University of West Georgia
Department of History
Faculty News
Click here for a Calendar of Events
Click here for the 2011 Faculty Newsletter
Spring 2012
Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Williams, who recently won the 2011 Phi Alpha Theta Best First Book Award for his book, God's Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right. Phi Alpha Theta called his book a "worthy scholarly contribution," in announcing this prestigious and highly competitive award.
On February 8, UWG's Office of Institutional Diversity featured a roundtable discussion by a panel of UWG professors on the topic, “Diversity and Disciplines: Pedagogical Strategies for Sensitive Topics" as part of their Conversations in Culture Series. Dr. Aran MacKinnon, Dr. Elaine MacKinnon, and Dr. Carrie Pitzulo were discussants.
Also in February, the Department of History hosted its own roundtable discussion entitled "Communism's Collapse." Roundtable participants included Dr. Elaine MacKinnon, Dr. Michael Melancon of Auburn University, Dr. Alice Pate of Kennesaw State University, Dr. Katya Vladimirov of Kennesaw State University, and Dr. Boris Gorshov of Kennesaw State University. Dr. Michael de Nie served as moderator.
Fall 2011
The Department's final Colloquium lecture of the Fall Semester was given by Dr. Gary Van Valen on November 14. His talk entitled "Mexican-American Political Voices From the 1860s: The Debate on Navajo Removal" focused on Mexican Americans and their perceptions of the US Army’s removal of the Navajo to the Bosque Redondo reservation. Dr. Nadya Popov-Reynolds finished out the Department's Brown Bag lecture series on November 11, when she presented her latest research in a presentation entitled "Civilian Participation in Greek Warfare, 800-146BCE."
Dr. Steve Goodson presented a lecture entitled: “People Eat Every Day: The WPA and the Great Depression,” on November 2 as part of the “Carrollton Collects: Prints from the WPA” Exhibition in the Bobick Gallery.
On Sept 20, Dr. Colleen Vasconcellos spoke at the Sons of the American Revolution Casimir Pulaski Chapter on the role of the Chausseurs-Voluntaires de Saint-Domingue in the American Revolution, particularly the Seige of Savannah in 1779.
Dr. Keith Pacholl presented "How Washington Defined the Presidency" on September 15 in Ingram Library in celebration of Constitution Day. Pacholl not only explored Washington's perceptions of the presidency, but showed how his views were influenced by political, economic, and diplomatic developments of the 1790s. Furthermore, his lecture demonstrated how Washington laid the foundation for presidential behavior. This program was sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Planning, the Murphy Center for Public Service, and Ingram Library's Penelope Melson Society.
This semester, the Department of History kicked off the Brown Bag Luncheon Series on September 9th, when Dr. Gary Van Valen spoke about his current research on political activist Juan Antonio Ignacio Baca and New Mexico's Cochiti Pueblo.
Welcome new faculty! This year the Department of History welcomes Dr. David Pye, who has joined the department as a Visiting Assistant Professor of African American Studies.