PhD Grad Kurt Knoerl Lands Tenure-Track Position at Armstrong State University

PhD Grad Kurt Knoerl Lands Tenure-Track Position at Armstrong State University

Dr. Kurt Knoerl, an alum of the department’s History PhD program, has earned a tenure-track position in the Department of History at Armstrong State University. Dr. Knoerl will teach digital history, U.S. political history, and maritime history.

Dr. Knoerl received his PhD in 2013. His dissertation, “Empire in the Hold: The British Maritime Cultural Landscape in the Western Great Lakes 1759-1796,” directed by Dr. Randolph Scully, examined the maritime environment for British colonial rule in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. The lakes and rivers in this region shaped the economic and political dimensions of British rule in the area, and Knoerl’s expertise in both maritime geography and digital history methods allowed him to shed light on a subject that has drawn very little attention from historians.

Dr. Knoerl’s expertise in maritime history stems from his long-time role as Director of the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Dr. Knoerl founded the museum in 2004, and since then the museum has worked to bring the work of underwater archaeologists to the general public through web-based exhibits. The museum has played an important role in the field, though for Dr. Knoerl it has been avocational: Dr. Knoerl has done this work for the museum—not to mention his work in the PhD program—while carrying a “day job” as Data Center Operations Manager at the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Knoerl’s experience with underwater archaeology, as well has his training in digital history while a Ph.D. student in the department, were instrumental in landing this position at Armstrong State.