9th Annual Phi Alpha Theta History Conference

2021 Phi Alpha Theta Conference Presentations

• Keynote Presentation

  Presenter | Dr. Karianna Yokota | University of Colorado Denver

  Dr. Kariann Akemi Yokota, author of Unbecoming British: How Revolutionary America Became a Postcolonial Nation (2017), and Pacific Overtures: Early America and the Transpacific World, 1760-1853 (forthcoming), is a well-known specialist in Early American history, currently working on the Early Republic’s relations with Asia, as well as an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer and Chair of the OAH Marketing and Communications Committee.

  Her keynote speech will address the future of the profession, including innovative new programs that the OAH is sponsoring, and promising research and job possibilities that she sees for history graduates in the future.

• Session 1A

  Commentator | Dr. Jason Mellard
  Session Chair |  Alejandra Navarrete

  • “The New Realists: How the Playwrights of the Harlem Renaissance Showcased and Redefined the Black Identity”—Rahjon Singleton, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “From the Field to Center Stage: Mance Lipscomb, Southern Sound, and the American Folk Music Revival”—Jaclyn Tirres, Graduate, Texas State University
  • “Heavy on the Air: Radio & Promotion in the Heavy Metal Capital of the World”—Jake Dromgoole, Graduate, Texas State University

• Session 1B

  Commentator | Dr. Joshua Paddison
  Session Chair | Amber Leigh Hullum

  • “A New Set of Eyes: How Jackson Viewed the U.S. Presidency Differently from His Precursors”—Bo Grubbs, Undergraduate Texas State University
  • “A Red Summer in the Capitol: The D.C. Race Mob of 1919 and the Reaction to Black Advancement”—Jacob Gochis, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Violence Against Black Wealth: White Resentment and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921”—Natalie Stitt, Undergraduate, Baylor University

• Session 2A

  Commentator | Dr. Ellen Tillman
  Session Chair | Wesley Moore

  • “Death and Destruction: Exploring the Authenticity of Oliver Stone’s Platoon”—Enrique Carbaja, Graduate, University of Houston-Clear Lake
  • “The Failures of Colonial Welfare in Kenya: Race Relations in Education”—Jakob Olson, Graduate, Texas State University
  • “Alienating a Citizenry: Vietnamese Population Resettlements Under the Ngo Diem Dinh Administration (1959-1961)”—Christen Symmons, Graduate, University of Houston-Clear Lake

• Session 2B

  Commentator | Kendra Copler
  Session Chair | Patrick Andro

  • “‘Adept in the Art of Government’: Abigail Adams and the Adams Administrations”—Kinsey Brooks, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Like Mother, Like Daughter: How the Oppression on Black Women’s Bodies Maintained the System of Slavery”—Renée Lyles, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Transforming the Catholic Church in the United States: Black American Women’s Religious Leadership from the Civil Rights Movement Through the 1980s”—Erin Graham, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “African American, Native American, and Chinese Women in United States Higher Education, Late 1880s-Early 1900s”—Jasmine Davis, Graduate, Texas State University

• Session 3A

  Commentator | Jason Rivas
  Session Chair | Nancy Heise

  • “‘Queering La Llorona’: Post-Revolution Mexico and the Rejection of Heteronormativity within Ranchera”—Alejandra Navarrete, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Shifting Representation: How Early Black Actors Found a Platform in the Golden Era of Hollywood”—Kea Bekkedahl, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “The Manhattan Club: The Closeted History of Austin’s First Gay Club (1957-1969)”—Amber Leigh Hullum and Railey Tassin, Graduate, Texas State University

• Session 3B

  Commentator | Dr. Casey Nichols
  Session Chair | Meghan Schwab

  • “‘My Faithful Mammy’: Understanding the Role and Narrative of the Black Mammy from 1850-1920”—Deborah Otuno, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Knocking at the Bar of Justice”: Black American Women’s Impact on the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the Nineteenth Amendment”—Brigid Splaine, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Art and Activism: The Evolving Role of Black Painters of the Harlem Renaissance”—Chloe Muñoz, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “The Lone Star on Relief: The Story of the Texas Federal Writers’ Project”—Michael Mitchell, Graduate, University of South Africa-Pretoria

• Alumni Roundtable | Discussion of “Life after Texas State,” advice for Texas State students

  • Rayanna Hoeft, MA, Wimberley High School
  • Dr. Brandon Jett, Florida SouthWestern State College
  • Evan Moore, MA, AiBUY (Dallas Tech Company Client Support and Documentation Specialist
  • Krista Pollett, MA, Oral Historian, National Park Service
  • Jason Rivas, MA, Texas Department of Transportation
  • Dr. Jennifer Ruch, Ph.D. Candidate; Instructor, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Chris Simons, MA, Lockhart High School

