Newsnotes
Fall
2004 Issue
Fall
2005 Issue
Fall 2006
No. 15
Comments from the Director
Greetings to all! A lot has happened in the last year – so if I forget
to mention something important, please contact me so that I can amend
the newsletter.
First, the AHRS program has launched a new web site, an Agricultural
History Primer, meant for educational use. During the summer of 2006,
under a Center for On-Line Learning grant, Rick Woten developed the
web site and wrote a number of articles for it. Several other students
participated in developing materials as well. Anyone wanting to contribute
materials in their area of expertise should take a look at the web page
and then contact me for further information. We are applying for a continuation
grant for the summer of 2007, so that the web site can be expanded and
made more comprehensive geographically. Take a look. We are at www.history.iastate.edu/index.htm.
The program is continuing with the process of revision. We are still
waiting on a ruling on proposed curricular changes from the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences curriculum committee, as well as the Graduate
College.
This has been an exceptionally good year for new admissions. Since January
of 2006, three M.A. students from Iowa State have made the transition
into the AHRS program, and another two students have joined us from
other institutions. Please see the information about these new students
below. Continuing students have been very active, and have had particular
success in winning awards and honors.
ISU at the MIT
Agricultural History Society meeting. From left to right, Joe Anderson,
Wade Franck, Rick Woten, Adam Ebert, Robert Welch, Kristy Medanic and
Jenny Barker-Devine.
Last, but
certainly not least, Iowa State University has played a prominent role
in the Agricultural History Society's new venture into annual meetings.
At the 2006 meeting at MIT, Iowa State's graduates, current graduate
students, and faculty made up a significant proportion of the program
participants. One of the program's students, Jenny Barker-Devine, won
the 2005 Everett Edwards Award for the best graduate student paper submitted
to Agricultural History. In 2007, we will play an even more important
role, since the conference is coming to this campus! The Agricultural
History Society will meet June 21-23, 2007, in the Scheman Building
at the Iowa State Center. A number of Iowa Staters have proposed papers
and panels, and many will also be involved in organizing and running
the conference. I look forward to seeing many of you in Ames.
Pamela Riney-Kehrberg,
Professor and Director
New Graduates
Two AHRS students will be graduating in December. Derek Oden
and Alexandra Kindell have successfully defended their
dissertations. Many congratulations! Derek has accepted a tenure-track
position at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Alexandra has
accepted a position at California State University-Northridge.
New Students in 2006
Sandy Andrews, with a master's degree from the University
of Ovidius Constanta in Romania, joined the AHRS program in the fall
of 2006.
Angela Gumm completed a master's degree in History
from Wichita State University in the summer of 2006, and joined the
program in the fall of 2006.
At the end of fall semester, 2005, Adam Ebert finished
a master's degree in History, and joined the AHRS program in January
of 2006.
In the spring of 2006, Kristy Medanic and Robert
Welch completed their master's degrees in History at ISU. This
fall, they joined the AHRS program.
News from our Students:
Sue Atkinson is continuing her work on her dissertation,
a study of the interaction of ethnicity and religion in voting behavior
(by township) in Iowa for the late 1800s up to 1920.
Jenny Barker-Devine is currently working on her dissertation
entitled, "`Our Cherished Ideals': Rural Women's Activism in the
Midwest, 1950-1990." In 2006, she has received numerous awards
to support this work: a Women's History and Resource Center Research
Fellowship, General Federation of Women's Clubs, for dissertation research
at the General Federation of Women's Clubs Headquarters in Washington,
D.C.; a Research Grant, Richard S. Brownlee Fund, State Historical Society
of Missouri, for dissertation research at the Western Historical Manuscript
Collection in Columbia, Missouri; a Phi Alpha Theta Doctoral Scholarship;
and a Research Grant, State Historical Society of Iowa, for "Seeing
the Blind Spot: County Clubs and Rural Women's Activism in Iowa, 1950-1965."
