Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809. 2005-06

Greetings to all of you from Terre Haute and Stalker Hall. I hope you all have had a happy and productive year. We have had a typically busy year in the Department of History, and I want to thank all of our faculty, our administrative assistants Carolyn Greenwalt and Ellen Knoblett, and particularly our students for making it so enjoyable. Our three newest faculty members, Christopher Fischer, Isaac Land, and Barbara Skinner, have had a very successful first year. In particular, they quickly made an important contribution by helping to revise our European curriculum. We hope they are as happy here as we are happy to have them at ISU, and we look forward to their contributions for many years to come. I also want to congratulate Steve Stofferahn on his successful revival of Phi Alpha Theta. The history honor society initiated more than a dozen new members this year.

Among many highlights this year, Department faculty were rewarded with several grants and continued to build on our reputation for outstanding, nationally recognized scholarship.

Bill Giffin published African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915-1930, with the Ohio State University Press. It was nominated for the Bancroft Prize in American history, probably the most prestigious award in the field.

Ann Chirhart received one of just sixteen "Promising Scholars" grants given to faculty at ISU. "Worship in the Wabash Valley" is an oral history project that seeks to engage faculty, students, and community members in a partnership to document why places of worship survived even as social and economic conditions dramatically changed. It will be a truly collaborative, interdisciplinary project between students, faculty, and the community.

In collaboration with the Department of English, we received a three-year grant to establish the Research Center for Local History and Culture. The Center will work with ISU faculty and students to encourage and facilitate study of the Wabash Valley and its people, history, and folklore. The grant includes support for undergraduate student fellows who will work on research projects through their existing courses and with support of their faculty. Fellows will receive a stipend and have access to the Center’s equipment and other research support funds. The grant application was written largely by Anne Foster, with support from Ron Baker in English. The Center will be housed physically in the Department of History.

Unfortunately for us, we had to say good-bye to Rob Fish, who left the Department this spring when he accepted a job as Director of Education for the Japan Society of New York. This was a tremendous opportunity for Rob and his family, and we certainly wish him the best. We also thank him for his tremendous contributions to the department and the Social Studies Education program during his time at ISU. He will be sorely missed.

On a very sad note, Francois Muyumba, a member of the Department of African and African American Studies, passed away in February after suffering a heart attack in his Stalker Hall office. Francois taught African history for many years and will surely be remembered by many alumni and friends of the History Department. The truly massive outpouring of emotion from students and colleagues spoke to his warm and engaging personality, dedication to students, and his tremendous impact on ISU and the study of African history and culture on campus and in the Terre Haute community.

On July 27, 2005 (the hottest day of summer) the Department of History began its move back into the newly renovated Stalker Hall. The main entrance of the building now faces the Quad. When you walk in the building you are greeted by a three-story atrium. There is a coffee bar in the lobby of the building, and couches and tables and chairs for students to sit and drink coffee or just study.

Our address remains the same: Department of History, Indiana State University, Terre Haute IN 47809. The department phone number is 812-237-2710. For an up-to-date listing of our faculty, please go to our website at All of our faculty’s e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and office numbers are available there.

The building was formally dedicated on September 23, 2005. If you have not done so, please come by and see us. It is a truly beautiful building, perhaps most of all because even with the extensive renovation there remains a clear sense of the "old" Stalker Hall. For all of us who appreciate change, but also continuity, over time, it is the perfect place to work.

Every spring semester awards and scholarships are given to outstanding undergraduate and graduate History majors. This year the recipients were:

This year the annual College of Arts and Sciences’ Outstanding Senior Award for the Department of History was given to Kiel Majewski.

The Department of History would like to thank all of our adjunct faculty who helped us during the 2005-06 academic year.

John Benton, HIST 202

Robert Clouse, HIST 101

David McCarter, HIST 101

Martha (Marty) Mertens, HIST 351

Michelle (Micki) Morahn, HIST 201

Lisa Phillips, HIST 201, 202, 4/518

For the academic year 2005-06 the following graduate students were enrolled:

The fall semester 2005 yielded a total enrollment of 1,802 (5,406 SCH). The spring semester 2006 had enrollment of 1,500 (4,481 SCH). Though enrollments were down slightly overall, we again attracted more undergraduate and graduate majors. Our average number of UG majors for 2005-06 was 82.

Some of our alumni were in touch with us this year. It was great to hear from each one of them. Please feel free to drop us a note and let us know what is going on in your life.

Tammy Ayer (2002) is the Assistant Metro Editor for The News-Press in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Leah Bender (2004) is pursuing her Ph.D. in European History at the University of Kentucky. She is also working for the History Department there as a Student Teaching Assistant.

Laura Bergstrom (2003) is pursuing a Ph.D. at Purdue University, where she is also working as a teaching assistant.

