Join the Penn State Department of History to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States!

We'll be talking history and asking why history matters to understanding the United States at 250.

The event will feature short presentations by Penn State History faculty, a group​ of history majors discussing their public history work, and Liz Covart '03, founder of the award-winning podcast Ben Franklin's World.

Schedule of Events

9:00–9:15 a.m. Welcome/thank yous

• Cathleen D. Cahill, professor of history and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, Walter L. Ferree and Helen P. Ferree Professor in middle-American history, acting director, George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center, Ph.D.
• Amy Greenberg, Head, Department of History, George Winfree Professor of American History, Ph.D.

9:15–9:55 a.m. Opening Panel – Why History Matters for the America 250 Anniversary?

• Moderator: Alex Lubin, professor of African American studies and history, Ph.D.
• Tony Frazier, assistant professor of history, Ph.D.
• Ellen Stroud, associate professor of history, Ph.D.
• Matthew Restall, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of colonial Latin American history, anthropology, and women's gender and sexuality studies, Ph.D.

10:00–11:30 a.m. Working in Public History—Penn State History Majors Discuss their Experiences

• Moderator: Liz Covart, Ph.D., History alumnae (Class of '03) and founder of Ben Franklin's World Podcast
• Delaney Florence, Internship at Ben Franklin’s House, London and co-host of SPILLED podcast
• Thomas Flexer Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Internship
• Kylie Hickoff, Gettysburg National Military Park Internship
• Barbara Price, Gettysburg National Military Park Internship
• Paige Rishel The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress Internship

Faculty Lightning Round Presentations: Reflections on the Revolutionary Era and Its Reverberations

• 11:30–11:45 a.m. “Native American Treaties with the United States as Founding Documents”
  Christina Snyder, McCabe Greer Professor of History, Ph.D.
• 11:50 a.m.–12:05 p.m. Revolutionary Atlantic Bonds: Somerset v. Stewart’s (1772) Influence on American Slavery
  Tony Frazier, assistant professor of history, Ph.D.
• 12:10–12:25 p.m. The British Foundation of American Institutions
  Benjamin Hudson, professor of history and medieval studies
  Ph.D.
• 12:30–12:45 p.m. George Washington, the Jewish Community of Newport, RI, and the First Amendment
  Tobias Brinkmann, Malvin and Lea Bank Professor of Jewish studies and history, Ph.D.
• 12:50–1:05 p.m. From the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution: Figuring out How to Govern the new Nation
  Hope McCaffrey, assistant research professor, Ph.D.
• 1:10–1:25 p.m. The Abolitionist Movement in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary Era
  Lucien Holness, assistant professor of history, Ph.D.
• 1:30–1:45 p.m. How George Washington’s Inaguaral Tours Set the Tone for the American Presidency
  Andrew K. Sandoval-Strausz, professor of history, Ph.D.
• 1:50–2:05 p.m. The Maritime Slave Trade on the Eve of Revolutions
  Hayley Rucker, assistant professor of history, Ph.D.
• 2:10–2:25 p.m. After the Revolution: The United States in the Early Republic
  Amy Greenberg, Head, Department of History, George Winfree Professor of American History, Ph.D.
• 2:30–2:45 p.m. The Inka American Revolution: Túpac Amaru II and the 1780 Peruvian War against the Spanish
  Christopher Heaney, associate professor of Latin American history, associate director of graduate studies, Ph.D.
• 2:50–3:05 p.m. What Post World War II Japan Can Teach Us about American Democracy at 250
  Jessamyn Abel, Professor in Asian studies and history, Ph.D.
• 3:10–3:25 p.m. What the History of UFOs reveals about Conspiracy Theories in U.S. Politics
  Greg Eghigian, professor of history and bioethics, Ph.D.
• 3:30–3:45 p.m. Why the history of the fall of Rome hits differently in the United States
  Michael Kulikowski, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of history and classics, director of graduate studies, Ph.D.
• 3:50–4:05 p.m. Woman’s Suffrage and the Centennial of 1876: Finding Inspiration in the Declaration of Independence
  Cathleen D. Cahill, professor of history and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, Walter L. Ferree and Helen P. Ferree Professor in middle-American history, acting director, George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center, Ph.D.

4:15-5:30 Closing Reflections & Discussion

• Mary E. Mendoza, assistant professor of history, Ph.D.
• Prakash Kumar, professor of history and Asian studies, Ph.D.
• Kathryn Salzer, associate professor of history, Gorman-McCourtney Early Career Professor in Medieval History, Rick and Sue Barry Paterno Fellows Program Director, Ph.D.
• Lior Sternfeld, William J. and Charlotte K. Duddy University Endowed Fellow in the Humanities, associate professor of history and Jewish studies, Ph.D.