Phi Alpha Theta History Conference | 2023

The History Department and Phi Alpha Theta are pleased to announce the 11th Annual History Conference to be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023.

The conference will consist of live panel presentations (15 minutes per presenter) moderated by a chair and a commentator, as well as a virtual presentation component composed of pre-recorded presentations, which will be posted our conference website. Panelists and virtual presenters will be eligible for prizes in the undergraduate and graduate categories.

Presenters should submit a 250-500-word abstract and a brief (3-5 sentence) biographical abstract to our conference portal no later than 5 PM Tuesday, March 21. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by Fri. March 24. Full papers and virtual presentations will need to be submitted to the portal by Fri., April 7 at PM. Papers should be 8-10 pages and presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes.

Graduate and undergraduate students are welcome. Presenters are not required to be members of Phi Alpha Theta or attend Texas State University. Texas State students who do not wish to present may volunteer to serve as chairs. Graduate students may also serve as panel commentators. The $25 registration fee includes complimentary breakfast, lunch, and coffee on the day of the event. Please email phialphatheta@txstate.edu with any questions.

Schedule of Events

8:30-9:00 am:
Breakfast & Opening Remarks Dr. Shannon E. Duffy | Phi Alpha Theta Faculty Advisor
TMH Courtyard

9:00 am-12:00 pm:
Panels (see schedule below)

12:00-1:00 pm:
The Swinney Room | TMH 105

1:00-2:00 pm:
Keynote Speech |
Dr. Amy Nathan Wright from the University of Texas at Austin
Past as Prologue: The Power of History in a Fractured Public Sphere
TMH 101

2:15-2:30 pm:
Announcements of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Prizes

Virtual Posters:

  • Madeline Wheeler, Undergraduate Student, Stephen F. Austin State University, “Brotherhood in the Pineywoods: John Henry Kirby and the Fight Against Lumber Unification”
  • Angel Peralta, Graduate Student, Stephen F. Austin State University, “The Scientific Inquiries of Professor John Winthrop, 1714-1779”
  • Esayas Belay, Graduate Student, University of Ethiopia: “The Victory of Adwa”

Panel Set 1 | 9:00 - 9:45 am

Panel 1A | Religion and Politics | TMH 101
Session Commentator | Dr. Louis Porter
Session Chair | Sabrina Vargas

  • Isaiah Horne, Graduate Student at Baylor University | The Right to be Wrong: How White Texas Protestants Defended Segregated Education
  • Kevin Mitchell, Graduate Student at Incarnate Word University | Our Savage Christians: Religious Justifications for Puritan Conduct During King Philip's War
  • Gabriel Medina, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Stretching the Empires: Trade and Relations Between Rome and China in the Age of Empire

Panel 1B | Military and War | TMH 104
Session Commentator | Dr. Ellen Tillman
Session Chair | Sarah Habeeb

  • Aaron Holland, Graduate Student at Texas State University | Obama's Nuclear Paradox
  • Samuel Wilburn, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | The Military Industrial Complex-Who's Fault?
  • Jamie Sackett, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Caesar's Atrocities: The Gallic Price for Immortality

Panel Set 2 | 10:00 - 10:55 am

Panel 2A | Memorialization & Memory | TMH 101
Session Commentator | Dr. Elizabeth Bishop
Session Chair | Cortney Smith

  • Andrew Ward, Graduate Student at Texas State University | The Development of Memorialization at Bear River and Sand Creek
  • Ella Cummings, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Ancient Rome: Lights, Camera, Rome?

Panel 2B | The World Wars | TMH 104
Session Commentator | Dr. Shannon Duffy
Session Chair | Amy Bushong

  • Richard Vincent Kortz, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | German in our Ports!!!: The Internments German Merchant Raiders in America during the First World War
  • Ann "Aashi" Morales, Graduate Student at Texas State University | When Words are not Enough: Texas' Good Neighbor Policy, Caucasian Race-Equal Privileges Resolution, and the Limits of Texas Gubernational Power in World War II

Panel Set 3 | 11:00 - 11:50 am

Panel 3A | Entertainment | TMH 101
Session Commentator | Dr. Elizabeth Bishop
Session Chair | Cortney Smitham

  • Alexandra Thompson, Graduate Student at Texas State University | Dying to Make a Living: A Labor History told through Music
  • Chloe Johnson, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Eisenhower's Televised Presidential News Conference

Panel 3B | The Hannibals | TMH 104
Session Commentator | Dr. Bryan Glass
Session Chair | Amy Bushong

  • Ezekiel John-Alfred Spears, Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Punic Policies: The Rise and Fall of Hannibal Barca
  • Marshall D. Williams Jr., Undergraduate Student at Texas State University | Setting the Stage for the First Punic War

Acknowledgments

Phi Alpha Theta would like to thank the History Department, Dr. Mary Brennan, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Dr. Jeffrey Helgeson, History Department Chair. In addition, Phi Alph Theta thanks the History and Anthropology Systems Support Specialist, Adam Clark, the ITAC Engagement team, and History Department Administrative Assistants Madelyn Patlan and Roberta Ruiz for their assistance in setting up and running this conference.

We would also like to thank the panel chairs and commentators, as well as the volunteers for giving us their time and expertise. Thank you to our esteemed judges Dr. Elizabeth Bishop, Dr. Shannon Duffy, and Margaret Vaverek. A special thank you to our conference keynote speaker, Dr. Amy Nathan Wright, assistant professor of Instruction Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at Austin.

This conference would not have been possible without the active support of our current Phi Alpha Theta officers: President Amy Bushong; Vice President Bridget Dunbar; Treasurer Andrew Turner; Secretary Luiz Osorio; Historian Andrew Ward; Archivist Cortney Smith; Social Media Coordinator Sarah Habeeb; Conference Coordinators: Amy Bushong, Sarah Habeeb, Hannah Martin, Cortney Smith, Luiz Osorio, Tenaysia Batey, and Emma Beard. A special thank you to our PAT Faculty Adviser Dr. Shannon E. Duffy.