Around the Courtyard | 2017

Expand FAQ List

  • 2017 News Archive

    • Congratulations to Dr. Jeremy Roethler whose article, Albert Leo Schlageter: First Soldier of the Third Reich or Catholic War Hero?, has been published in  Catholic Historical Review.

      Congratulations to Elizabeth on the publication of the following piece:
      Elizabeth Bishop, « Golden Flies: Egypt's Pharaonic Past in Multiple Mirrors », in Mercedes Volait et Emmanuelle Perrin (dir.), Dialogues artistiques avec les passés de l'Égypte : une perspective transnationale et transmédiale, Paris, InVisu (CNRS-INHA) (« Actes de colloques »), 2017.

      Congratulations to Dr. Paul Hart who has been named director of Texas State University’s Center for International Studies. On September 1, 2018, he will succeed Dr. Dennis Dunn, who is retiring as director of center and Regents’ Professor of History.

      Congratulations to Dr. Jimmy McWilliams who wrote the cover story for The American Scholar magazine, Winter 2018.

      Congratulations to Dr. John McKiernan, who has a contribution in the recently published “Keywords in Latina/o Studies,” part of the Keywords series of NY Press!

      Civil War History has published a roundtable on Free State of Jones, a movie based on the scholarship of our own Distinguished Professor Emeritus Victoria Bynum.

      Congratulations to Dr. Ken Margerison who has been named an Honorary Professor of International Studies.

      Congratulations to Jessica Pliley, who has been named one of the Moore Institute Visiting Research Fellows, National University of Ireland, Galway, 2017-2018! Jessica will be visiting Galway in May 2018.

      Dr. Jimmy McWilliams was recently published in the Virginia Quarterly Review. 

      Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Helgeson who is one the university's two nominees for the Carnegie Fellowship.

      Congratulations to Sara Damiano on the publication of her article, "Writing Women's History Through the Revolution: Family Finances, Letter Writing, and Conceptions of Marriage," in the October 2017 issue of the William and Mary Quarterly!

      Congratulations to Dan Utley on his new book The Presidents Speak: Addresses from the Leadership of the East Texas Historical Association, 2000-2016. Edited by Milton S. Jordan and Dan K. Utley. Nacogdoches: Stephen F. Austin State University Press.

      Congratulations to De. Peter Dedek on his recent interview by the New Orleans Advocate about his book, the Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History.  You can find the interview on theadvocate.com.

      Congratulations to Jeremy Roethler whose article, "Albert Leo Schlageter: First Soldier of the Third Reich or Catholic War Hero?", will appear in the Autumn 2017 issue of the Catholic Historical Review!

      Congratulations to Jimmy McWilliams whose 2016 essay, "Saving the Self in the Age of the Selfie," in The American Scholar, made it onto The Atlantic's annual 100 exceptional works of journalism list!

      Dr. Jason Mellard's "1973 Redux: Revisiting Michael Novak and Agnes Moreland Jackson on White Ethnicity and National Belonging" appears in Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal Vol. 100, No. 3, 2017. The article reframes a 1973 point/counterpoint debate from the pages of the journal between Michael Novak ("How American Are You If Your Grandparents Came from Serbia in 1888?") and Agnes Moreland Jackson ("To See the 'Me' in 'Thee': Challenge to All White Americans, or, White Ethnicity from a Black Perspective").

       

    • Dr. Ron Jager passed away Wednesday, July 26.  Ron was a full time faculty member in the History Department from 1967 to 1993.  Even after his retirement, he continued for several years to teach part time for the department.

      Ron was a “renaissance man” in many ways. In addition to his PhD in History, he held a J.D. and worked as a geologist.  Always active in the Arts, he and his wife, Marie, spearheaded the restoration of the Old First Christian Church, turning it into the Price Center which, according to their website, currently serves as a “gathering place for stimulating cultural, social and intellectual opportunities.”

