Welcome to the Department of History!
Winthrop's Department of History is home to an impressive group of teacher/scholars who cover a wide range of fields grounded in active research and reflected in an array of scholarship from digital works to traditional monographs (check department news below for recent examples). The department offers programs of study leading to the BA in History, the BA History with Education Studies Minor for teacher track, and the MA in History. The department also offers study in Digital History, Oral History, and, through affiliation with The Louise Pettus Archives and historic sites, Public History. The Department of History is located in Bancroft Hall in the heart of the Winthrop campus.
History BA students wishing to pursue a career as a history teacher will minor in Education Studies, leading to admission into the accelerated MAT program. Completion of this degree plan will not only prepare students for a teaching career but will open that career on a substantially higher pay scale on which all future increases will be based. In other words, a short-term investment in the MAT will translate to long-long benefits that will continue to offer rewards throughout a career in the classroom. For more information, click here and/or contact Dr. Jennifer Dixon-McKnight or Dr. Don Rakestraw.
- REGISTER NOW: This regional conference entitled “Movements in a Dynamic World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives” will be held on our campus February 24 - February 25. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty from Winthrop and elsewhere are invited to participate in this conference. A big draw for our conference is that it is inexpensive ($30 for Winthrop students) and accessible, and we hope to attract scholars from near and far. We have a great keynote speaker who will talk on the subject of Hip-Hope Culture and the Black Lives Matter Movement, and we will have a luncheon, an opening reception, and several community events to add to the great panels and discussions
Movement Conference website: https://www.winthrop.edu/cas/interdisciplinary/movement-conference.aspx
- Dr. Andy Doyle recently spoke at the University of Auburn at the event titled, "When Football Came to the South: The Nature, Imagination, and Limits of a College Sport".
Congratulations to this year's History Department Scholarhip Recipients/Award Winners and Phi Alpha Theta Inductees!
- Bert Viault Award Winner: Cody Cook
- Dr. Edward Lee Scholarship Recipient: Joseph Kurtz
- Fred Hembree Scholarship Recipient: Cody Cook
- Gillespie Scholarship Recipient: Danny Kilgore
- Glenn Broach Memorial Award Winner: Joel Stein
- Dr. Jason Silverman Scholarship Recipient: Nerena Gause
- John Winthrop Endowed Scholarship Recipient, Graduate: William Calandro
- John Winthrop History Award Winner: Madison Bray
- Maggie Elrod Scholarship Recipient: Jaquan Doby
- Ross A. Webb Award Winner: Nicole Holbert
Dr. Edward Lee, Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies, has a new book titled, "The First Mistake: America in Vietnam, 1945-1954", now available here!
"When writing about the Vietnam War, most scholars focus on the 1960s. But in this hard-hitting analysis, eminent historian Dr. J. Edward Lee focuses instead on the key period of 1945 to 1954, the first decade of America's Vietnam War experience. He suggests that as the Cold War commenced in 1945, America failed to remember our nation's own revolutionary experience and the importance of independence and self-determination, missing an opportunity to build a positive relationship with Ho Chi Minh when we aided the return of French colonialism instead of working with him to achieve his country's independence from imperialist France. A must-read for university classes studying the 20th century, veterans groups, and anyone interested in the gritty history of the Vietnam War."
Virtual Winthrop Day is April 25th! Read a brief note from the history department chair here.
Dr. Greg Bell, Assistant Professor of History and Program Director for the Medieval Studies Program,
has a new book, "Logistics of the First Crusade" that is now available!
Logisitics of the First Crusade: Aquiring Supplies amid Chaos looks at the plans that they made and the methods they implemented to sustain themselves on this remarkable expedition in an attempt to understand how they persisted on the First Crusade. Alex Roland, Duke University, states, "this thoroughly researched and richly detailed study of supplying the First Crusade makes two important contributions. It demonstrates firstly that the crusaders were capable, thoughtful, effective, judicious and-if necessary-ruthless supplying themselves. Secondly, the First Crusade's logisitical success reveals more skillful leadership than previous scholarship has usually portrayed."
Dr. Andy Doyle is now featured in ESPN's series, Saturdays in the South, which chronicles the history of SEC Football. He is also scheduled to teach a course in Spring 2020 on the History of American Football. See Records and Registration, for more information on this course.
Dr. Gregory Crider organized an extremely successful 2019 SECOLAS Annual Meeting in Oaxaca, Mexico with 338 registered attendees. Established in 1953, the Southeastern Council of Latin America Studies (SECOLAS) is a non-political and non-profit association of individuals interested in Latin America. Its objectives are the promotion of interest in Latin America, scholarly research pertaining to Latin America in all fields, and the increase of friendly contacts among the peoples of the Americas. For more information, please visit their website here.
Winthrop University hosted the 2019 Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference:
The Department of History and the Alpha Tau Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta was proud to serve as the host of the 2019 Phi Alpha Theta Carolinas Regional Conference. Winthrop University's Alpha Tau chapter is the earliest chapter established in the Carolinas and for decades, has organized numerous cultural events and trips to promote history and build connections between Winthrop University and Carolinian communities. The Conference was held April 12-13, 2019, with the sponsorship of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History, and Ms. Maggie Elrod (an alumna of Winthrop's Department of History and Phi Alpha Theta member). A special thanks for Dr. Catherine Chang, for organizing this wonderful event.
Dr. Donald Rakestraw's new book on Daniel Webster is now available from Rowman & Littlefield and debuts with the endorsements of a number of prominent scholars of Nineteenth-century U.S. History and Foreign Relations:
"A finely crafted, well-researched, and carefully reasoned study of Daniel Webster
as diplomatist as well as politician and lawyer. Nowhere else can both academics and
general readers find a more succinct yet thorough account of this multifaceted figure
who, with Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, made up the "Great Triumvirate" that dominated
the political stage of mid-nineteenth-century America."
Howard Jones, University of Alabama
Please check the History Department's News and Events page for details about exciting opportunities, including cultural events sponsored by the History Department, and departmental news.
Are you a current student or alumni of the History Department and want to share your achievements? We would love to hear from you! Please send us your news at hartnettk@winthrop.edu. Thank you!
US History courses that satisfy the General Education Constitution requirement address by nature and design America’s foundational documents. These include but are not limited to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and essential Supreme Court decisions as relevant to the period covered by the course. All documents will be made available by individual course instructors as will specific guidance as to their application. Eager students, however, may consider consulting sources such as Yale Law School’s Avalon Project https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/usconst.asp to begin the exploration.
For the general approach to the Constitution and its evolution presented in HIST 211 and HIST 212, click here (pdf - 60.3 KB).
