In Recent News...
Faculty Research Spotlight - Dr. Marjorie Galelli
One of our faculty, Assistant Professor Marjorie Galelli, was recently featured in the K-State Research Weekly newsletter, focusing on her research:
Research overview:
I am finishing a book manuscript on the United States and the Iraq War that explains how the armed forces turned to counterinsurgency in search of an ever-elusive victory. The book weaves together a story of haphazard adaptation under pressure with that of a concerted effort to promote counterinsurgency and shape the conduct of the war, both on and beyond the battlefield. I am also in the early stages of a second research project building on my Hollywood and the Military course, which looks at the way movies and TV shows have actively shaped the story of the All-Volunteer Force.
What motivated you to pursue research in this specific field, and how has your focus evolved over time?
In many ways, my interest in military history is rooted in my home region, growing up in Alsace you're constantly surrounded by vestiges of the two world wars. Eventually, I decided to combine my interest for military history with my love of the United States and focused on U.S. military history.
What is your approach to this research?
I like starting with an interesting problem, a story that I want to investigate and understand better. I then dive into the sources and follow them until I find an angle that’s worth tackling, something that will change the way the story is told.
Have there been any significant challenges or breakthroughs in your recent research, and how have you addressed or leveraged them?
The main difficulty with recent history is that while many historical actors are still alive and I get to interview them, most official documents, especially military ones, are still classified. I can’t do research in the national archives, so I have to get pretty creative in order to find sources.
What is the potential impact of your research on your field and on broader societal issues?
In recent years, the military is the only institution that has consistently had the confidence of the American people, yet less than 1% of the population serves in the armed forces. Studying how those dynamics were shaped over time is essential to our understanding of U.S. society today.
Each week The Office of the Vice President for Research will feature one faculty member and their scholarly work in Research Weekly. If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague, please fill out the online form.
*Please note that not all nominations will be accepted as there are limited publications each semester.
History Department Graduate Students Selected to Present Research at the National World War II Museum
February 2025: Three History PhD students from the College of Arts and Sciences were selected to present their research at the 2025 Spring Emerging Scholars Colloquium at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The doctoral students Matthew Dale, Hannah Palsa, and Chuck Sexton were competitively selected to formally present their research from nearly one hundred PhD candidates, ABD, or Post-doc applicants from around the world. Kansas State University’s History students represent one of the largest single contingents of scholars selected from the field of applicants.
The Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy is the sponsor of the 3-day Colloquium whose overall goals are to inspire new conversations based on cutting-edge work that will foster a growing community of WWII scholars, and to provide early-career historians the opportunity to receive feedback on their developing research from Institute historians. The Jenny Craig Institute in cooperation with the National World War II Museum has generously financially sponsored this event by providing given air travel and three nights’ accommodation at The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center on the Museum’s campus, February 13–15.
Upon his selection as one of the three scholars, Chuck Sexton stated, “The selection of such a large number of Kansas State University PhD students demonstrates the quality and viability of the Military History program.”
New book alert!
Michael Krysko's latest book Contested Airwaves: American Radio at Home and Abroad, 1914-1946 was just published by the University of Illinois Press.
Congratulations to our Fall 2024 Graduates!
Dr. Matt Kotowski (Security Studies) and Dr. Ken Smith (History)
MA Graduates
Sydney Wolgast
MA Thesis: “'Genius equall to that which wrought another most beautifull Poem': Classical Communication in the Writings of Mercy Otis Warren and Judith Sargent Murray."
Holly Hill
MA Thesis: "Midwest by southeast: Aircraft manufacturing and the journey to Lao community building in Wichita, Kansas, 1975—1995”
Dr. Andrew Orr appeared on a 3-part PBS documentary on Kansas and the World Wars as part of the Cottonwood Connections series. It aired on Smoky Hills PBS stations and KTWU Topeka and it is available on YouTube (see episodes below).
Dr. Nadia Oweidat gave a talk at the Wilson Center (see video below) that inspired a high school student to reach out to her and create a documentary.
2023 News
April 2023:
January 2023: Interested in international studies? Are you perhaps considering a study abroad experience? Tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 31) is the Education Abroad Fair in the Union Courtyard from 11am to 1pm. You can find out about all the programs K-State is offering in Summer and Fall 2023. Also, the K-State in Prague program includes a course by Prof. Brent Maner about history, museums, and identity. The offering can be paired with a communications class about the career of Vaclav Havel, one of the heroic voices of protest during the Cold War and a key actor in the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe after 1989. You can learn about this program and these great courses at: https://ksu.studioabroad.com/_portal/tds-program-brochure?programid=13157
2022 News
March 2022: The Civil War Weekend public outreach event at Virginia Tech was a success! It drew about 100 attendees who came to learn and interact with scholars, and some went on a field trip to Harpers Ferry. A new initiative to "teach the teachers" was launched. Ginette Aley spoke about her current project, "Land of Lincoln, Land of Women."
March 2022: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Roundtable Discussion: Discussing the history of events that lead up to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and what to possibly expect next - Presented by the Security Studies program, along with the Departments of Political Science and History. If you missed it, check out the recording.
March 2022: Black Perspectives features graduate student Kenneth Smith's essay, "Tuskegee's Civilizing Mission": "This essay looks at how Tuskegee educators and supporters promoted Booker T. Washington’s Hampton-Tuskegee model of education in Africa during the age of American and European imperialism from the Berlin Conference of 1884 until the opening of the Booker Washington Institute in Kakata, Liberia, in 1929. The push for a Tuskegee Institute in Liberia indicated a coordinated diasporic effort to mobilize resources and institutionalize Black uplift. In the current age of Black Lives Matter, understanding the diasporic history of Black peoples is important to understanding how African Americans and Africans connect with each other in an era of continued discrimination and exploitation." https://www.aaihs.org/tuskegees-civilizing-mission/
February 2022: The History Department congratulates doctoral student Billy Croslow, who has landed a position as Command Historian for the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama. His main responsibility will be to teach military history to Army Aviation officers. Billy successfully passed his preliminary exams in Fall 2021, and is now in the process of researching and writing his dissertation that focuses on Japanese-American military service during World War II. It’s looking like Billy has some busy, busy days in his immediate future. Congratulations, Billy Croslow!
January 2022: PhD student Hannah Palsa recently had a paper/presentation nominated for two awards by the Northeast Popular & American Culture Association (NEPCA) from their Fall 2021 conference. Hannah's presentation at the October 2021 conference was titled “Tommy and His Dog, Hurry: War Dog Children’s Books, Films, and Cartoons of World War II.” In the presentation, she spoke about how media produced for children in the form of cartoons, literature, and film taught children about Dogs for Defense, Inc. and why their dogs were valuable to the war effort. In examining children’s literature, she also spoke about how books taught children about racism and patriotism through the use of fictional war dog platoons and their missions. This topic was based on a paper that Hannah wrote as a Masters student and her presented topic for the Kansas Military History Seminar at K-State in the Fall 2021. The topic was nominated for two prizes - the Carol Mitchell Prize and the Amos St. Germain Prize. Congratulations, Hannah!
January 2022: The History Department is proud to announce that Dr. Ginette Aley has been invited as a speaker at the Civil War Weekend held at Virginia Tech in March 2022. She will speak on a panel of former Prof. James Robertson's students and on her work on Lincoln and Midwestern home front women. More information about the event is HERE.