She also received the Everett E. Edwards Award for Best Agricultural
History Manuscript by a Graduate Student, awarded by the Agricultural
History Society, 2005, for "Mightier Than Missiles: The Rhetoric
of Civil Defense for American Farm Families, 1950-1970." The article
appeared in the fall 2006 edition of Agricultural History. She also
saw the publication of "Quite a Ripple But No Revolution: The Changing
Roles of Women in the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation," Annals of Iowa
64, no.1 (Winter 2005), 1-36. In addition, she presented papers at the
Annual meeting of the Agricultural History Society, Boston, June 2006,
and the Organization of American Historians, Midwest Regional Meeting,
Lincoln, July 2006.
Adam Ebert finished his first full year of course work,
and hopes to take his preliminary examinations in the spring. In June
2006, he presented a paper at the Agricultural History Society meeting
in Boston, "Supplanting the Common Hive: Scientific Apiculture
and Cottager Resistance in Nineteenth-Century England."
Joseph Isenberg taught courses at Ellsworth Community
College, DMACC West Des Moines campus, and Southwest Community College's
Osceola center. He also attended the International Congress of Medieval
Studies at WMU, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Additionally, he gave a paper at
the 2006 Symposium of the U.S. Army's Combat Studies Institute at Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas, on the history of military and diplomatic relations
between Romania and its Great Power allies in World War I, the interwar
period, and World War II, as part of a panel looking at Romanian military
capabilities in the NATO alliance. In October he will attend a conference
on Medievalism at Ohio State University, and present a paper on using
games to teach the medieval.
Alexandra Kindell has been researching and writing
her dissertation on nineteenth-century California family farmers during
the last year, working at the Huntington and Beinecke libraries. She
received fellowships from the Historical Society of Southern California
and the Western History Association to help her complete the dissertation.
In the last year she has taught at both California State University,
Fullerton and Iowa State University and celebrated the publication with
Sage Publishers of a co-edited encyclopedia on which she worked with
Gordon M. Bakken at California State - Fullerton. She looks forward
to finishing her dissertation this fall and graduating in December.
Kristy Medanic finished her M.A. thesis on women and
Extension radio in the spring of 2006, and began her Ph.D. work in the
AHRS program in the fall of 2006. She presented her master's research
last summer at the OAH Midwest Regional conference in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Derek Oden successfully defended his dissertation on
farm safety in October of 2006. He writes, "I also received the
President's Excellence in Instruction award from William Penn University's
College for Working Adults. I finally saw my articles in print in
Agricultural History and The Annals of Iowa. I also contributed
to the Iowa Biographical Dictionary. I'm also preparing a number of
articles from my dissertation for future publication. I am continuing
my teaching at William Penn, as well as working at the Henry A. Wallace
Exhibit Center at Living History Farms."
Knut Oyangen presented a paper at the Agricultural
History Society meeting, "Place and Identity: Immigrant Perceptions
of Midwestern Landscapes." He also has a book review forthcoming
in Annals of Iowa. He had one entry in the Encyclopedia
of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, published in 2005, and three
in Treaties with American Indians, to be published later this
year. He is teaching a course in American social and cultural history
at Mercy College of Health Sciences this semester, and has three journal
articles under consideration. He plans to finish his dissertation in
2007.
Cameron Saffell continues as Curator of Agriculture
and director of the Oral History Program at the New Mexico Farm and
Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. He is working on his dissertation,
a history of cotton farming in the American west. He has also been writing
encyclopedia articles and book reviews.
Robert Welch writes "I am entering my first year
as a PhD student in the Agricultural History and Rural Studies Program.
I defended my MA thesis this spring, and am now actively pursuing a
topic for my dissertation related to nineteenth century agriculture
and agricultural policy in the North. This past spring I also had the
honor of being elected president of the department's Phi Alpha Theta
chapter. To cap everything off, I was able to present a paper at the
Agricultural History Conference in Boston this past June. This was my
first conference presentation, and probably the last time that I attempt
to drive cross country without stopping for more than three hours. I
have been informed that I am contractually responsible to say that I
still live with my lovely and talented wife Bridget, as well as my two
cats. As such, I will be seeking a research assistantship in Alaska
in order to actually get my homework and research done in a timely manner."