      A Wake was held at the Price Senior Center, from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, August 4th. Ron’s Life was celebrated at The Chapel at the San Marcos City Cemetery, 10 a.m., Saturday, August 5th, where he was laid to rest.

      Congratulations to Dr. John Mckiernan-Gonzalez who has been named the Jerome H. and Catherine E. Supple Professor of Southwestern Studies beginning September 1, 2017. He succeeds Dr. Jesús F. “Frank” de la Teja, who is retiring as director of Texas State’s Center for the Study of the Southwest.

      Congratulations to Jeremy Roethler!  His Conference Report: “Catholic Antisemitism and German National Socialism”  appears in the June 2017 issue of Contemporary Church History Quarterly.

      Dr. Elizabeth Bishop recently co-chaired the Annual conference of the American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS) in Djerba, Tunisia. Co chairs were Brock Cutler (Redford University) and Jacob Mundy (Colgate University). The annual AIMS conference is a signature event that brings together delegations of scholars-- in this particular case, architects as well-- from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and the US, as well as individual scholars from Egypt and Germany. We addressed "Making Space in the Maghrib" as our thematic.

      Congratulations to Jason Mellard on the publication of "'These Are My People': The Politics of Country Music" in the The Oxford Handbook of Country Music edited by Travis Stimeling.

      Congratulations to N’Deye Ndiaye who has been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of States' Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to study or intern abroad during the Summer 2017 academic term. She has also been recently elected as president of the Model Arab League! 

      Congratulations to Ron Johnson!  He has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Alumni Association’s Teaching Award of Honor!  He will receive the award at Convocation in August.

      Congratulations to John Mckiernan-Gonzalez! He is one of five founders of a public conference and a virtual forum where journalists and academics bring their expertise to bear on matters of interest to/for/about Latinos.  ‘Cronicas: where academics and journalists meet.’: http://cronicas.latinostudies.duke.edu/ has now made its debut. 

      The site includes several articles published by other as well.  A selection can be found here.

      Congratulations to Nancy Berlage who learned that her book, Farmers Helping Farmers, was a Finalist for the Jon Gjerde Prize for the Best Book in Midwestern History given by the Midwestern History Association!

      Congratulations to Peter Dedek!  LSU press just published his book, The Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History.  

      Congratulations to Frank de la Teja whose article, “San Antonio Military Roots Go Back to the Presidio,”  appeared in the May 28th San Antonio Express-News.

      Congratulations to Dan Utley, who not only has a new article, but also wins for the “catchiest article title of the year”!
      “Flying an Outhouse to the Cajuns: Woodville’s Clyde E. Gray as Artist and Promoter,” The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record (The Journal of the Texas Gulf Historical Society, Lamar University), Vol. 52.

      Congratulations to Dr. McWilliams whose article on Walt Whitman appears in the current issue of The Paris Review.  You may read the article at https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/05/22/before-a-million-universes/

      Congratulations to Dr. Ronald Johnson who was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award, which is sponsored by the Black Student Alliance and voted on by members of student body. The award was presented to him by Jerrilyn Roberson, Texas State University '18, Black Student Alliance (BSA) President.

      Congratulations to Jessica Pliley.  Her chapter, “Protecting the Young and the Innocent:  Age and Consent in the Enforcement of the White Slave Traffic Act,” has been published in Child Slavery before and after Emancipation, edited by Anna Mae Duane (Cambridge University Press, 2017).

      Our student worker, Joceline, is not only graduating, but she also has a new job.  She is set to begin her training later this month with the Department of US Customs and Border Protection!

      Congratulations to  Nichole Saunders (MA ’96)!  Vikki Bynum recently caught up with Nichole at Lynchburg College, where Nikki is now a full professor! Nikki wrote her thesis under Gregg's direction and went on to earn her PhD from UC Irvine. She was just named Lynchburg College's John Franklin East Distinguished Professor of the Humanities. 

