A Farewll to the HPJ Blog

After nearly six years of blogging the adventures of the Department of History, Politics, and Justice, newer platforms such as Facebook have rendered this redundant.  From now on, check out Facebook's Ohio Northern University's Dept. of History Politics and Justice Alumni page for the adventures of HPJ students and faculty.  It is easier to post there, and while I have enjoyed creating and maintaing this blog, it is time to move on to bigger and better things.

Just to close things out, the two gentlemen in the first post have gone on to bigger and better things since 2008.

Jared Hardesty has earned his PhD in History from Boston College and is a newly minted tenure track Assistant Professor of History at Western Washington University.  He didn't stop there, but also won BC awards for Best Dissertation and Best teacher.  He also published an article on Slavery and Abolition, and two academic presses are competing to publish his dissertation.  Even more importantly, Jared married Dana Weigel, another graduate of HPJ.

Justin Dickerson, who earned his MA in History from Loyola University, is now teaching American Studies in Beijing China.  In his spare moments, Justin has managed to travel in East Asia, with his most recent trip landing him at the DMZ that still separates the Koreas.

Since Jared and Justin were the first to have their pictures grace this site, and since they are likely the only two who have continued to follow it over the years, it is only fitting that they are the subject of the final post.

Well done Jared and Justin!

Russ Crawford May 2014

Historical Geography Students Present Their Films

Dr. Wilson's Historical Geography students gathered with community members to present the films on local history that they created during the semester.  Topics ranged from the Blizzard of 78 to the time KISS played ONU.  The videos turned out well and the audience also shared dinner, including Dr. Wilson's world famous gumbo. 

Well done all for bringing ONU and the surrounding community together for food, fun, and film!

Departmental Picnic Signals End of the Semester

The year got underway with a picnic for Freshman at Dr. Alexander's house, and the annual departmental picnic began bringing the year to an end.  Faculty, staff, and students gathered at the Ada Park to share food and fun.  The weather coopetated by occassionally allowing the sun to shine through the clouds, and everyone had a good time.  In the accompanying photo, Professors Wilson, Schuck, and Loughlin answer the age-old question - "how many professors does it take to cook a hamburger?"

Between picnics, it was another eventful year.  Students and faculty presented at conferences, interned in DC, studied abroad, and in general did all of the things that will make our students ready to take their next steps.

Well done to all who have made this another successful year for HPJ!

Professor Wilson's Historical Geography Class Takes to the Field

Dr. Wilson, who likes to remind people that Geography happens outdoors, took his Historical Geography class to visit Spallinger Combine Parts aka the combine graveyard, which is located near Ada.  During the semester, Wilson and students have been traveling in the area around campus to interview local residents and see the sights.  Students will take what they have learned and create videos that will be presented to the univerity and community members at the end of the semester.

 Experiences such as this, with students and community members interacting have added a new dimension to the courses that HPJ offers, and might build stronger links between town and gown.

Well done Dr. Wilson and students!

WWII Class Speaks with Russian Students on the War

The WWII class had the opportunity to speak to students from Perm State National Research University about the Great Patriotic War, which is the common name for WWII in Russia.  The PSU studetns presented information about Soviet propaganda during the war, and the ONU students presented about the Lima tank factory that supplied some of the weapons that the Soviets used to kill 90% of the Nazis who died in WWII.

The opportunity to discuss our common history with students from Russia added a great deal of value to the experience our students had in this course.

Professor Crawford Presents at Popular Culture Association National Meeting

Dr. Crawford made it two presentations in one week when he traveled to Chicago to present his paper "Selling Football To Europe: The Newton Nite Hawks versus the Chicago Lions, 1977" to the PCA/ACA National Conference in Chicago.  A highlight of the conference was a talk by Barbara Eden, the actress who played the jenie on the popular TV show I Dream of Genie.

Professor Crawford Presents (virtually) in Russia

On April 15, Dr. Crawford presented to the faculty of Perm State National Research University in Perm Russia.  The conference was the XI International Scientific-Practical Conference on Foreign Languages and Literature in Context of Culture held at PSU.  Crawford presented his paper "Telebridging Between Russia and Ohio: Skype Conversations Between Students from Ohio Norther University and Perm State National Research University."  The presentation detailed the telebridges that Crawford and PSU professors have done over the past few years.  These telebridges have considered WWII and the Cold War and have given students at both institutions the chance to consider viewpoints that they do not often find in their text books.

Triumph of the Alumni: Panel Tells Students About Career Paths

Three HPJ alums returned to campus on April 8.  There goal was to share the stories of how they came to work in their current positions.  The panel included Stephanie Crandall (Political Science), Adam Schwiebert (Political Science), and Melissa Kuhn Wheeler (History and Political Science).  Each speaker discussed their background and the moves they made in their careers.  A special point of emphasis for all three was making connections that could lead to career opportunities.

Other information on this event can be found online.  To read expanded resumes for the speakers, see the ONU website.  To hear a recording of the session, click here.

The assembled majors learned that the path to success is not always a straight line, and it was particularly gratifying for faculty members who knew the speakers as students to see how high they have flown.

Well done Stephanie, Adam, and Melissa!