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Karoline “Kaja” Cook is a Clinical Assistant Professor and teaches in the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program. She has a PhD in history from Princeton University (2008). her book, Forbidden Crossings: Moriscos and Muslims in Spanish America, 1492-1650 has been published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
WSU – Tri-Cities (in Richland Washington), is hosting a conference March 17-19, 2017: “Legacies of the Manhattan Project at 75 Years.” A Call for Papers has been issued with the abstract deadline of September 1, 2016. For more information, visit Hanford History Project.
Abstracts are limited to 250 words. Conference papers are anticipated to be published as an edited volume in the following year. Send abstracts or questions to ourhanfordhistory@tricity.wsu.edu.
Hanford’s HistoryOnce a small farming community, the area was transformed when it became the site of the Manhattan Project’s plutonium production facility in the Second World War. Hanford continued to produce plutonium throughout the Cold War, contributing to the nation’s national defense, even as the environmental cost built up locally. In recent years, Hanford has been the site of an extensive clean-up effort undertaken by the US Department of Energy in agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology.
On May 7, many undergraduate History majors and three Masters Degree recipients participated in the graduation ceremony at Beasley Coliseum. The Department of History hosts a luncheon each year on graduation day to honor History majors, double-majors and graduate students. A complete list of the class of 2016 can be found here. The photo above is of some History students ready to begin their new lives.
Above are Brittany Maziarz, undergraduate receiving her BA, Jason Hogstad and Calen Rau, two of the graduate students who have earned their Masters degrees and Alistair Fortson who earned his BA in History. James Anderson, also an MA recipient, could not be in attendance.
Professor Theresa Jordan, Clinical Associate Professor of History, and Olivia Murphy, who earned a BA in History with an English minor.
Some of the students and parents in attendance May 7.
In the latest edition of the journal Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Greg Atkins reviews William Wyckoff’s book “How to Read the American West.”
Many scholarship and fellowship recipients attended this year’s awards ceremony on April 29. Thanks to great alumni and friends, the department is blessed with numerous scholarships available to our majors. Many undergraduate and graduate students have excelled in research, writing, and academic excellence.
The ceremony was well attended by faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
See the 2016 Awards Program.
WSU Vancouver history major Spencer Vaughan was one of three undergraduates to place in the campus-wide (all disciplines) 2016 Research Showcase for his podium presentation, “Fire and Agriculture: A Comparative Analysis of Cultural Practices,” completed under the direction of Dr. Steve Fountain. Vaughan receives a prize of $150. The full list of winners is posted here.
Dr. Lawrence Hatter was interviewed by Theo Mynka, a Daily Evergreen columnist, for the article “Our education system measures up despite failures.” With data gleaned from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and from Pearson’s annual “Learning Curve” report, an index was created based on literacy, graduation rates, cognitive skills and other factors.
Dr. Hatter, who studied in the U.K. for elementary school through undergraduate, commented on comparing education in the U.S. with that of education in the U.K.
Hatter commented that one of the things he liked about the British education system was that it “focused exclusively on the specific subject.” This means that from an early age, one had the opportunity to focus on the subject that they would be pursuing a career in and not have to spend time learning subjects they would not use in the future. // //
At the same time, having a broad education system is beneficial in creating more well-rounded and knowledgeable individuals. Hatter went on to add that it “does, also, narrow down your knowledge of broader subjects.”
Read the entire article to gain insights of someone who has studied in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
History/political science major, Madeleine Hunter, led her CAS Global Case Competition team to first place. Her team, which was advised by history department faculty member, Dr. Ken Faunce, looked at the growing number of Americans incarcerated because of debt. As a result of winning this competition, Madeleine, her teammates, and Dr. Faunce will travel to Geneva, Switzerland in November to present their findings on America’s debtors prisons to a group of United Nations dignitaries.
Dr. Charles Weller has been chosen as the co-recipient of the “Critical Literacies Achievement and Success Program (CLASP)” Faculty Award.
This award is to recognize his work supporting “underrepresented students” both through the development of pedagogy and willingness to work with students outside of class.
Dr. Lydia Gerber has been chosen by the Office of Undergraduate Education to receive an award for her “Excellence in Support of Undergraduate Research.”
Dr. Ken Faunce has been chosen by the Office of Undergraduate Education to receive the Richard G. Law award for “Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.”
The Office of undergraduate Education Awards Ceremony will be held Monday, April 18 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. in the Compton Union Building Ballroom.
Dr. Matt Sutton has been appointed a 2016 Guggenheim fellow “on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise.” The fellowship was awarded to 178 scholars in the U.S. and Canada from nearly 3,000 applicants.
Sutton’s $50,000 prize in the U.S. history category will fund work on his book, tentatively titled “FDR’s Army of Faith: Religion and Espionage in World War II,” to be published by Basic Books in 2019. Learn more at https://connect.cas.wsu.edu/october-2015/a-secret-history-of-politics-religion-espionage/.