Department of History

I write and teach about the modern United States, with a focus on social movements, culture wars, and politics.  My latest book is Red Dynamite: Creationism, Culture Wars, and Anticommunism in America (Cornell University Press, 2021). My first book was Labor, Loyalty, and Rebellion: Southwestern Illinois Coal Miners and World War I (Southern Illinois University Press, 2005). In addition to teaching in the history department about the controversy over evolutionary science, I also offer courses on leadership, social movements, and public policy as part of the Political and Civic Engagement (PACE) Program and a course on the history and politics of meat in the Liberal Arts and Management Program (LAMP).  I have also co-taught a course on the history of mathematics.  In my spare time, I play jazz and classical clarinet.