In the past year, Rick Woten has finished forming his
committee for the AHRS PhD program and is intending to take his field
exams this coming spring. In June he presented a paper entitled "The
Promise of a Great Water Thoroughfare for the Transportation of Midwestern
Produce: The Des Moines River Lands Grant and Improvement Project"
at the Agricultural History Society Conference. Under review for publication
is an article entitled "Navigating and Constructing Improvement
in a Settler Society: The Des Moines River Improvement Project."
He also completed multiple entries for the forthcoming Iowa Biographical
Dictionary. Summer research consisted of creating and managing the Agricultural
History Primer found on the AHRS program's web site.
News from
our Graduates
Ginette Aley (2005) is in her second year as an Assistant Professor
at the University of Southern Indiana. She has received two research
awards, one of which was a Lilly Foundation Summer Fellowship with a
$7,000 stipend for her research on westward migration. This year's she
prepared for publication a book chapter and an article. The article,
"A Republic of Farm People: Women, Families, and Market-Minded
Agrarianism in Early Ohio," and will appear in Ohio History
in 2007. She continues to revise her dissertation for publication. This
year, she gave a paper at the OAH Regional (on a panel with Joe Anderson)
titled "Preserving Unions: Midwestern Women, the Civil War, and
the Un-Organized Home Front" after which she was offered a preliminary
book contract to turn it into a manuscript. She wrote six book reviews,
and participated in one manuscript review. She is also the faculty editor
for a new student research publication at USI titled Amalgam.
Joe Anderson (2005) joined the history department
at the University of West Georgia in August, 2006. He teaches US and
public history and serves as assistant director of the Center for Public
History. His article, "War on Weeds: Iowa Farmers and Growth Regulator
Herbicides" appeared in Technology and Culture and he
reviewed books for Agricultural History, Journal of the
West, and Technology and Culture. He served as chair and
commentator for a session at the 2006 Agricultural History Society Conference,
"Imposed Improvement: Contesting the Scientific Spirit," and
presented a paper titled "'The Vacant Chair': Women's Roles and
Farm Management on Iowa Farms During the Civil War," at the Organization
of American Historians Midwest Regional Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska.
In November Joe will present his research on the transformation of the
hog in post-World War II America at a conference hosted by the Hagley
Museum and Library's Center for the History of Business, Technology,
and Science titled, "Food Chains: Provisioning, Technology, and
Science."
Randal Beeman (1995) continues as a professor of history
and archives director at Bakersfield College, Bakersfield, California.
He attended the Agricultural History Society Meeting in Boston.
Stephanie Carpenter (1997) is associate professor of
history at Murray State University, in Murray, Kentucky.
Francis Danquah (1991) continues as Professor of History
at Southern University in Baton, Rouge, Louisiana. This year he reviewed
Robin Law's book, Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving
Port, 1727-1892 for the Journal of Asian & African Studies 2006,
41 402-403. (available online) He also reviewed Diplomacy and Trade
in the Chinese World, 589-1279, H. Bielenstein, for African & Asian
Studies vol 5. no. 1 (2006):123-125. He attended the January 2006 conference
of The American Historical Association at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and the annual session of the Southern Conference of African-American
Studies at Savannah, Georgia, in February, 2006.
