Department of History Archives - Page 2 of 5

MSU group enjoys the “Vita Romana”

May 15, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Instructor of Classics Dr. Kristin Harper, of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions, led a group of 13 Missouri State University students to Rome, Italy, March 10-16, 2024, under a new Education Abroad program.

Students who were interested in the program and had faculty recommendations could enroll in “Vita Romana: Art, Poetry and Cuisine from ancient to modern Rome.”

The program was connected to the International Culture and Study Abroad (IDS 297) and Major Authors in Translation (LLT 296) courses.

The students who enrolled in this inaugural program were Josh Brushwood, Cooper Hays, Jess Zeppenfeldt, Hadley Hicks, Gretchen Lampe, Emily McKenna, Emily Knoppe, Jaden Melnick, Marianne Prax, Julia Walker, Eli Birdsong, Kailey Taylor and Eliot Gudreau.

Immersive learning experiences

“Vita Romana” encouraged students to learn more about the city of Rome and its culture, with a specific focus on its ancient roots, according to Harper.

“Rome is the city that blends so much of the ancient and modern together,” she said. “There is so much history, art and food that is preserved within the city limits.”

For Harper, Rome presented the ideal place for students to explore culture and history in an immersive learning environment.

“We focused on archaeology, art history, poetry, ancient Roman mythology and religion as well as early Christianity, trade routes and economics in the Mediterranean, military expansion and governance, and entertainment, literature and food distribution and production,” Harper said.

Combining immersive learning experiences with traditional assignments helped the students stay focused on these themes.

Group standing in front of Roman architecture — L-R: Cooper Hays, Emily Knoppe, Jess Zeppenfeldt, Josh Brushwood, Eliot Gudreau, Julia Walker, Kailey Taylor, Gretchen Lampe, Hadley Hicks, Eli Birdsong, Jaden Melnick, Emily McKenna and Marianne Prax. Photo credit: Kristin Harper.

Dr. Michelle Morgan honored with Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education

April 29, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Associate professor of history Dr. Michelle Morgan was recently honored with the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education.

She was nominated for the award by Dr. Kathleen Kennedy, head of the Department of History.

Morgan first learned she had been selected for the Governor’s Award during the Faculty Awards reception, when she was also being recognized for her Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“The committee selects the Governor’s Award from among the winners of the Foundation Award but does not tell the individual until the reception,” Morgan explained. “It was quite a surprise!”

The award does not have a monetary component, but Morgan received a plaque and attended a luncheon in Jefferson City, Missouri, that honored other Governor’s Award recipients.

Creating citizens and scholars through critical thinking

Morgan, who teaches American history with an emphasis on the American West and American empire, said her coursework spans both historical content and social studies education methodology.

“All of these courses engage my students with learning and teaching about both the laudable and the difficult moments of our country’s past,” Morgan explained. “Grounded in the scholarship of historical thinking and inclusive classroom practices, my teaching fosters students’ ability to ask rigorous historical questions, analyze sources and draw informed conclusions.”

Morgan believes her teaching, which she described as involving “an extensive amount of time digging into primary source materials,” cultivates important critical thinking skills that serve to help students develop as both citizens and scholars.

“[These skills] play a crucial role in preparing our pre-service social studies teachers for the challenges of teaching authentic history in our current environment,” she said.

Morgan cites her American West class as an example of her teaching method and strategy.

In this course, she requires her students to research a historical memorial or monument related to the American West.

Students analyze the commemorated event or person. They then analyze the creators of the memorial to identify and explore the meaning those creators wanted to convey.

From there, students write a proposal to add context, modify content or craft an addition to the memorial to provide a more nuanced interpretation of the past.

Classroom photo of teacher facing students — Dr. Michelle Morgan teaches a seminar class. Photo credit: Jesse Scheve/Missouri State University.

MSU art and design students assist with new exhibition

April 20, 2024 by Reynolds College

Several students from Missouri State University’s Department of Art and Design assisted with the Springfield Art Museum’s special exhibition, “Renaissance Works on Parchment and Paper.”

The students conducted research and developed written descriptions to focus on individual objects or thematic elements.

Professor of art history Dr. Mitzi Kirkland-Ives will discuss the exhibit June 6, 2024, from 6-7 p.m. at the museum.

The exhibit is on view April 20-Sept. 1. It is free and open to the public.

Exhibit highlights historical “information-technology” shifts

Kirkland-Ives guest-curated the exhibit, selecting items from the museum’s collection to document the transition from manuscript production to the dawn of printing press technology.

“The exhibit focuses on an information-technology shift and some aspects of how both script/typography and visual imagery adapted to the new formats possible during the advent of mass reproduction,” Kirkland-Ives said.

Exhibit visitors will encounter visual elements of fifteen printed images—woodblock prints, engravings, and one etching—by German masters of the sixteenth century, including several works by Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Renaissance print artwork — Detail: Saint Jerome in His Study, Albrecht Dürer, 1514.

The exhibition provides a historical overview of how these works were produced—tools, equipment, and style—and covers a range of other subject matter.

“A half dozen examples of texts produced using the early printing press in several languages and typefaces are also included—early Bibles and other texts—and a number of leaves from medieval manuscripts on parchment as examples of the range of scripts and approaches to ornamentation seen in the unique hand-produced works of earlier centuries,” Kirkland–Ives said.

Kirkland-Ives wants viewers to consider contemporary issues in parallel with the development of print in Renaissance times, especially major changes in information technology, such as the internet and artificial intelligence (AI).

She hopes the exhibit encourages visitors to think about “big fundamental changes in how we get our information, whose voices can be heard, and how we negotiate, basically, questions of media literacy, legitimacy and authority.”

Dr. Sarah Mellors explores modern China’s reproductive history in latest book

April 8, 2024 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Associate professor of history Dr. Sarah Mellors has been studying modern China for 20 years, ever since she started intensive Mandarin lessons as a freshman in college.

Mellors, who has been with Missouri State for six years, currently teaches courses on premodern and modern East Asia (China, Japan and Korea), 20th century China, gender and sexuality, and the history of medicine.

Her most recent book, “Reproductive Realities in Modern China: Birth Control and Abortion, 1911-2021” (Cambridge University Press, 2023), blends those specialty areas into a focused examination of reproductive health history in 20th century China.

Mellors has given numerous talks on China’s reproductive health history, including at events hosted by Harvard University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Rush University Medical Center, the University of New South Wales, the University of San Francisco, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Exeter and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Although audiences at these sessions ask a variety of questions, Mellors frequently finds herself fielding questions about China’s population future.

“Audience members at these talks want to know what China’s fertility policies will look like in the future, now that the population is graying and the government is pushing for three-child families,” Mellors said.

“[They] also are very interested in how ethnic minorities fared under the One Child Policy.”

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Immersive learning experiences

Creating citizens and scholars through critical thinking

Exhibit highlights historical “information-technology” shifts

Conference experience validates effort