Are you interested in putting the past in your future? Do you feel that a deeper understanding of past national and international events is important to your educational experience at Union University? If you can say "yes" to these questions, the Department of History has programs and courses for you.
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In addition to a two-semester core class in world civilization, the department offers courses in American, European, Latin American, and church history. There are also history internships, a History and Historians course that focuses on historical methodology, and a senior seminar that provides an in-depth research and writing experience. While studying in the department, students will deepen their understanding of the integration of one’s Christian faith and history.
Students may major or minor in history. A history minor with a church history emphasis is also available for students who have a special interest in the history of Christianity.
The Department of History offers many benefits to students:
- Well-respected law schools have long accepted virtually all department majors who have applied for admission.
- Almost all history majors planning to teach at the middle or high school level find jobs in their field right after graduation.
- History majors have won several first-place awards for research papers presented at regional history conferences during the past decade.
- History students have in recent years served as interns at law firms, at the White House, in the archives of the Union University Library (West Tennessee Baptist Collection), in the office of a Tennessee state legislator, and at the Green Frog Historic Village in Alamo, Tennessee.
- A number of history majors have completed graduate school programs related to their educational and professional interests.
Faculty
The faculty are highly trained historians,
effective classroom teachers, and caring individuals. Their commitment extends to scholarship where department members have been published regionally, nationally, and internationally.
- Stephen Carls
- University Professor of History and Department Chair
- Education:
B.A., Wheaton College
M.A., University of Minnesota
Ph.D, University of Minnesota
- Office: PAC A-39, Box 1882, 731-661-5262 (voice)
- E-mail: scarls@uu.edu
- Profile
- D. Keith Bates
- Assistant Professor of History
- Education:
B.A., Union University
M.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Ph.D, Kansas State University
- Office: PAC A-43, Box 1903, 731-661-5593 (voice)
- E-mail: dkbates@uu.edu
- Profile
- Judy C. LeForge
- Associate Professor of History
- Education:
B.A., Western Kentucky University
M.A., Western Kentucky University
Ph.D, University of Memphis
- Office: PAC A-35, Box 1851, 731-661-5296 (voice)
- E-mail: jcleforg@uu.edu
- Profile
- W. Terry Lindley
- Professor of History
- Education:
B.A., Texas A&M University
M.A., University of New Orleans
Ph.D, Texas Christian University
Additional Study, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Office: PAC A-40, Box 1901, 731-661-5258 (voice)
- E-mail: tlindley@uu.edu
- Profile
- David C. Thomas
- Professor of History
- Education:
B.S., The Ohio State University
M.S., University of Michigan
Ph.D, The Ohio State University
- Office: PAC A-42, Box 3130, 731-661-5261 (voice)
- E-mail: dthomas@uu.edu
- Profile
Programs of Study
- History
History majors take courses in world,
American, and church history, study historical
methodology, and write a major
research paper in a senior seminar. From
Union, majors move on to graduate school,
law school, or seminary, or launch careers
in teaching, government, or business.
Programs include:
- History major
- Teacher Licensure for History
(Grades 7-12)
- History minor
Please see the Academic Catalogue description for more detail. Some minors do not appear here.
Student Organizations
- Phi Alpha Theta
Advisor: Dr. Stephen Carls
The Delta Psi Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, an International Honor Society in History, was founded in 1953 making it the 119th chapter in the society and the first in the state of Tennessee. Students who have had twelve semester hours of history and who have a minimum GPA of 3.1 in history and 3.0 in two-thirds of the remainder of their work are eligible.
- Rutledge Honorary History Club
Advisor: Dr. Terry Lindley
This club is composed of students interested in history. It was founded in 1929 to stimulate the study of history. Membership by invitation is offered to History majors and minors and to a select number of students who have completed three semester hours of history with a grade point average of 2.5. This club aims at encouraging higher standards of scholarship among its members.
Recent News
‘Secret Holocaust Diaries’ authors George, Tomlin to speak at Oct. 22 Union Auxiliary luncheon
Denise George and Carolyn Tomlin, co-authors of the book “The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister,” will be the keynote speakers at the Union Auxiliary fall luncheon Oct. 22.
The book, released earlier this year, tells the story of a Russian-American woman named Nonn... -
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MORE STORIES
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10/14/2009 - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Fischer to give Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Oct. 29
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9/17/2009 - Phi Alpha Theta wins seventh straight Best Chapter Award
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3/19/2009 - Cooper wins second place in history paper competition
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5/28/2008 - Thomas book examines history found in children’s literature
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4/23/2008 - History students win best paper prizes
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8/29/2007 - Phi Alpha Theta chapter wins fifth straight national award
Accolades
Randall Bush gave the keynote address at the annual Christianity in the Academy conference held on the Germantown campus on March 23. His address was entitled “Transgressing Holy Boundaries: How Archetypal Stories in Genesis Are Being Played Out in the Confrontation Between Western Societies and Radical Islam.” Jimmy Davis presented a paper, “Does Science Leave Any Room for God?”, and Ken Easley and Jim Patterson chaired sessions. Terry Lindley and Nancy Dayton attended. (posted: May 22, 2007)
MORE ACCOLADES
- Kevin Cooney traveled to Japan last summer on a PEW research grant. He conducted research on the foreign policy decision making process of Japanese government officials. While in Japan he traveled to the city of Fukuoka to present a paper at the 20th International Political Science Association World Congress. The paper was entitled “Measuring Foreign Aid: Public vs. Private.” In February he presented a paper entitled “How the Powerful Think: Foreign Policy Making in Democratic Japan,” at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, Chicago based on his summer research. In August he was elected treasurer of Christians in Political Science and attended the American Political Science Convention in Philadelphia. In October his second book Japanese Foreign Policy Since 1945 was published by M.E. Sharpe Publishers and in November he signed a contract with Routledge Publishers for an edited volume tentatively entitled Rising China: America and East Asia Respond. (posted: May 22, 2007)
- In October senior political science students Derrick Lambert and Andrea Otte were awarded the highly prized and prestigious Rotary Foundation Fellowship for up to two years of graduate study overseas. Both Derrick and Andrea speak French and will be studying at the prominent Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. (posted: May 22, 2007)
- The Fall 2006 issue of Tennessee Baptist History has Terry Lindley's article, "Tennessee Baptists and the Vietnam War," and James Patterson’s book review of Wayne Flynt's Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie. (posted: Dec 21, 2006)
Recent Photos
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10/29/09 - David Hackett Fischer talks with Hannah Morgan, sophomore psychology major, before signing her book at the 13th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series. - Megan Bailey
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10/29/09 - David Hackett Fischer, the Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University, addressed the topic, "Leaders in an Open Society: The Presidencies of Washington, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama" during the 13th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series. - Megan Bailey
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10/29/09 - Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Hackett Fischer was the featured speaker for the 13th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Series. - Megan Bailey
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