Anne Effland (1991) continues to work in the Economic
Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington,
D.C. She was instrumental in organizing this fall's Rural Women's Studies
Association Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Professor Valerie Grim (1990) Chair of the African
American and African Diaspora Studies Department at Indiana University,
presented a paper in January at the National Conference for African
American Farmers and joined a team of researchers traveling to several
sites in the rural South to investigate conditions having an impact
on rural black education. She gave a paper in Memphis, Tennessee, at
the National Conference on African Farmers and Land and Legacy Issues
in February. In the spring, Grim spoke in the National Affairs Lecture
Series, sponsored by Iowa State University, and at a forum on "Defining
Values in American Politics," she made a presentation on "The
Forgotten Populations: Rural Communities in the Aftermath of Katrina."
During the summer, she participated in an institute at the University
of Pretoria, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, the University of Pretoria,
and IU's American Studies.
Kevin Hill (2002) continues as academic advisor for
the ISU Department of History. In the summer of 2006, he also Western
Civilization at Iowa State. He has contributed twelve articles on medieval
agricultural, economic, and political history to Medieval Science,
Technology and Medicine: An Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia
of World History, and The World History Encyclopedia.
He also presented a paper, "Christopher Boynton: The career of
a Yorkshire gentleman lawyer in the early reign of Henry VI," at
the 41st International Congress on Medieval Studies in May 2006. He
is currently working on an invited project to write a history of the
Iowa State University Library for the University's 150th Anniversary
celebrations.
Peter Hoehnle (2003) taught as an adjunct at Cornell
College in the Spring of 2006, and is currently teaching at Grinnell
College. He will return to Cornell College for the spring semester 2007.
In the summer of 2006, he gave a paper at the Shaker Seminar in Pittsfield
Mass this summer on Shaker apostate, David Lamson. He writes "I
am continuing work on the edited edition of Lamson's Two Years Experience
Among the Shakers, which has a publisher! Hamilton College has set up
a little press to print, or reprint, communal related titles, and this
one is going to press next fall."
Hoehnle has also taken a position with Iowa Valley Resource and Conservation
Development (RC&D) in Williamsburg, Iowa. Iowa Valley R C &
D is a part of the USDA's National Resources Conservation Service.
Bruce Homann (2002) continues to teach history at the
Coon Rapids campus of the Anoka Ramsey Community College in Minnesota.
Joel Orth (2004) is in a full time position at Cal
Poly San Luis Obispo and is teaching courses on environmental history,
modern America, and teaching methods. He is also the social studies
credential advisor for Cal Poly.
Lisa Ossian (1998) teaches at Des Moines Area Community
College, Ankeny Campus. Her article, "Bandits, Mad Men and Suicides:
Fear, Anger and Death in a Troubled Iowa Landscape, 1929-1933"
appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of Agricultural History.
Claire Strom (1998) writes, "I am now an associate
professor at NDSU. I host regular agricultural history events at major
conferences--the Western, Southern, OAH, to which all are invited. We
are also soliciting manuscripts and dissertations for the Edwards and
Fite Awards for 2006. They should be sent to my attention by December
31." (See details below.)
Research and Travel Support
Iowa State University graduate students may apply to the Graduate College
for one travel and one research grant each fiscal year. The applications
require a brief budget. The forms are available on the Graduate College
web site.
Iowa State University's Department of History offers the prestigious
Garst Dissertation Fellowship each year to a graduate student or students
in the advanced stages of dissertation research and writing. Students
intending to apply must submit a formal letter of application and a
current vita to the program director by 1 March 2006.
Each semester, Phi Alpha Theta, Kappa Iota Chapter, sponsors a travel
grant for active members in good standing who present their work at
academic conferences. Students can receive up to $200 for travel expenses
or conference registration fees. For more information on membership,
as well as application forms, please visit the PAT website, www.stuorg.iastate.edu/pat.
Further questions may be addressed to the Chapter Advisor, Dr. David
Hollander, at dbh8@iastate.edu.
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
The State Historical Society of Iowa has, for several years,
funded eight $1,000 research grants for individuals pursuing research
publishable in Annals of Iowa. The good news is that this year, they
will be able to fund ten grants. Grants are normally advertised in January,
and due in April. In the last five years, AHRS students have had very
good luck with these awards.