Bonnye Busbice (1999) is living in Seymour, Indiana. She is staying home to raise her son while writing grants.

Timothy Crumrin (1989) is employed with the Connor Prairie Museum as the Associate Director and Historian in Fishers, Indiana.

Camille Fife (1997) is the President of The Westerly Group, Inc. in Madison, Indiana.

Daryl Hopple (1987) is a claims team manager for State Farm Insurance in Birmingham, Alabama.

Kathleen Isaacson (2002) resides in Silver Spring, Maryland and is pursuing her doctorate at the American University in Washington, D.C.

Ricky Main (1985) is the senior pastor of the Salem Nazarene Church in Salem, Indiana.

Jason Martinek (1999) received his doctorate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. He is currently teaching at Carnegie Mellon.

Brian Spangle (1985) resides in Vincennes and is the Knox County Public Library Historical Collection Administrator.

Faculty Publications and Professional Activities

Ann Chirhart’s first book, Torches of Light: Teachers and the Modern State of Georgia, was published with the University of Georgia Press, February 2005. The book was nominated for thirteen prestigious awards. Between working on her final proofs and teaching, Ann chaired and commented on various professional panels, is preparing several book reviews, and is active in departmental and University committees. All of her hard work has paid off. Beginning the fall 2006 Ann will be promoted to Associate Professor of History and will be tenured. Congratulations Ann!

Daniel Clark published one article and presented two conference papers in 2005. He also published one book review and chaired a panel discussion on distance education at the Southwestern Historical Association in March 2005. Dan is the department’s library liaison and a member of the university’s Social Science Education Advisory Council, and a SSE advisor to undergraduate majors. Dan is a task force member of Project PRE (Partnering to Reform Education), and also serves as a professional development site liaison. He recently completed revisions to his first book manuscript, which is currently under review.

Christopher Fischer joined the department in fall 2005. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his fields include cultural, political, Germany and France, and 20^th-century Europe. Chris came here from Loyola College. In the fall 2005 he presented one conference paper, was a member of the Holocaust Film Series put on by the Cunningham Memorial Library. He is one of the editors of H-German and is finishing revisions on his first book manuscript, Alsace to the Alsatians? Visions and Divisions of Alsatian Regionalism, 1890-1930.

Robert Fish presented three conference papers, organized three panels for two conferences, and made two presentations in Japan in October 2005. Rob serves on many departmental, college, and university committees, including Project PRE (Partnering to Reform Education). We wish to say to Rob that he has been a remarkable scholar and a wonderful colleague. It is with sadness that we say goodbye, and with great enthusiasm that we wish him the best as he takes his new position.

Anne Foster’s co-edited book, The American Colonial State on the Philippines: Global Perspective, was re-printed in 2005 by Anvil Press for an Asian Edition. (It was originally printed by Duke University Press in 2003.) She is also finishing final revisions on Projections of Power: The U. S. in Colonial Southeast Asia, 1919-1941, which will be published with Duke University Press. She received a University Research Committee grant, and two grants for Focus Indiana from ISU’s Center for Public Service and Community Engagement. She has been active in working with students in History 300, including an oral history project, "Memories of the Holocaust: Oral Histories from the Wabash Valley." As part of this project she took a large group of students to Washington, D. C., where they conducted research in the National Archives and the National Holocaust Museum.

William Giffin’s book African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915-1930, was published this year by Ohio State University Press. The book was nominated for the Bancroft Prize, which honors the most outstanding work of the year in American history. He also published The Irish, as part of the Indiana Historical Society’s "Peopling Indiana" series. Bill continued to be an active member and treasurer of the Indiana Historical Association, while maintaining a heavy service load in the department and university that included chair of the department’s Retention/Tenure and Promotion committees, and as member of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Timothy Hawkins published one book review. Besides the departmental and university committees on which he serves, Tim also is a member of many national organizations. He continues as director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program at ISU. He coordinates the Malta Exchange Program and the Mediterranean Studies Concentration. He is currently working on a history of Spanish Naval Administration and the impact of the Bourbon reforms. Beginning the fall 2006 Tim will be promoted to Associate Professor of History and tenured. Congratulations, Tim, you’ve earned it!

Robert Hunter’s book Egypt under the Khedives was officially translated into Arabic in 2005. The title in Arabic is Misr al-Khidiwiya. Nashrat al-Buracratiya al-Haditha. Bob also presented one conference paper and attended one conference. He is still active as the President of the Midwest Association for Middle East and Islamic Studies. He taught in spring 2005 in Italy, and was on sabbatical in fall 2005. He was back in the department for spring 2006.