      Mary Brennan Administrative AwardThe Center for International Studies presented Dr. Mary Brennan with the International Studies Administrator of the Year Award for the 2016-2017 academic year. Dr. Brennan has provided continued support for the Center and its students. She most recently was on the planning committee for the Obama Legacy Conference. The interdisciplinary conference hosted scholars from around the world to discuss the impact of the past administration with regards to both foreign and domestic policy. In addition to serving on the committee, Dr. Brennan participated in a panel discussing the impact of Michelle Obama and her role as First Lady.

      Congratulations to Dr. Brennan and thank you for your continued support.

      Congratulations to Sandra Smith Davidson (MA 1999) who will earn her PhD from the University of Houston this May!

      Congratulations to Joaquin Rivaya-Martinez who has been notified that he has been awarded the Medalla de Acero al Mérito Histórico "Capitán Alonso de León" by the Sociedad Nuevo Leonesa de Historia, Geografía y Estadística.

      Here are words I never thought I would write about our department:  we are a department of athletes!  I know that you all are academic rock stars, but now, I discover that many of you are out running marathons!  Alan Atchison and Jimmy had been our department runners for years.  The rest of us could accept a couple of healthy types, but now we are being overrun (pardon the pun!) with athletes.  Last week, Sara ran in the Boston Marathon and on Sunday, Carrie placed 5th among all the women in the Capitol 10K and first in her age category. John and Jeff are runners/bikers and Adam has the graduate students playing softball.  Dennis and Paul play basketball.

      Congratulations to Nancy Berlage!  The Iowa State Historical Society named her book, Farmers Helping Farmers, one of the five best Iowa history books published in 2016.  As such, her work was named a Benjamin F. Shambaugh Award Finalist.

      Congratulations to our newest tenured Associate Professor, Dr. Ellen Tillman, and our newest Full Professors, Drs. Paul Hart and Lynn Denton!!!

      Congratulations to the Texas State Model Arab League Team!  Competing with students from over 20 universities around the globe at the National University Model Arab League held in Washington, D.C., Texas State students Daisy Jaimez, N'Deye Ndiaye, Coffey McCurdy, and Brittlin Richardson distinguished themselves by winning awards. In addition, Texas State’s Coffey McCurdy will also be an executive member of the NCUSAR Secretariat for the 2018 season.

      Congratulations to Lindsey Wallenberg and Heather Marie Haley! Lindsey was named the Outstanding Graduate Student in Liberal Arts, and Heather won the Outstanding Master's Thesis Award in the Humanities and Fine Arts.

      Congratulations to Elizabeth Bishop whose letter to the editor was printed in the Statesman on March 26th!

      Congratulations to Josh Paddison whose essay, “Studying Gods and Monsters,” was recently published in a new anthology, Monsters in the Classroom: Essays on Teaching What Scares Us, edited by Adam Golub and Heather Richardson Hayton (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2017).

      George Gentry, who taught in the department for 19 years during the 1980s and ‘90s, passed away last September.  George was a gentleman who loved history and his students.  After retiring from the military, he returned to then Southwest Texas State University to complete a graduate degree.  He was a kind man and a good teacher.  Margaret Vaverek found this obituary in the Houston Chronicle.

      Congratulations to Lindsey Waldenberg, Outstanding Graduate Student in Liberal Arts!

      Congratulations to Dr. Nancy Berlage! New York History, the journal of the New York State Historical Association and the State University of New York – Oneonta, published her article, "Plotting a Better Future for Agriculture, Women, and the Empire State: Historical Pageantry in the 1920s."

      Congratulations to Dr. Dennis Dunn, the LA nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity!
      Thank you to all of our nominees:  Ellen, Rebecca, Bryan M., Jessica, Nancy, and Jason.  We think you are all winners.

      Everette Swinney passed away on March 1, 2017.  He joined the faculty in 1957 and retired in 2004.  He was a wonderful teacher; an innovator; a strong advocate for faculty; a dedicated historian who chaired the department for at least 10 years; and always a voice of calm reason. Visitation is at Pennington’s on Sunday, March 5th from 4 to 6.  Funeral service is also at Pennington’s on Monday, March 6th at 2 pm.

