1. History
  2. Graduate Program
  3. Faculty & Students

Faculty and Students

History faculty have received national and international recognition in scholarly research and publishing while maintaining a strong commitment to students and teaching. The department has particular strengths in early American history, Southern history, African American history, trans-Atlantic history, public history, and modern U.S. and European history.

The Director of Graduate Studies serves as the primary academic advisor to graduate students. Incoming students are also matched with faculty mentors who share their research interests. Mentors will provide informal academic and career guidance in their areas of expertise, and help students acclimate to the graduate program. Mentors and students meet at least twice each semester, thus strengthening the bonds of our learning community.

Graduate students are encouraged to take advantage of the History Department’s robust internship program. Graduate internships for the 2019-2020 academic year include placements at Agecroft Hall, Institute for Contemporary Art, Library of Virginia, Richmond Public Library, and Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

Graduate students who are working on M.A. theses for the 2020-21 academic year include: 

Allison Bell

Allison Bell, "Important but Not Apparent: Virginia Commonwealth University's Student Activism During ERA Ratification and Black Liberation in the 1970s" under the direction of Prof. Carolyn Eastman 

David Hayter

David Hayter, "Unite the Left" under the direction of Prof. George Munro

Benjamin Smith

Benjamin Smith, "'The American Press': Changing Narratives in a Time of Revolution" under the direction of Prof. Carolyn Eastman

Josh Stein

Joshua Stein, "'Remembering the Destruction': The Air War in Heilbronn, 1944-2020" under the direction of Prof. Joe Bendersky

Will Tharp

Will Tharp, "'Savage and Bloody Footsteps Through the Valley': The Wyoming Massacre in the American Imagination" under the direction of Prof. Carolyn Eastman

Past Graduate Student M.A. Theses:

Meika Downey headshot

Meika Downey, "'Island of Integration': Desegregation of the Women's Army Corps at Fort Lee, Virginia, 1948-1954" under the direction of Prof. Emilie Raymond

Ana Edwards Headshot

Ana Edwards, “Robert Cowley: Finding Freedom during Slavery in Eighteenth Century Richmond, Virginia” under the direction of Prof. Nicole Turner

Eric Szandzik

Eric Szandzik, "From Abdication to Action: Turning Points in Clinton's Foreign Policy," under the direction of Prof. Emilie Raymond

Woodie Walker headshot

Woodie Walker II, "Recovering Lost Voices: The Rappahannock Tribe and the Jamestown Festival of 1957" under the direction of Prof. Greg Smithers

Peighton Young headshot

Peighton Young, "Against the Eyes of God and Man: The Suicide and Alcohol Intoxication Deaths of Enslaved People in Alexandria and Henrico County, Virginia, 1805-1829," under the direction of Prof. Carolyn Eastman