Master of Arts in History
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The Master of Arts in History degree extends students' expertise in the discipline by effectively preparing them to
apply their skills in a variety of professions and contexts. Students deepen their knowledge of the process of "making"
history, through analyzing primary and secondary sources, evaluating historiography, applying research methods,
defining and researching a specific area of history, and effectively defending and articulating theses. Students have the
option of exploring history through traditional coursework, focused on research and writing, or by investigating subjects
pertinent to public history, such as understanding the latest technology for preserving and digitizing history. Emphasis
is also placed on strategies to keep the student on the cutting-edge of the field, such as using quantitative reasoning in
historical analysis and information systems to promote the dissemination of meaningful interpretation of the past.
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Recent Submissions
- ItemIn it for the long haul: The Nashville sit-ins, pioneering non-violence training and national leadership(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-05) Momodu, Samuel D.; Averill, StephanieThis thesis examines the Nashville Sit-Ins, which were the first to desegregate lunch counters in the south during the sit-in movement that occurred in the south in the early 1960s. Despite the outcome of the results of the sit-ins, it has been largely overlooked by scholars and historians on its importance not only to the Sit-In Movement, but Civil Rights Movement. The Nashville Sit-Ins were the first to desegregate lunch counters in the south two months before Greensboro Sit-ins desegregated their lunch counters. The main importance that came out of the Nashville Sit-Ins was the preparation and training that the student participants of the sit-ins received by the Nashville Christian Leadership Council non-violent workshops led by James Lawson and Reverend Kelly Miller Smith. Another important aspect of the Nashville Sit-Ins was the student involvement from Nashville, four historically black colleges and universities that included Fisk University, Tennessee State A&I, Meharry Medical College, and American Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of the students from those four universities included Diane Nash, Marion Berry, John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette, and James Bevel who would go on to be involved in the most important civil rights events during that time like the Freedom Riders and Selma-to-Montgomery Marches. The sources that will be used in the thesis include primary and secondary sources. These primary sources include archives, photographs, interviews, and letters while the secondary sources include books and journal articles. This thesis explore how the Nashville Christian Leadership Council pioneered non-violent workshops during the civil rights movement and how the Nashville Sit-Ins created civil rights leaders. (Author abstract)
- Item“Wade in the water”: Jim Crow scenes from Maysville, Kentucky(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-04) Maley, George S.; Bartee, SethThis research explores Jim Crow scholarship in real estate, entertainment, policing, and recreation. The thesis of this research is that outside forces came to bear on Jim Crow laws and customs. This research will show that without that outside pressure, a more equal society may not have evolved organically. In addition, this research highlights scenes from the small town of Maysville, Kentucky to more fully illustrate the power and tenacity of Jim Crow. This research is not meant to belittle the efforts of thousands of brave Americans, of all colors, who risked and sometimes lost their lives in the face of racial bigotry and oppression. It is rather to suggest that without the full power of the federal government behind them, their heroic struggle might not have happened and most certainly would have been more burdensome. The methodology employed in this project was to locate primary and secondary sources related to the topic and apply those sources to the central argument of the thesis. These sources were used to gain an understanding of Jim Crow as a social and political phenomenon and demonstrate that Jim Crow was so engrained into the fabric of American life that it took a national effort spearheaded by all three branches of the federal government to wrench it away from the American experience. (Author abstract)
- ItemContemplating climate change: Changing the culture of climate(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-05) Clay, Hannah; Chung, Yun Shun Susie; Denning, RobertContemplating Climate Change is a proposed physical exhibit that intends to achieve the following goal: by exposing the public to the history surrounding air and water toxicity events, in addition to the history of greenhouse gas emissions, the exhibit will inspire people to believe in the reality of climate change and spur them to action. The information will be presented in the special exhibit space of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) beginning the first week in January of 2021. The physical exhibit is intended to run for two years. Utilizing the digitization and mapping technology already in possession of the NMNH, Contemplating Climate Change will also be available online as a virtual tour. All images and artifacts included in this proposal have either been approved for use via the institution, paid for with subscription, or fall under the Fair Use doctrine of the United States which allows the use of copyrighted material for the intent of educational progress in nonprofit institutions such as Southern New Hampshire University and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Newspapers.com makes newspapers available for the purpose of historical research, which is the intention of their inclusion within this paper. According to Getty images, their work can be included in this project stating, “Through the use of images, you can illustrate a concept, prove a point or inspire others to make their own works. Copyright law allows for creative expression in the classroom, and understanding that law can make it easier to share your ideas.” (Author abstract)
- ItemBackwoods cures: An exploration of Southern Appalachian folk medicine(Southern New Hampshire University, 2018-07) Perry, Katherine E.; Berrios, Katherine E.; Denning, Robert; Chung, Yun; Chan, ChristopherThe people of the Southern Appalachians have a unique culture all their own. An important component of this culture can be observed in the manner in which these individuals chose to combat that enemy of all mankind: disease. A beautiful amalgamation of cultures including Cherokee, Scotch-Irish, and other European ancestries is present in this region and exhibited through the rural remedies utilizing a rich local pharmacopeia and magico-religious folklore related to healing. However, the people of the Southern Appalachians, while geographically isolated, did not exist in a vacuum. Exciting discoveries of local primary sources demonstrate the employment of contemporary medicine in tandem with what was available locally. This project also examines the utility of virtual museums. Together with the research on the subject of Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine, the research on virtual museums culminates in the creation of a digital exhibition using the Omeka exhibit building platform. This exhibition can be visited at the following link: http://backwoodscures.omeka.net (Author abstract)
- ItemNativism and discriminatory laws: The Chinese Exlusion Acts' effects on immigration laws and immigrants during the 19th and 20th century(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-05) Ippolito, Sandra; Bartee, Seth; Denning, RobertDuring the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Immigration laws would be drastically changed due in part to nativism and other factors. It would be the first time in history that the federal government would get involved in any type of immigration action and it would all start with the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882. This act would set up a chain of events that would shape laws on immigration that would get progressively worse for all immigrants that were deemed "un-desirable." (Author abstract)