      Congratulations to Dr. Paul Chevedden whose chapter, “Pope Urban II and the Ideology of the Crusades,” appears in  Adrian Boas, ed,  The Crusader World (London: Routledge, 2016) which was just named one of the CHOICE list of Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016. 

      Congratulations to Frank de la Teja!  His book, Faces of Bexar: Early San Antonio and Texas, won the  Summerfield G. Roberts award from the Sons of the Republic of Texas!

      Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Bishop and the members of the Model Arab League!  They won honors as the Outstanding Delegation at the Bilateral Chamber Model Arab League in Houston this weekend!

      Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Bishop who has been nominated and chosen to have a Paws Preview “Den” named for her!

      Congratulations to Elizabeth Bishop who has been awarded  one of Notre Dame's Global Religion Research Initiative (GRRI) competitive grants to develop a course on the Shi'a Muslim community of Najaf, Iraq-- in particular, how they understood nuclear non-proliferation during the Cold War.

      Congratulations to Jimmy McWilliams whose latest essay appears in The Paris Review and is accessible at https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/01/19/ideas-and-a-new-hat/.

      Congratulations to Dan Utley who published a chapter titled "With the Yalies in the Deep Woods" in Eavesdropping on Texas History (UNT Press), edited by Mary L. Scheer, a Texas State (SWT) graduate.  The book also includes a chapter entitled 'The Loneliest Job in the World': The Day Lyndon Johnson Became President" by Michael Collins and chapters by SWT alumns Light Cummins and Patrick Cox. 

      Congratulations to Ken Margerison on publication of his article, “Rogue Diplomacy:  Sartine, Saint-Lubin and the French Attempt to Recover ‘Lost India,’” French History, 30 (December 2016):  477-504.

      Congratulations to Elizabeth Bishop who has succeeded in winning Texas State its second full-year resident Fulbright Scholar!  Dr. Gökser Gökçay, who trained within the Ataturk Institute for Modern Turkish History at Dokuz Eylül University, will be joining the department for the 2017-2018 academic year.   A historian of US economic assistance during the Cold War, Dr. Gökçay will be team-teaching a course with Elizabeth and will be available throughout the year for guest lectures.

      Congratulations to Jeff Helgeson and Jessica Pliley who were awarded Supplemental Grants to extend their Faculty Development Leaves for the entire 2017-2018 academic year!

      Congratulations to Dennis Dunn on the publication of his latest book, The Catholic Church and Soviet Russia, 1917-1939 (Routledge Press, 2017).

      Jimmy McWilliam's Virginia Quarterly Review article was reprinted in Italian in an Italian literary journal called Internazionale. It's worth looking at for the images alone.  I strongly recommend looking through it.

      Texas State’s Model Arab League attended the National University Model Arab League from March 31- April 2. This was hosted by the National Council on U.S.- Arab Relations (NCUSAR) in Washington D.C. with over 20 other universities in attendance from around the globe.

      Students from Texas State participated in councils that were directed at specific topics including: Joint Defense, Palestinian Affairs, Social Affairs, Political Affairs, Environmental Affairs, Economic Affairs, Heads of State, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, and a Joint Cabinet Crisis simulator. These councils were all directed towards the ongoing development in the Arab world with an emphasis on Texas State’s ability to learn and build skills related to their respective topics.

      During the National University Model Arab League, awards were presented to Texas State students among a handful of students from other universities. These recipients include Daisy Jaimez, N'Deye Ndiaye, Coffey McCurdy, and Brittlin Richardson. In addition, Texas State’s Coffey McCurdy will also be an executive member of the NCUSAR Secretariat for the 2018 season.

