Several department telephone extensions will be changed at the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2009). The faculty list on this website will note the new telephone numbers. For easiest contact, please consider contacting faculty members directly using their GMU email address.
Congratulations to Rob Townsend for his successful defense of his dissertation on April 29. His dissertation, titled “Making History: Scholarship and Professionalization in the Discipline, 1880 - 1940,” was completed under the mentorship of Roy Rosenzweig and with Peter Stearns serving as advisor. Also serving on Rob’s dissertation committee were Rosemarie Zagarri and Rosemary Jann.
Congratulations to two of our undergraduate students for receiving college-level recognition for their academic excellence. Megan Fowler, a double major in History and Theater, received a College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Challenge Award. The Dean’s Challenge Award recognizes students who have excelled while taking academically challenging courses and have contributed to the Mason community through research or outreach. Sana Mirza, a double major in History and Art History, received the Outstanding Research Project award at CHSS’s Undergraduate Research Symposium. Her project examines the political implications of the creation of a mosque by Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII, as well as the preservation of Orthodox Christian churches and the incorporation of Byzantine forms in Ottoman architecture by Sultan Mehmed II, and places them within larger artistic discourses. Congratulations to Megan and Sana!
Congratulations to doctoral student Kevin Shupe, who has been selected to participate in the prestigious Western History Dissertation Workshop at Yale University. This workshop is organized by the Howard R. Lamar Center for the Study of Frontiers and Borders. Shupe’s dissertation is entitled, “Geronimo Escapes: Envisioning Indianness in Modern America.” Using Geronimo and his public performances as a focal point, he examines the changes in the representations of American Indians from the end of the Indian Wars through the first decade of the twentieth century. His dissertation looks at images and discourses surrounding anthropology and the social sciences, commercialism and popular culture, religion and reform, frontier mythology and political ideology.
Benedict Carton was selected in December 2008 as a national finalist by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) for the Inspire Integrity Award. The NSCS Inspire Integrity Awards are the only national student-nominated faculty awards program. These awards are presented to full-time faculty who have, through their teaching and actions, made an impact on the lives of their students and instilled a high degree of personal and academic integrity. Carton was chosen as a national finalist out of the southern region of the United States, which includes colleges and universities in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. This month he received a monetary prize for representing the southern region.
The Center for History and New Media combines cutting edge digital media with the latest and best historical scholarship to promote an inclusive and democratic understanding of the past as well as a broad historical literacy.
Founded in 1967, the Journal of Social History is one of the most often-cited historical journals in the United States and is published quarterly by the George Mason University Press.
The History and Art History Alumni Chapter of the Department of History and Art History maintains its own page. Information about alumni activities as well as contact information for the group can be found there.
The department’s art historians and historians participate in the Center for Global Education’s Study Tour Program during both the academic year and summer sessions. This summer’s study abroad experiences include the Silk Road and Egypt and Tunis, among others.