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History | Humanities

Dr. Weller New Monograph

Charles Weller’s new monograph is out and now on display in the main office: ‘Pre-Islamic Survivals’ in Muslim Central Asia: Tsarist, Soviet and Post-Soviet Ethnography in World Historical Perspective (Islam and Global Studies Series, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). The volume traces the conceptual lens of historical-cultural ‘survivals’ in various Christian, Islamic and offshoot secular traditions of historiography, especially E.B. Tylor & company, and their subsequent impact on Tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet historiography of Muslim Central Asia. It draws from European, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and world history situated within a global-crosscultural frame, contributing to scholarship on ‘syncretism’ and ‘conversion’, definitions of Islam, history as identity and heritage, and more. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-5697-3  Dr. Weller has also now signed a contract with Palgrave Macmillan for his manuscript on Moses, Muhammad and Nature’s God in Early American Religious-Legal History: A Global Crosscultural Perspective, 1640-1830. The volume should be out next year.

Alicia Callahan Recognized by National Collegiate Honors Council

May 2023 History graduate Alicia Callahan has been recognized as one of four Portz Scholars by the National Collegiate Honors Council for her Honors thesis,  “Soldiers of the Super Sixth,” on the long-term effects of combat and liberating the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald on the soldiers of the Sixth Armored Division in World War II. Alicia’s thesis was nominated by the WSU Honors College for this award. Her thesis advisor was Associate Professor Ray Sun.  In recognition of her award, Alicia will receive a stipend and will present her research at the 2023 conference of the NCHC in Chicago this November.

Robert Franklin


 

 

 

 

 

 

CIC 202H
509-372-7678
robert.franklin@wsu.edu

Current History 105 Issues Taught:Humans and the Environment: Nuclear Energy and Climate ChangeGlobalization: Global PandemicsRoots of Inequality: Racial InequalityDiverse Ways of Thinking: War and TerrorRoots of Contemporary Conflict: The Global Nuclear Order

Other Courses Taught:Hist 110 American History to 1877

Hist 111 American History 1877 to Present

Hist 250 Peoples of the United States

Hist 318 United States, 1914-1945Hist 319 United States, 1945-PresentHist 420 United States, 1980-PresentHist 395 Topics in History: Atomic World

About Robert Franklin:Robert Franklin is a public and academic historian of the Hanford Nuclear Site near Richland, WA, and his research focuses on 20th century US with a particular focus on the Manhattan Project and the Cold War.  He holds a dual appointment as Assistant Director of the Hanford History Project at WSU Tri-Cities where he manages the Department of Energy’s Hanford Collection, an archive, archaeological, and artifact collection that documents the history of the Hanford Site from 1945-1990.  He also directs the Hanford Oral History Project and related projects focused on the Black and Latinx communities of the Mid-Columbia.  He is a frequent collaborator with the National Park Service Manhattan Project National Historical Park (MAPR)  as a docent and subject matter expert, and president of the B Reactor Museum Association, a non-profit group that supports interpretative efforts at MAPR.  For Washington State University he serves as the Tri-Cities representative for the Roots of Contemporary Issues Program and represents the College of Arts and Sciences on the Resident Faculty Organization at WSU Tri-Cities.

He, along with Dr. Robert Bauman, is  a co-editor and co-author of two books in the Hanford Histories series, Nowhere to Remember: Hanford, White Bluffs, and Richland to 1943 and Echoes of Exclusion and Resistance: Voices from the Hanford Region.  His current research projects focus on early waste management decisions at Hanford and the history of the early Cold War.

Robert earned his Master’s in Public History (2014) from Washington State University and a B.A. in History from the University of Hawaii Hilo (2011).

Dr. Franklin and Hanford History Project Awarded Grant

Robert Franklin and the Hanford History Project are thrilled to be awarded a three-year grant from the National Park Service titled “Digital Asset Management and Community Engagement to Enhance Understanding of Park Resources” at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Hanford Unit.   Robert will lead a WSU team to write a digital asset management plan for the entire Manhattan Project National Historical Park and train staff on implementation.  In addition, for the Hanford Unit, the WSU team will host community workshops, conduct archival research and consolidate fundings into a summary report.  These findings and the digital asset management plan will be used to curate 6 digital image galleries; develop one digital walking tour of East Pasco; write 10 articles, create 20 oral history vignettes; and produce one story map.  The project includes funding for undergraduate and graduate student interns.  If anyone has or knows students who might be interested in participating, please contact Robert Franklin directly at robert.franklin@wsu.edu.

Dr. Spohnholz and Dr. Miller Teach Workshops at World History Association

Jesse Spohnholz and Brenna Miller ran a faculty workshop on teaching introductory world history courses at the World History Association’s annual meeting. Each also participated in a second panel and the two ran a booth at the conference to introduce colleagues at the conference to ideas for student-centered, inquiry-driven, active learning lessons in large General Education courses – the heart of the History for the 21st Century project that two are working on.

Dr. Booth to Present at International Symposium on Jesuit Studies

Dr. Ryan Booth will present a paper at the 2023 International Symposium on Jesuit Studies in Lisbon, Portugal in June. The conference brings scholars on Jesuit history from across the world to share their research on a particular theme. This year’s theme is on “Circa Missiones: Jesuit Understandings of Mission Through the Centuries.” The International Symposia on Jesuit Studies offer annual opportunities to cross thematic, chronological, and disciplinary boundaries. Dr. Booth’s paper will address the painful and complicated legacy of the Jesuit-Native American boarding schools in the Pacific Northwest.