Isaac Land joined the department in fall 2005. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and his fields include modern Europe and Britain. Isaac came here from Texas A&M University – Commerce. In the fall 2005 he published "Bread and Arsenic: Citizenship from the Bottom Up in Georgian London," in the Journal of Social History. He also published two review essays and chaired a session at the North American Conference on British Studies.

David Nichols published one book review in 2005, and has another forthcoming. Dave served on several departmental and college committees, including the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council. His book Red Gentlemen and White Savages is undergoing revisions with the University of Virginia Press.

Christopher Olsen continued as Department Chair and was appointed Interim Chair of African and African American Studies. His book The American Civil War: A Hands-On History will be published with Hill & Wang in July 2006. He is currently working on three chapters and articles accepted for publication, and his next book is a study of antebellum American political culture. Chris obtained two university grants to develop internships and oral history. He is a member of the Development Committee for the Advanced Placement U. S. History exam and serves on various College, University, and professional boards and committees.

Richard Schneirov published "The Failures of Success: Class and Craft Relations in the Construction Industry in the Twentieth Century, A Symposium on Grace Palladino’s, Skilled Hands, Strong Spirits: A Century of Building Trades History, in Labor History, one book review, and one encyclopedia entry. Rich continues to serve as director of graduate studies for the History Department. He serves on two editorial boards: WorkingUSA and Labor History. In 2005 Rich wrote the Introduction and Bibliography of Writings for the republication of William English Walling’s 1926 book American Labor and American Democracy. He remains active in the AAUP and the Faculty Senate.

Rebecca Shoemaker continues to chair our curriculum committee, serves as secretary to the department meeting, and is active on other department committees. Becky continues to be the campus representative for the James Madison Fellowship, is an active member in the Indiana Association of Historians, and a member of the Committee for the History of the Federal Courts in Indiana, Southern District. She is nearing completion of her latest book project, The Bill of Rights in the Heartland: Fifty Years of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

Barbara Skinner joined the department in spring 2006. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University, and her fields include Russia, early modern Europe, and European women. Barbara came here from Adelphi University. She is a member of many professional organizations, and has served on two department committees in her short time here. She has recently made several more research trips to Russia as she completes final work on her book manuscript, Faith and Identity in Russia’s Western Borderlands: the Suppression of the Uniates, 1772-1839. In 2005 she also published "Borderlands of Faith: Reconsidering the Origins of a Ukrainian Tragedy," in Slavic Review.

Steven Stofferahn chaired a session at the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium and was a commentator at the Northern Plains History Conference in 2005. Steve became the advisor of Indiana State University’s Phi Alpha Theta, and is co-advisor of the History Club. He is an active member of many department and professional committees. He is currently working on revisions to his dissertation, "Banished Worlds: The Political Culture of the Carolingian Exile, 750-900."

As often as possible we like to keep you in touch with our emeriti faculty. We hope you enjoy catching up with them as much as we enjoy bringing this information to you.

Gale Christianson moved with his wife, Rhonda Packer, to the mountains of north Georgia. In November, a short biography, Isaac Newton, was published by Oxford University Press as part of their Lives and Legacies series. That same month Gale advised and appeared on the PBS program "Nova" for: Isaac Newton: Dark Heretic. Two of his books on Newton are scheduled from translation to Romanian and Bulgarian. You may also run across Gale on the radio, as he has done the Max Lynch show and a number of other radio interviews.

Bob Clouse taught as an adjunct for the department and served on several University and community committees this last year. He has completed a chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Escatology to be published by Oxford University Press next year. Bob is currently working on a manuscript for publication in 2006. He presented a paper in November, 2005, at the meeting of The Evangelical Theological Society of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Bob is still pastoring the First Brethren Church in Clay City.

Arvid Perez returned to the classroom last fall to teach two sections of U.S. History to 1850 at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. In spring 2006 he taught Western Civilization, 1600-1918. His wife, Aida, continues to work one day a week for mad money. When free, they savor life in full in their village on Lake Thurmond.

Dick Pierard is currently serving as Stephen Phillips Professor of History at Gordon College. His book Baptists Together in Christ 1905-2000: A Hundred Year History of the Baptist World Alliance was published in 2005 by the Samford University Press. Dick and Bob Clouse are collaborating on a book that will be published with InterVarsity Press. He has published essays and presented papers too numerous to mention. In late June and early July he will participate in a study trip to South India sponsored by the Boston Theological Institute and take part in the 300th anniversary celebration of the beginning of Protestant missions in India.

Tom Siefert taught two sections of History 201 in Summer 2005. In fall, Tom and his wife, Mary Lynn, spent three weeks touring Ireland with friends. In November, Tom returned to ISU to work part-time as the Interim Assistant Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for the rest of the academic year. Tom and Mary Lynn visited Italy in May 2006, and then Tom returned to continue his position with the University through the 2006-07 academic year.