Conference on Faith and History

This past weekend, October 3-6, I had the privilege of attending the Conference on Faith and History. I traveled with my former professor Dr. John Fea (who knows everyone - it was great), a friend and former fellow student from Messiah College, Megan Keller, and met up with another friend from Messiah, Katie Garland, who is currently completing her MA in Public History at UMass-Amherst. Myself and my two fellow Messiah friends presented papers at the undergraduate conference alongside many other students on Thursday. I presented on tea as a lens to view the progression of events from Anglicization in colonial America to the American Revolution, and was pleasantly surprised to find my primary sources funny enough to make the crowd laugh! It was an excellent experience. I also listened to Megan present on the driving force of nationalism in the 1936-37 General Motors sit-down strike, complete with gun shots and flying car doors! She did an excellent job and fielded her questions well. Unfortunately, I could not listen to Katie present since her session coincided with my own, but unsurprisingly I heard that she also did very well. Much discussion on bridging the gap between popular history and academic history also took place, especially in Kent State PhD candidate Greg Jones' plenary and the lunchtime panel titled "Is Pop History Real History?".

After the excitement of presenting at the student conference was complete, I was able to stay to enjoy the professional conference. After having felt "intellectually starved" and really missing college this fall, it was great to use my mind and critical thinking abilities. There were many very interesting sessions and opportunities to meet prominent historians. Dr. Fea introduced us three Messiah students to Lendol Calder, a historian whom Megan and Katie knew much about from their Teaching History course, but I did not. I'm certainly excited to learn more about his teaching methods, plus he was just a quirky man whom I loved listening to as he chaired a session. Dr. Fea also provided me with the opportunity to discuss Baylor University's History MA with the Director of Graduate Studies, as well as ask many questions of Baylor graduate students.

In addition to 3 interesting plenary sessions at the professional conference, we were also able to listen to Tracy McKenzie's banquet address which challenged Christian academic historians to "love their neighbors" by being engaged with the Church. Again, the theme of bridging the gap between academic and popular history surfaced, as much of what the church population encounters is popular history. It is truly important for historians to find ways to reach to those who do not converse in the way that academics discuss history. This address also encouraged me to think about the way that faith informs my own studies in history and how I can attempt to bridge this gap in my own circles.

Overall, it was a much-needed and thought-provoking weekend! I really like what the CFH is doing and hope that someday I can return and be involved.

Messiah Faculty and Students at the CFH Banquet
(photo belonging to Megan Keller)