We would like to recognize the publishing of professor Jesse Spohnholz essay, “Social Fiction and Diversity in Post-Reformation Germany,” in the Bulletin of the German Historical Institute 61 (Fall 2017)!
Congratulations professor Whelchel! Aaron Whelchel, a history professor currently located at WSU-Vancouver, was awarded the Provost’s Featured Faculty Member recognition this month by Chancellor Netzhammer and Renny Christopher.
Professor Whelchel will be present in Pullman for the homecoming game on October 21st where he will be recognized for his accomplishments!
GO HISTORY! GO COUGS!
Professors Lawrence Hatter, Matthew Sutton, and Jeniffer Barclay(of CCGRS) spoke at the Foley Institute for a presentation being titled “Racism or Heritage: Controversies over Civil War Monuments,” on October 10, 2017. Please take the time to review their discussion on the official Youtube account of the Thomas S. Foley institute.
On Monday, October 9, 2017, History 232 The Mexican Revolution and the Arts Senior Instructor Dr. Yvonne Berliner hosted guest lecturer Dr. Francisco Manzo-Robledo, from the WSU Foreign languages and cultures Department. Professor Manzo-Robledo spoke about the role of women in the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920, as portrayed in Mexican films of the 1940s and 50s. Students and professors engaged in discussion regarding differing gendered views of this historical event.
Professor Spohnholz has a new book published by Cambridge University Press, available for pre-order now!
The Convent of Wesel was long believed to be a clandestine assembly of Protestant leaders in 1568 that helped establish foundations for Reformed churches in the Dutch Republic and northwest Germany. However, Jesse Spohnholz shows that that event did not happen, but was an idea created and perpetuated by historians and record keepers since the 1600s. Appropriately, this book offers not just a fascinating snapshot of Reformation history but a reflection on the nature of historical inquiry itself. The Convent of Wesel begins with a detailed microhistory that unravels the mystery and then traces knowledge about the document at the centre of the mystery over four and a half centuries, through historical writing, archiving and centenary commemorations. Spohnholz reveals how historians can inadvertently align themselves with protagonists in the debates they study and thus replicate errors that conceal the dynamic complexity of the past.
Join us in congratulating him on his upcoming release!
As we settle into this new academic year we want to take a moment to look back and appreciate some achievements that were not previously recognized over the last few months as we transitioned through staff changes!
Marina Tolmacheva traveled to two international meetings this summer. In August, she attended the 25th International Congress of the History of Science and Technology in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Tolmacheva presented a paper in the symposium on the “History of Isla…mic Science: Global and Local,” and also gave the academic year’s Inaugural Lecture in the Geography Program at the Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (Foz do Iguaçu, Parana). In July, she attended the regional conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. The conference was hosted by the American University of Central Asia. In addition to presenting a paper, Tolmacheva was invited to speak at two other local universities: the International Relations Faculty at Balasagyn National University and in the Department of Foreign Languages at the International University of Kyrgyzstan.
Review the conferences and their content at the links below!
Jesse Spohnholz’s article, co-written with his Dutch colleague Mirjam van Veen, titled “The Disputed Origins of Dutch Calvinism: Religious Refugees in the Historiography of the Dutch Reformation” appeared in the most recent issue of Church History.
Professor Sue Peabody has published a new book: Madeleine’s Children: Family, Freedom, Secrets, and Lies in France’s Indian Ocean Colonies.
Madeleine’s Children is rare narrative in world history of an enslaved person challenging his status in court and winning his freedom. It is the first full length biography tracing slavery in the Indian Ocean world and contains a detailed family saga of love, betrayal, hope, and struggle set against the broader context of plantation slavery, Parisian society, and colonization.
Sue Peabody, Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at WSU Vancouver, has published an article, “S’affranchir ou s’enraciner? Le droit français sur la migration des colonies à la metropole à l’époque de l’esclavage.” In Archéologie des migrations, edited by Dominique Garcia Hervé Le Bras, (Paris: La Découverte, 2017).
Find more information on her work and review a list of her publications by visiting the Department of History’s faculty directory.
Jesse Spohnholz (RCI Director), Clif Stratton (RCI Asst. Director) and Katy Fry (RCI Curriculum Coordinator) received Provost Office Teaching Fellowships for the coming academic year. A joint application was submitted as part of the Provost’s Office efforts to promote education innovation at WSU.
Fry will start the work this Fall by redesigning RCI lesson templates, with revised versions that maximize the opportunities offered in Pullman by the new learning spaces and digital tools offered by the Digital Classroom Building. Stratton and Fry will pilot draft lessons in Spring 2018. Fry will then offer training to all ROOTS (RCI) faculty.
Stratton will conduct an assessment of learning outcomes to identify areas where new technologies are or are not having measurable effects on student learning. As Director, Spohnholz will be supervising the project. He plans to take talented WSU students around the state in a series of organized events aimed a wider public that will use WSU students to make the case for how critical creative and innovative history learning is for the future of our state, nation, and world.