Russia”
  • February 9: Richard B. Davis, Hammack Scholar, 2011-12, "Rising from the Ashes: A Boots-on-the-Ground Look at the Rebuilding of the Afghanistan National Army"
  • February 2: Zackery M. Heern, Assistant Professor of History, “The Founding Fathers of Modern Islam”
  • January 26: William Schell, Jr., Professor of History, “Strategies of Defensive Modernization in Porfirian Mexico and Meiji Japan”
  • Nov 17: Joint Meeting: History Research Forum/World Civilizations Program Seminar: William Schell, Jr., Professor of History
  • Nov 10: Joint Meeting: History Research Forum/World Civilizations Program Seminar: John A. Muenzberg, Lecturer, English & Philosophy, "Critiquing Historian's Views of Pre-Greek Science"
  • Oct 27: William H. Mulligan, Jr., Professor of History, “The Eighth United States Heavy Artillery (Colored): Claiming Their Freedom”
  • Oct 20: James Humphreys, Assistant Professor of History
  • Oct. 13: Joint Meeting: History Research Forum/World Civilizations Program Seminar: David J. Pizzo, Assistant Professor of History, “Ethiopia—Learning about the Lion of Judah”
  • Sept. 22: Richard B. Davis, Hammack Scholar, Dept. of History, "From a Dirt Court to a State Championship and Beyond: The 1929 Heath High School Boys Basketball Team"
  • April 21: William H. Mulligan, Jr., Professor, History , The Irish and English Diasporas: Conjoined Twins
  • April 14: Brian Clardy, Assistant Professor, History, Letters from Washington; Ed Jones and the Watergate Scandal
  • April 7: Chase Peck, History Graduate Student, Inter-relativity of the Western Front and the Russian Front in World War I
  • March 24: Duane Bolin, Professor, History , Bosses of the Bluegrass: Political Bosses and Their machines in Kentucky History
  • March 10: John Dressler, Professor, Music, Unknown and Forgotten Music for BBC Radio Dramas: 1930-1970
  • March 3: Julie McClure, MA Candidate, History, Lawless License as a Result of the Tobacco War: The 1908 Birmingham Raid
  • February 24: Joint Meeting History Research Forum—World Civilizations Program Seminar: David J. Pizzo, Assistant Professor, History , A Forgotten Country: Greece, Europe, and the Wider World
  • February 17: William Schell, Jr., Professor, History, The Unknown History of Dollar Diplomacy: Porfirian Origins, Pacific Hegemony
  • February 10: Brent Taylor, Adjunct Lecturer, History, A Speeding Bullet: A Comparison of McKinley’s and Reagan’s Responses to Czologz and Hinckley
  • February 3: Matthew Hall, Murray State Honors Program, In the Fight for Freedom: German Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution
  • January 27: Richard B. Davis, Graduate Assistant, History, Byler Road Ghost Stories: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the John Kelley Family, 1770 – 1870
  • August 26: Richard B. Davis, GA in History From Despair to Hope: The Story of Paducah's 1937 “Super-Flood" from the Personal Accounts of Those Who Survived
  • December 2: William H. Mulligan, Jr. Professor, History, Religion, Ethnicity, and Acceptance on a Mining Frontier: The Irish and the Cornish in the Michigan Copper Country, 1845-1890
  • November 18: Terry W. Strieter Professor, History “French Society was not Overthrown’: The Gendarmerie & the Paris Commune of 1871
  • November 11: Chase Peck History Graduate Student A Russian Pyrrhic Victory in the East: The Brusilov Offensive of 1916
  • November 4: Susan B. Hawkins, Ranger, Fort Donelson NB, The Underground Railroad and Fort Donelson: Stories and Misconceptions
  • October 28: Meredith Lee Baker, Hammack Scholar, 2005-6 Faith and Practice: Mother Ann in Shaker Theology and Community Life
  • October 21: Allison E. Crowe, Hammack Scholar, 2010-11, The Evolution of English Feminism in the Nineteenth Century
  • October 7: Julie McClure, MA Candidate, History, Lawless License as a Result of the Tobacco War: The 1908 Birmingham, Kentucky Raid
  • September 23: Jim Humphreys, Asst. Professor, History, Challenging the Dunning Orthodoxy: Francis Butler Simkins and Reconstruction Historiography
  • September 16: Therese Saint Paul, Assoc. Professor, French, Mardi-Gras in Belgium and Europe and the Question of Cultural "Identities"
  • September 9: Ted Franklin Belue, Senior Lecturer, History, "Daniel Boone Was A Man": America's First Frontier Hero and His Day
  • September 2: Kayla R. Reno, GA in History, The Legacy of Italy in Africa: Post-Colonial Eritrea
  • August 26: Richard B. Davis, GA in History From Despair to Hope: The Story of Paducah's 1937 “Super-Flood" from the Personal Accounts of Those Who Survived
  • April 29: Catherine C. Lewis, GA in History, The Appalachian Exodus
  • April 22: Kenneth C. Carstens, Professor Emeritus of Archeology, Ramblings in Western Kentucky: Caving, History, and Archeology
  • April 15: David J. Pizzo, Asst. Professor of History, Ethnicity & Violence in Shatter-Zones of Empire: The Balkans and the African Great Lakes
  • April 8: Jim Humphreys, Asst. Professor of History, History of the Thirteenth Amendment
  • April 1: Terry W. Strieter, Professor of History, The French Police
  • March 18: J. Duane Bolin, Professor of History, Four Early Baptist leaders
  • March 11: Kathy Callahan, Asst. Professor of History, Women and Murder in London, 1783-1815
  • March 4: Olivia Kirks, GA in History French Neocolonial Involvement in Rwanda Leading up to and during the Genocide of 1994
  • February 25: Matthew D. Penn, Hammack Scholar, 2007-8 The Role of Stasi Informers in the GDR
  • February 18: Judy Ratliff, Professor of Chemistry, History of Poisons
  • February 11: Jennifer L. McPherson, GA in History Western Women in Agriculture, 1900-1950
  • February 4: Allsion Crowe, GA in History Women and Political Change in England
  • January 28: Micki Y. Kaleta, Hammack Scholar, 2009-10, Paternalism as Seen through the Pages of DeBow's Review,1848-1861
  • January 21: Kayla Reno, GA in History A Survey of Nineteenth-Century Italian Imperialism in Africa
  • January 14: William H. Mulligan, Jr., Professor of History Family and Household on a Mining Frontier: Irish Miners in the Michigan Copper Country, 1850-1860

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