      MAL NCUSAR

      Each student had a unique experience within their council and attacked the council’s task with their own creative solutions. Catherine Wicker of the Environmental Affairs Council stated “I represented the delegation of Qatar with Madeline Machlab in the environmental council. In session with worked with other countries to make resolutions fixing the problems of lack of water and environmental problems such as oil spills and overfishing.” Kele Isibor of the Economic Affairs Council stated that “I was on the economic affairs council along side Devin Barrett. My experience in session strengthen my public speaking skills and awarded me an in depth knowledge on the Arab region. Especially the connections between Qatar and other Arab states. As a council we were able to acknowledge ties between economic and social issues and respond appropriately. Most of all I was happy with the diplomatic interactions between my fellow delegates and I throughout NUMAL.”

      The Model Arab League acknowledges support from the Assistant Vice President for International Affairs; from Texas State University Crowdfunding; and from the Dean of Students' Office, Student Government "Rising STAR" travel grants; as well as from the the College of Liberal Arts; from the Departments of Anthropology, Geography, History, Modern Languages, and Political Science. In addition, two personal donations from friends of the University and friends of the Model Arab League made travel to NUMAL possible.

      Seventeen Texas State students and a faculty member returned from the Bilateral Chamber Regional Model Arab League event at the University of Houston-Clear Lake with awards. The Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations organize these events at which students debate in five councils: Economic Affairs, Joint Defense, Palestinian Affairs, Political Affairs, and Social Affairs.  Six universities (among them Houston Community College – Honors, Texas A&M University – College Station, University of Houston Downtown and Clear Lake campuses, as well as the Honors College) were represented at the competition, which took place 18-19 February 2017.

      At such competitions, students sharpened their skills in diplomacy and public speech, and ten Bobcats-- as well as the entire Texas State team-- brought home honors.  At this year's competition, students took the added challenge of representing Qatar's government. The entire Bobcat delegation was recognized as "Outstanding Team." In addition, Sarah Marshall was recognized as "Outstanding Chair;" of her experience, Ms Marshall said: "as chair of the council on Palestinian Affairs, I brought leadership and experience." Head Delegate Daisy Jaimez received the competition's "Distinguished Chair" award as well. 

      For their contributions to the Joint Defense council, Coffey McCurdy and Keeley Dorman were awarded Outstanding Delegation  Regarding her representation of Qatar, Ms McCurdy observes: "Participating at Model Arab League allowed me to enhance my public speaking skills through giving short thirty seconds to two minute speeches throughout the day. I also improved my writing skills by contributing a substantial amount of draft language. Overall I gained impeccable teamwork skills because I worked closely with my partner along with every person in the room to come up with creative and realistic solutions to some of the world's most challenging problems." Bobcats Mohammad Al-Rousan and Kierah Shirk won Outstanding Delegation for their representation of Qatar on Political Affairs as well.

      On the Economic Affairs council, N'Deye Ndiaye and Kele Isibor were recognized as a Distinguished Delegation  Regarding their contributions to the debate, Ms Isibor notes: "in council we proposed an incorporation of an ethical perspective when examining the given topics and advocated that we not solely view from a financial/monetary standpoint, but the also consider the overall implications of any given action." Geoffrey Sloan and Aaron Gaul were recognized as a Distinguished Delegation for their representation of Qatar on the Palestinian Affairs council as well. Finally, Eman Saleh and Christine Gian won Distinguished Delegation for their contribution to Social Affairs.

      As Head Delegate, Ms Jaimez said, "At my third Bilateral, I had the privilege of chairing the Economic Affairs. Serving as Chair was a huge responsibility... not only did I assist my delegation preparing for their own councils, I also ensured my parliamentary procedure skills were to the expected level. With this ability, I lead a successful and productive council, earned recognition as Distinguished Chair, and assisted Texas State in receiving the Outstanding Delegation award at the Bilateral Conference."

      The MAL program acknowledges support from the Student Service Fee committee, the Rising STAR program, the College of Liberal Arts, and the History Department.  History's Dr. Elizabeth Bishop mentors Texas State University's program. For further information, you can email her at eb26@txstate.edu.