The Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University invites applications for a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship, to begin in September 2016. The successful candidate will couple their own research and publishing agenda with their contributions to the Center’s Collective Memory Project, a wide-ranging oral history of the George W. Bush Presidency. Fellows receive a competitive salary and benefits, funds to support independent research, and are initially appointed for one year with expectation of renewal for a second year in residence. For more details on the position or to submit an application, please click here.
Category: News
The Center for Presidential History’s Interim Director
The CPH is pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas Knock has been appointed the Interim Director of the Center for Presidential History for the Fall 2015 semester. Dr. Knock is currently an Associate Professor of History and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor of Foreign Relations at SMU. He has published several distinguished works, including his book To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order. His next book, The Life and Times of George McGovern (Princeton UP), will appear in February 2016. During his career, he has received SMU’s “M” Award (1998), Willis Tate Award (1995), and the Warren F. Kuehl Prize (1993) and the Godbey Series Author’s Award (1993). The CPH is looking forward to a great semester of partnership with Dr. Knock.
Meet Our New Post-Doctoral Fellow
Evan D. McCormick joined the Center for Presidential History in August 2015. His research examines the history of U.S. – Latin American relations during the Cold War, with a focus on the intersection of U.S. development policies, Latin American democracy, and human rights.
Before joining CPH, Evan was a dissertation fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, and an Eisenhower/Roberts Fellow of the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College. He was the recipient of the University of Virginia’s Albert Gallatin Graduate Research Fellowship and a junior fellow in the University of Virginia Society of Fellows.
Evan received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia in 2015. His dissertation, “Beyond Revolution and Repression: U.S. Foreign Policy and Latin American Democracy, 1980-1989,” explored the history of U.S. efforts to promote democracy amidst Latin American civil conflicts during the Reagan years. Evan earned an M.A. in international relations from Yale University (2007) and a B.A. in international relations from Boston University (2003). Before returning to academia, he served as a policy analyst at the Department of Homeland Security where he specialized in U.S.-Latin American security issues.
Upcoming Events at the Center for Presidential History
The Center for Presidential History will be hosting several academic forums in the near future. All events are open to the public and free to attend. Forum topics range from the lives of presidents and first ladies to music and politics in the founding era. Make sure you don’t miss any upcoming CPH events by downloading a complete list of our 2015-2016 events here.
New Sources in the Election of 2004 Collective Memory Project
The CPH‘s Election of 2004 website has been updated with the newest resources, including interviews with Vice President Dick Cheney and Bush-Cheney senior speechwriter John McConnell. You can read SMU’s full news release here. Some highlights from these unique interviews of 2004 insiders include:
Vice President Dick Cheney’s scathing assessment of former U.S. Senator and Democratic primary candidate for president John Edwards as a man unworthy of respect- Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi’s description of collusion between other Democratic primary campaigns to knock Dean out of the race before the Iowa Caucuses
- Senior Democratic campaign advisor Robert Shrum’s description of the fierce competition for campaign staff among primary contenders – including John Edwards’ angry reaction (“I’ll never forget…even on my deathbed”) to Shrum’s decision to work for eventual nominee John Kerry
- George W. Bush campaign chairman Ken Mehlman’s determination that the last 72 hours of the 2004 campaign would not reflect the mistakes he considered crucial to Bush’s loss of the popular vote in 2000.
Two-Year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the CPH
The Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University invites applications for its two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship program. The successful candidate will couple their own research and publishing agenda with their contributions to the Center’s Collective Memory Project, a wide ranging oral history of the George W. Bush Presidency. Fellows receive a competitive salary and benefits, funds to support independent research/travel, and are initially appointed for one year with expectation of renewal for a second year in residence.
Primary duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Individual research within the fellow’s own area of interest leading to publications in scholarly and/or public history venues.
- Contribute to Collective Memory Project of the George W. Bush Presidency;
Applicants from all fields and topics pertaining to the presidency and executive power are welcome, but are anticipated to derive from the disciplines of history, political science, economics, sociology, or communications. The Center defines “Presidential History” in the broadest terms possible.
Fellows must be in residence at SMU during the 2015-2016 academic year and must have successfully defended their doctoral dissertation before the appointment begins. Preference will be given to applicants for whom additional time and resources will culminate in the completion of a publishable book-length manuscript. Fellows seeking additional teaching experience may have opportunity to offer courses in their field of expertise.
For full consideration, applicants must submit the following: CV, letter of interest outlining applicants’ research agenda and proposed contribution to the Collective Memory Project, chapter-length writing sample, and three letters of reference. All documents should be submitted (as one long running document) through the website of SMU’s Department of Human Resources at www.smu.jobs.
If the writers of the applicants’ recommendation letters prefer, they may email letters directly to the Center for Presidential History at CPHinfo@smu.edu.
Full review of applications will begin on December 1, 2014 and continue until the position is filled.
Further information on this CPH fellowship and the Collective Memory Project may be found at www.smu.edu/CPH
To Apply: Please visit our website www.smu.jobs to access the online application. Click on Staff Career Opportunities and apply to Job ID#: 900656
SMU will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. SMU’s commitment to equal opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
2014-2015 Events with the SMU Center for Presidential History
After a Summer of planning the SMU Center for Presidential History is pleased to announce its schedule of events for the 2014-15!
Our events – all free and open to the public – will:
Explore the presidency from First Lady Luisa Catherine Adams, to Abraham Lincoln, to Ronald Reagan;
Highlight fascinating subjects, including religion, military, law and diplomacy;
Feature world-renowned scholars and political leaders, including recent winners of the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes;
Display our partnerships with our colleagues at SMU, Dallas-area institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art, George W. Bush Presidential Library, and World Affairs Council, and educators like Washington University in St. Louis and Mississippi State University.
To receive email updates on events, sign up for our mailing list here
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Job Announcement in the SMU Department of History
The Clements Department of History at SMU seeks a tenure-track assistant professor in the history of the U.S. Civil War Era (1800-1877), beginning in the Fall of 2015 as the inaugural holder of the Glenn Linden Professorship.
The candidate must be a specialist in the Civil War Era, 1800-1877 and able to teach the history of the U.S. Civil War at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Ph.D. required by August 15, 2015.
You can view the full job advertisement at this link.
Congratulations to CPH Fellow Dr. William Steding!
Congratulations to CPH Fellow Dr. William Steding, who recently signed a contract with publisher Palgrave McMillan for his new book: Presidential Faith and Foreign Policy: Jimmy Carter the Disciple and Ronald Reagan the Alchemist
As the title indicates, Steding’s book examines the key role that religion and personal faith played in the foreign policy of these two presidents.
The book will be published in the Spring of 2015. The CPH will celebrate the occasion by featuring Dr. Steding at our final public event of the year, on April 29, 2015, in Dallas Hall. You can preview more information on the book by clicking here, or on the book cover to the right.
Announcing 2014-15 CPH Events!
The Center for Presidential History is pleased to announce its schedule of events for the 2014-15!
Our events – all free and open to the public – will:
Explore the presidency from First Lady Luisa Catherine Adams, to Abraham Lincoln, to Ronald Reagan;
Highlight a diversity of subjects, including religion, military, and diplomacy;
Feature world-renowned scholars, including recent winners of the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes;
Display our partnerships with our colleagues at SMU, Dallas-area institutions like the Dallas Museum of Art, George W. Bush Presidential Library, and World Affairs Council, and educators like Washington University in St. Louis and Mississippi State University.
More details on every event will be published on the website soon.
To keep up with the latest updates, sign up for our email list by clicking here.