Archive for 2015
Meet the History Department Faculty: Professor Maddalena Marinari
Dr. Marinari is the most recent addition to the Gustavus History Department. Originally from Italy, she has a Ph.D in Twentieth-Century U.S. and Modern European history from the University of Kansas. Her colleagues already feel her presence as a major contribution. Her enthusiasm towards solving historical puzzles and interpretations make her an excellent professor and […]
Meet the History Department Faculty: Professor Kate Wittenstein
Dr. Kate Wittenstein has been a Gustavus professor since 1986, and, during her tenure, she has helped transform the department in significant ways. Prior to teaching, Dr. Wittenstein earned a MA from Purdue University and a Ph.D from Boston University in American Studies. While at Boston University, she met her husband Gregory Kaster, another professor […]
Prof. Glenn Kranking Publishes Article on Repatriation of Estonian-Swedes
Congratulations(!) to Professor Glenn Kranking whose article, “Leaving the ESSR: Sweden’s Attempts at Repatriating the Estonian-Swedes from Soviet-Controlled Estonia, 1940-1941” has been published in the Journal of Baltic Studies 46, no. 4 (2015): 458-70. Prof. Kranking notes that his article “seems to be one of 3 articles relating to Sweden and the Soviet-occupied Baltic States, […]
Meet the History Department Faculty: Professor Gregory Kaster
Dr. Gregory Kaster is a professor of American History in the Gustavus History Department. Almost from the beginning Dr. Kaster knew that he wanted to teach history. This drove him to get his BA and MA from Northern Illinois University and his Ph.D from Boston University where he met his wife, Dr. Kate Wittenstein, […]
Student Summer Internship Experiences: Kelsie Close ’16
In this post, Professor Scott Ickes of the Gustavus History Department, a specialist in Latin American and Brazilian history, interviews senior History major Kelsie Close. Name: Kelsie Close Year: Senior (Graduating Spring 2016) Major: History, Minor: Classics Hometown: East Bethel, MN Area of Interest in history: I really enjoy ancient Roman and Greek history as […]
The History Major Pays
See this recent and excellent myth-busting article in Forbes by Wilson Peden of the Association of American Colleges & Universities which demolishes, once again, the persistent myth that humanities majors are unemployable or, at best, destined to mediocre earnings. The opposite is true, though one might not know it from all the ill-informed and sometimes […]
History Majors Study Abroad Showcase: Ben Dipple ’16
I studied abroad during the fall 2014 semester in Istanbul, Turkey, as a part of the CIEE Arts and Sciences Program. In addition to my time in Istanbul, I also traveled to different parts of Turkey, including Troy, Trabzon, and Bursa, and spent a week in Egypt visiting friends in Cairo and Alexandria. Studying […]
History Majors Study Abroad Showcase: Alexa Giebink ’16
I studied for a semester in Sweden through the Gustavus led program that traveled throughout the country for five months, including stops in Jokkmokk, Mora and Stockholm. Studying abroad was the best decision I made for my college education. My experiences in another country have given me a new level of contribution to the classroom […]
Living History by Greta VanOsdol ’16
I have spent the past three summers at a historic military fort in Copper Harbor, Michigan, acting as a costumed interpreter. Fort Wilkins was built in 1844 as a response to the need for policing in a newly thriving copper mining area. It was occupied for two years until 1846 when the soldiers left the […]
October is GLBT History Month
As George Chauncey, Professor of History at Yale University and author of the terrific, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940, observes, “LGBT History Month sends an important message our nation’s teachers, school boards, community leaders, and youth about the vital importance of recognizing and exploring […]