CENTER FOR RURAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
The Center for Rural and Regional Studies at Southwestern Minnesota
State University has hosted two AHRS students in the last two years.
John Davis was at the Center in 2003, and Knut Oyangen in 2004. The
Center chooses new fellows biannually. The Center's web site is: www.southwestmsu.edu/regional/fellows/Fellows.html.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Graduate students and graduates of the AHRS program may find opportunities
to pursue their interests through the Smithsonian Institution's fellowship
program.
Graduate Student Fellowships - These fellowships allow students to conduct
research for ten-week periods in association with Smithsonian research
staff members. Applicants must be formally enrolled in a graduate program
of study, must have completed at least one semester, and must not yet
have been advanced to candidacy in a doctoral program.
Predoctoral Fellowships - These fellowships allow students to conduct
research for periods of three to twelve months. Applicants must have
completed coursework and preliminary examinations for the doctoral degree,
and must be engaged in dissertation research. In addition, candidates
must have the approval of their universities to conduct their doctoral
research at the Smithsonian.
Postdoctoral and Senior Fellowships - Postdoctoral Fellowships of three
to twelve months are available for scholars who have held the doctoral
degree or equivalent for fewer than seven years as of the application
deadline. Senior Fellowships of three to twelve months are available
for scholars who have held the doctoral degree or equivalent for more
than seven years as of the application deadline.
Deadline: January 15th (postmark) for awards to begin on or after June
1st
For further information, go to /www.si.edu/ofg/fell.htm
Awards
The Agricultural History Society is now accepting submissions for its
2006 awards. All submissions should be made by December 31, 2006.
Claire Strom, editor
Agricultural History
Minard Hall
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND 58105-5075
Any questions about the awards can be directed to the editorial office
at (701) 231-5831 or ndsu.agricultural.history@ndsu.nodak.edu. The winners
of the awards will be announced at the Society banquet at the annual
meeting, Ames, Iowa, June 2007.
The Everett E. Edwards Award
Deadline: December 31, 2006
Amount: $200 to graduate student author and publication of article
The Everett E. Edwards Award is presented to the graduate student who
submits the best manuscript on any aspect of agricultural history and
rural studies during the calendar year 2006. The award includes an honorarium
and publication in the fall issue 2007 of Agricultural History.
Gilbert C. Fite Dissertation Award
Deadline: December 31, 2006
Amount: $300 honorarium
The Gilbert C. Fite Dissertation Award will be presented to the author
of the best dissertation on any aspect of agricultural history completed
during the calendar year 2006. Please submit three (3) copies of the
dissertation. The award includes an honorarium of $300 and a certificate.
Wayne D. Rasmussen Award
Deadline: December 31, 2006
Amount $200 honorarium
The Agricultural History Society offers the Wayne D. Rasmussen Award
to the author of the best article on agricultural history, broadly conceived,
published by a journal other than Agricultural History during the calendar
year 2006. The award includes a $200 honorarium for the author and certificates
for the author and publisher.
Theodore Saloutos Book Award
Deadline: December 31, 2006
Amount: $500 honorarium
The Theodore Saloutos Book Award was established in 1982 in memory of
the distinguished historian and past president of the Agricultural History
Society. An annual award of $500 is presented to the author of a book
on any aspect of agricultural history in the United States, broadly
interpreted. Publishers should send four copies of the book for consideration.
Web
Sites of Interest
For more information about agricultural history and rural studies, as
well as funding opportunities, search the following websites.
Agricultural
History and Rural Studies ( http://www.history.iastate.edu/aghistory.shtml)
Agricultural History Society
( http://agriculturalhistory.ualr.edu/)
H-Net Humanities &
Social Sciences Online (http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~rural/)
Phi Alpha Theta ( http://www.phialphatheta.org)
Rural Women's Studies Association
(http://www.uncp.edu/rwsa/)
State Historical Society of Iowa
(http://www.iowahistory.org/)
