Mar 30, 2019 - Three student members of Union’s Delta-Psi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society presented papers at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019. They were among the more than 50 students from 16 colleges and universities in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia who delivered papers at the event. The Union students and their paper titles were: Lauren Butler, “The History of Dance in the 20th Century”; Will Choate, “Standing on the Threshold: Bobby Sands and the Electoral Gains of Sinn Fein”; and Luke Sower, “Christian Shamanism: Ivan Veniamenov and the Adoption of Orthodoxy as the Indigenous Faith of Russian Alaska.”
Three Union University history department professors also played parts in the conference activities. Dr. Henry Allen served as the chair/commentator for a panel titled “Birth Control, Eugenics, and the State in the 20th Century,” while Dr. Terry Lindley presided over a panel called “Civil Rights and Confederate Monuments: Debates over Race Relations in Recent U.S. History.” Dr. Stephen Carls brought greetings from the national office of Phi Alpha Theta during the luncheon and made several announcements regarding the organization, including the dates of the society’s 2020 biennial convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Dr. Cynthia Bisson of the Belmont University history department coordinated the conference which featured Dr. Jefferson Cowie, the James G. Stahlman Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, as the keynote speaker at the luncheon. Cowie’s topic was “The Problem with American Freedom: Episodes in Federal Power and White Democracy.”
Phi Alpha Theta members Will Choate (left to right), Lauren Butler, and Luke Sower enjoy refreshments at the start of the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019.
Dr. Henry Allen makes some introductory remarks as the chair/commentator for a panel on "Birth Control, Eugenics, and the State in the 20th Century" at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019.
Union University student Will Choate (second from left) sits with other members of his panel titled "Political Ideas in Action" at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on March 30, 2019. Other members of the panel are: (left to right) Dr. Joseph Byrne (Belmont University), the panel chair; Bailey Wilson (University of Tennessee at Martin); and Drew Devoti (Tusculum University).
Union University students Brittany Staggs (center) and John Hall, along with Hall's wife Melissa (a Union alumna), await the start of the Phi Alpha Theta conference panel titled "Empire, Conquest, and Indigenous People" at Belmont University on March 30, 2019.
Union University student Luke Sower (left) sits with other members of the Phi Alpha Theta conference panel called "Empire, Conquest, and Indigenous People" on March 30, 2019. Others in the photo are: (left to right) Eric Gray (Murray State University); Stephanie Klaus (Murray State University); and Dr. Debi Back (Belmont University), the panel chair.
Delta-Psi chapter member Luke Sower presents his paper on "Christian Shamanism: Ivan Veniamenov and the Adoption of Orthodoxy as the Indigenous Faith of Russian Alaska" at the Phi Alpha Theta conference in Nashville on March 30, 2019.
Union University student Lauren Butler delivers her paper titled "The History of Dance in the 20th Century" during the Phi Alpha Theta conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019.
Delta-Psi chapter member Lauren Butler (third from left) stands with the other members of her panel, which was titled "Entertainment in 20th Century US," at the Phi Alpha Theta conference on March 30, 2019. Others in the photo are: (left to right) Dr. David Snyder (Austin Peay State University), the panel chair/commentator; Mercy Ward (Lee University); Juan Monserrat (Christian Brothers University); and Liam McDermott (Belmont University).
Members of the Union University delegation at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019, wait for the luncheon to begin. They are (left to right) Lauren Butler, Luke Sower, Will Choate, and Dr. Terry Lindley.
Attendees at the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at Belmont University on March 30, 2019, await the start of the conference luncheon.
Seated at the head table of the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference luncheon at Belmont University on March 30, 2019 are: (left to right) Drs. Peter Kuryla, Debi Black, Brenda Jackson-Abernathy, Cynthia Bisson, Douglas Bisson, and Daniel Schafer of Belmont University; and Dr. Jefferson Cowie of Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Stephen Carls brings greetings from the Phi Alpha Theta national office to attendees at the Phi Alpha Theta conference luncheon on March 30, 2019.
Dr. Stephen Carls stands with Dr. Cynthia Bisson, the 2019 Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference coordinator, during the conference luncheon on March 30.
Dr. Jefferson Cowie, the James G. Stahlman Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, delivers his luncheon address on "The Problem with American Freedom: Episodes in Federal Power and White Democracy" at the Phi Alpha Theta conference on March 30, 2019.
The Union University participants in the Tennessee Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference pause for a photo at the end of the conference on March 30, 2019. They are (left to right) Will Choate, Lauren Butler, Luke Sower, Dr. Terry Lindley, Dr. Henry Allen, and Dr. Stephen Carls.