Robert Gudmestad
Message From Our Chair
Hello once again from the History trailer! The Department of History has now spent two years in a construction trailer while the new Ann Gill Hall is being built but an end is in sight. History will move into a new space in the renovated building next spring.
The Department has moved the Furniss Lecture to the fall semester this year. We invite you to join us on October 15 to hear Dr. Greg O’Malley speak about the escapes of David George, an enslaved man who seized his freedom during the American Revolution. More information and a registration link below.
We’ve had many successes in the past couple of years. Our enrollment is holding steady, our students are learning about internships and careers in their classes, and our graduates are finding jobs. Dr. Jessica Jackson launched History Matters, a K-12 curriculum that tells the untold histories of Fort Collins and Colorado. Our faculty have produced their first issue of the Western Historical Quarterly. It looks wonderful.
There are also challenges. AI is profoundly changing the way we teach. A growing number of people are questioning the value of a college degree. The federal government has attacked the historical profession as being overly critical of our nation’s past. And yet, we persevere. Faculty are re-examining assignments and placing more emphasis on the process rather than product. The Department is central to CSU’s discussions about democracy. We are showing students how to set aside their preconceptions and follow the evidence.
We have new swag that sums up our feelings these days. If you see one of us wearing a t-shirt with “Trust Me, I’m a Historian” across the front, you can know that we are showing the world that historical training is not only good for a person’s job prospects, but also for the nation’s health.
Thanks for supporting the department,
Robert
You’re invited! Furniss Lecture & Reception
Join the CSU Department of History for the 2026 Furniss Lecture and a dessert reception on Thursday, Oct. 15, 7-9 p.m. in Behavioral Sciences Building Room 131.
This year’s talk will be, “The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution,” by Gregory O’ Malley, Ph.D, professor and department chair in the History Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Reception in hallway following talk.
Faculty & Department News
Faculty innovate award-winning, hyperlocal history program
With History Matters, professors Jessica Jackson, Alexander Pittman and Sarah Payne have created an innovative, inclusive and research-based history curriculum for K-12 classrooms using Fort Collins and Colorado histories.
READ about History Matters
READ: History Matters wins City Human Relations Rising Star Award
HEAR Jackson speak on the Liberal Arts Impact podcast
Medieval lessons on bees and sustainability reshaping Colorado classrooms
Could a 700-year-old farming manual help save today’s bees? Associate professor Nicole Archambeau translates medieval agricultural texts to uncover how past wisdom surrounding bees and beekeeping can inform and connect human and environmental health, and how we can reframe bees as partners in sustainability.
HEAR Archambeau speak about her work on the Liberal Arts Impact podcast
Childers looks at history of park tourism through Yosemite in new book
In his new book, The Mountains Are Calling: Tourists and the Unmaking of Yosemite National Park, Associate Professor Mike Childers uses Yosemite as a case study in how tourism has both shaped and harmed these iconic spaces.
HEAR Childers discuss his findings during an episode of CSU’s The Audit podcast.
HEAR Childers talk about changes coming for Colorado ski towns on NPR’s Science Friday.
Duffy examines connections between nature and imperialism
Does war and empire transform the environment, or is it the other way around? In her book The Nature of Empire: Modern Imperialism and the Roots of the Anthropocene, Professor Andrea Duffy traces the complex and conflicting connections between nature and empire across Britain, France, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan.
READ about Duffy’s book and research
Gudmestad Book Earning Awards
Professor Robert Gudmestad’s latest book, The Devil’s Own Purgatory, the first complete history of the Union navy’s Mississippi River Squadron, is racking up awards and acclaim from national historical associations to the Colorado Book Awards.
READ about acclaim for TDOP
READ more about Gudmestad’s book and research
RSVP: See Gudmestad read at Odell Brewery, October 9, 6:30p.m.
Western Historical Quarterly finds home at CSU
The CSU Department of History has been selected as new host instititution for the Western Historical Quarterly. Professor Jared Orsi will serve as the journal’s editor and will be supported by professors joined on the CSU Editorial Team, by professors Michael Childers, Leisl Carr Childers, and Doug Sheflin on the journal editorial team. READ MORE
READ more
Applause
Department Accomplishments
Associate Professor Sarah Payne won a 2026 College of Liberal Arts Ann Gill Faculty Development Award, Humanities, for her research and book, Invisible Stewards: Concessionaire Labor, Housing, and the Politics of Work in U.S. National Parks.
Associate Teaching Professor Adam Thomas won the 2026 College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Service Award for his leadership as department Internship Coordinator, his mentorship as advisor to Phi Alpha Theta and the CSU History Club, and his innovative development of the CSU History Action Response Team (HART) within the Public and Environmental History Center (PEHC).
Associate Professor Jessica Jackson won a 2026 College of Liberal Arts Excellence in Teaching Award, Tenured Associate or Full Professor for her leadership in bringing pedagogical advancements to history classrooms, including as Director of Social Studies Teaching (SST) and her work with History Matters and the Western History Association.
Congrats to Spring 2026 Dean’s List students! VIEW list
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