• Session 4A

  Commentator | Dr. Elizabeth Bishop
  Session Chair | Jose Gaztambide

  • “All in the Family: The Social Dependency of U.S. Slaveholders on Enslaved Black People”—Brianna Carroll, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Paving the Path to Freedom: Examining Black Leadership and Life in east side San Antonio Ellis Alley Enclave, 1866-1930”—Jacarra Eshan, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “The Significance of Hair: African American History Through the Lens of Madam C.J. Walker”—Kate Puentes, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “When Diplomacy Fails: Bad Faith Negotiations by French Officials in Vietnam 1945-1946”—Kaia Flowers, Graduate, University of Houston-Clear Lake

• Session 4B

  Commentator | Dr. Jacob M. Blosser
  Session Chair | Liberty Gonzales

  • “Losing the Science: The Overshadowed Aspirations of NASA Engineers during the Post-Apollo Planning”—Angel Peralta, Undergraduate, Stephen F. Austin University
  • “Harlem’s Hellfighters and Renaissance: How the Art of World War I Soldiers Expressed a Holistic Black American Identity”—Abigail Bragg, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Beyond the Medical Realm: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Leadership by Little Rock Black Healthcare Professionals”—Mya Ellington-Williams, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “A Century of Forgotten Childhood: African American Children and their Unsung Experiences during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow Era”—Emani Sullivan, Undergraduate, Baylor University

• Session 5A

  Commentator | Dr. Allison Robinson
  Session Chair | Dr. Elizabeth Bishop

  • “Inflection Point: The Rise, Fall, and leaders of Washington, D.C.’s 20th Century Black Revolution”—Charles Thomason, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Good Things Come to Those Who Act: Examining the Contributions of Black Youths during the Civil Rights Era”—Cori Smith, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “America’s War on Black Communities: How the Criminalization of Drugs Disenfranchised Black Americans”—Asianna Brown, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Tecumseh or the Prophet: Leadership in the Shawnee Brothers’ Resistance Movement”—Jonas Czaika, Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, Texas State University

• Session 5B

  Commentators | Dr. Shannon Duffy, Ms. Margaret Vaverek
  Session Chair | Dr. Shannon Duffy

  • “Defining the Presidency Through Washington’s Precedents”—Rilee Schumann, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Spiritual Roots of Black Nationalism: How Lewis Woodson and the African Methodist Episcopal Church Challenged the Abolitionist Movement”—Zachary Sanger, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “Remembering the Second Amendment”—Devyn Graham, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Black Women in the Pentecostal Church: The Church of God in Christ, During the Civil Rights Movement” –Isabelle Mohon, Undergraduate, Baylor University

• Virtual Posters

  • “Sam Houston: Collectively Remembering A Texas Hero”—Avery Armstrong, Graduate, Texas State University
  • “Thomas Paine’s Less Than Ideal French Experience”—Alyssa Cradit, Graduate, Texas State University
  • “Texan Women of Color in World War II”—Alana King, Graduate, Texas State University
  • “The Evolution of Racism: The Rise and Fall of the Political Control of the KKK in Dallas Through 1929”—Austin Pistor, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • French Instability Leads to American Division: American Reactions to the French Revolution”—Donavyn Wooldridge, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Purchase of The West”—Luz Camarillo, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “A Kingly Executive”—Jonathan Koenig, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “An Unlikely Victor: American Triumph in the Battle of New Orleans”—Joshua Burton, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Elite Association: Contextualizing the Leisure and Nightlife of the Black Elite in a White-Centric Narrative”—Myracle Sadie Fielding, Undergraduate, Baylor University
  • “The Separation of Church and State and Jefferson”—Ezra Sanchez, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Not One Cent for Tribute”—Stephen Cooper, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Abominable Doctrine, of Centrism? Jackson’s Nullification Crisis”—William Swan, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Quasi War: A War We Wanted But Did Not Need”—Jean Nunez, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “How Baltimore was Defended vs Washington”—Omar Deloera Ramos, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Forming the Electoral College at the Constitutional Convention: The Deliberation and Debates That Shaped How We Elect Our Presidents”—Caroline Taylor, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “It Has to Work at Some Point, Right? The Story of the United States’ Invasions of Canada”—AJ Ybarra, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “The Dorr Rebellion”—Jacob Paul Lee, Undergraduate, Texas State University
  • “Andrew Jackson’s Promise to the People”—Merrick Hart, Undergraduate, Texas State University