History majors frequently have a double major, the most popular being with Political Science, International Studies, and Russian Studies. The student majoring in history will develop both a knowledge and understanding of the past and present, and powerful skills that enrich any professional career.

Department Distinctions
History majors enjoy a high rate of acceptance of Stetson's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) award, which offers support to a student to conduct a major research project during the summer, and of its Oxford Semester Abroad Program. History majors have been among recent J. Ollie Edmunds Distinguished Scholars. History majors have also received the Ann Morris Prize for Research on Gender the past two years and these same student recipients, Jake Blake ('03) and Julianne Farricker ('04), were elected by their peers to give the Commencement Address at spring graduation. Jake Blake also has the distinction of winning the Florida Historical Society's Carolyn Mays Brevard Award for the Best Undergraduate Florida History Essay, awarded for his "Integration at Stetson University: The Development and Failure of Stetson's Public Sphere," May 2003.

Faculty
Faculty members include:

• Paul Steeves, Ph.D., University of Kansas; Russian and East European historian who is one of the nation's foremost experts on the Russian Orthodox Church; has published extensively on the Russian Church, and monitors a website for the ongoing translation and transmission of articles concerning religion that appear in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
  Email address: Paul Steeves
• Professor Emeritus Kevin O'Keefe, Ph.D., New York University; specialist in U.S. Diplomatic and Military history; has published extensively on U.S. foreign relations in the 20th century, including the Vietnam War, and on the history of American journalism.
  Email address: Kevin O'Keefe
• Kimberly Reiter, Ph.D., University of Virginia; Ancient and Medieval historian who specializes in the religious movements of the early Roman Empire and Roman Britain, and in environmental history.
  Email address: Kimberly Reiter
• Margaret Venzke, Ph.D., Columbia University; Middle East specialist and an internationally recognized expert on the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century; has published extensively on Ottoman Syria in the 16th century. Chair of the department.
  Email address: Margaret Venzke
• Eric Kurlander, Ph.D., Harvard University; Modern European historian and recognized expert on German politics and culture during the first half of the 20th century; has published extensively on German liberalism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.
  Email address: Eric Kurlander

History minors take the early and modern civilization survey and four other elective history courses. Total hours required for the minor: 18.

The department offers a broad and varied array of courses. Among these: Nazi Germany; the Holocaust; Modern Germany; The French Revolution, 1770-1815; Era of Conflict, Europe 1890-1945,;Europe Since 1945; Modern France; Seminar in European History; Eastern Europe Since 1815; World War II, A Global History; Early English History; Modern Britain; The Middle Ages; History of Ancient Greece; History of Ancient Rome; The Ancient Near East; Islamic Civilization to the Crusades; Modern Islamic Civilization; The Modern Middle East; Africa in the Age of Imperialism; The Far East--China; History of Russia to 1861; History of Russia Since 1861; History of Communism; Seminar in Russian Civilization; American History I; American History II; African American History; The American Civil War; United States Since World War II; American Foreign Relations in the 20th Century; American Military Experience; Modern Vietnam; Baseball--A Social and Cultural History; Environmental and Social Collapse.

Internship Opportunities
The Department offers internship opportunities at a number of organizations--such as the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach--, from which students have gone on to graduate work in public history and museum studies.

The Department also offers a field course to Great Britain every other year to explore the history of Ancient Britain and Medieval England and its preservation in modern British culture.

Career Opportunities
Recent Stetson history students have gone on to careers in academia and public education, business, government, politics and public affairs, the FBI, law, librarianship, and the museum world.

Alumni Highlights

• Philip Handyside '06 attends Cardiff University, Wales, for his master's degree in History, Crusaders.
• Hillary Gage '06 is studying to be a nuclear engineer at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command.
• Jennifer Snyder '05 is currently studying for her master's in History at the University of Central Florida.
• Richards Plavnieks '04 is studying for his doctorate in Modern European History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with fellowship support.
• Jake Blake '03 is a captain, U.S. Army Intelligence, who served in Iraq. He attends Ohio State University Law School, with fellowship support.
• Karla Readshaw '08 is studying at San Diego State University, working on an MBA paired with an MA degree in Latin American Studies.
• Holly Keris '98 is an associate curator for the Cummer Museum of Art and Garden, Jacksonville, Fla., having received a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Virginia.
• Kate Saxton '99 is an associate attorney in the litigation department of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale, and Dorr, LLP, in Boston, specializing in intellectual property litigation. She received her law degree from Boston University.
• James Greene '95 is with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• Michael Haridopolous '92 is a college professor currently serving in the Florida Senate.
• Laura Radiker '92 is completing her doctorate in Celtic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, where she received a full fellowship.
• Brian Williams '88 is a leading scholar on the Crimean Tatars and the Caucasus and an assistant professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
• Max Cleland '64 formerly represented the state of Georgia in the U.S. Senate. He has served as secretary of state in Georgia and as head of the U.S. Veterans Administration.

Among these speakers were: Dr. David Blackbourn, then chair of the History Department at Harvard University, who spoke on the impact of hydraulic engineering on the historic German landscape; Dr. Yohuru Williams, of the History Department at Delaware State University, who spoke on the Black Panther Movement; and Dr. Thomas Childers, of the History Department at the University of Pennsylvania, who spoke on one of the last bomber missions in World War II, one on which his uncle lost his life.

The History Department also hosted the Florida State Phi Alpha Theta Conference in March 2003. Stetson students distinguish themselves in both the state and national Phi Alpha Theta competitions, often winning the Florida best undergraduate research prize.

Department Awards
Annual awards include the Gilbert L. Lycan Outstanding Senior Award in History, the Gilbert L. Lycan Outstanding Junior Award in History, and the John Taylor Rhett Manuscript Award presented for the best research paper in History, all carrying a cash prize plus the inscription of the recipient's name on a plaque on permanent display in Elizabeth Hall.

The Malcolm Wynn Undergraduate Research/Travel Scholarship provides travel funds for History and Political Science majors to support the presentation of their research at conferences across the country. The Evans Johnson Paper Prize recognizes Stetson's official delegate and presenter at the biennial Phi Alpha Theta National Conference. This person automatically receives the Malcolm Wynn Undergraduate Research/Travel Scholarship that year.