History – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

SMU History Professor Paves a Digital Path to the Past

SMU News Originally Posted: January 17, 2019 How the daughter of a Texas Instruments engineer injected technology into her love of history to write one of the most influential books in the past 20 years SMU history professor Jo Guldi’s book, The History Manifesto (Cambridge University Press, 2014), recently was named one of the most influential books of the past 20 years by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Writing with Harvard’s David Armitage, she argues that historians need to shed their enthusiasm for micro-history and return to examining history’s big picture to better influence the future. Guldi and Armitage propose that historians embrace new technology as the key to analyzing the grand scope of history in ways that were not possible before. Supercomputing capable of [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-01-18T06:33:37+00:00 January 18th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Advocating for a SAFE Dallas: Courtney Underwood

Dedman College News Originally Posted: Jan 1, 2019 Courtney Underwood, ’05, ’08, became a leader in North Texas in promoting programs to assist survivors of sexual assault. She co-founded the Dallas Rape Crisis Center and since 2013 has been the Executive Director of the SANE Initiative in Dallas. Her latest program, Courtney’s SAFE Place, is North Texas's first community clinic for survivors of sexual violence which opened at Turning Point in Plano on November 13. With this new endeavor and other long-term plans for the future, Underwood continues her tireless efforts to help survivors. What drew you to SMU when you were deciding on a university? How did you come to a decision? Being born and raised in the Park Cities, I grew up around the beauty and prestige of SMU. [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-01-03T08:45:20+00:00 January 9th, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, History, Psychology|Comments Off

Shaping Opinion podcast with Dr. Alexis McCrossen

Shaping Opinion Originally Posted: Dec. 31, 2018 Alexis McCrossen, a professor at SMU and an expert on how cultures have marked time in history, Joins Tim to talk about our New Year’s Eve traditions with a special focus on the story behind that Times Square Ball Drop. Listen If you plan to watch the Times Square ball drop at Midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’re not alone. New York City expects to play host to over 2 million people for the festivities. Over 175 million across the United States will watch the ball drop on TV. And around the world, over 1 billion people will watch. 103 million said they will travel 30 miles or more to celebrate 93.6 million will drive Listen

By Katherine Nickles| 2019-01-03T10:45:06+00:00 January 3rd, 2019|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Listen: Historian Remembers George H.W. Bush’s Legacy

NPR Originally Posted: December 6, 2018 Rachel Martin talks to presidential historian Jeffrey Engel, who remembers former President George H.W. Bush as a globalist, and as a president who felt entitled to power. LISTEN

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-12-11T11:10:39+00:00 December 21st, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Watch SMU Center for Presidential History Director Jeffrey Engel on CNN

Dedman College News Originally Posted: December 5, 2018 Former President George H.W. Bush will be honored with a state funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. this morning. Tune into CNN from 9-11am today to watch SMU Center for Presidential History Director Jeffrey Engel during the ceremonies. More on Jeffrey Engel as he discusses the first Gulf War and George H.W. Bush's legacy in the Middle East with PRI's The World.

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-12-05T07:04:28+00:00 December 5th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Listen: How pardons hang over the Mueller investigation

Politico Originally Posted: November 26, 2018 Jeffrey Engel, Director of the Center for Presidential History and Department of History professor, joined POLITICO's Nerdcast to talk about the history of presidential pardons--and perhaps their implication for today. This week on POLITICO's Nerdcast we're taking a break from our usual routine to take a look at presidential pardons. Pardons are one of the most absolute powers a president has — they can really just say the word, and criminal convictions are wiped out. A lot more than just saying the word goes into presidential pardons — usually. But things have been different under the current administration. Straying from the decorum of the past is part of the reason Trump’s pardons have gotten so much attention. Not to mention [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-11-27T09:13:43+00:00 November 27th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

What’s at stake in the midterms? Both sides warn the future of our democracy is at risk

USA Today Originally Posted: November 5, 2018 Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University is quoted in this article. What's at stake? Democrats warn that the midterm elections on Tuesday will undermine the future of America's democracy unless President Trump's authoritarian instincts are curtailed. Republicans argue that the nation's sovereignty is at risk if Democrats prevail. "Fear is the dominant issue, bar none," said Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. That's particularly remarkable because the economy is strong and the nation doesn't face an instant foreign policy crisis, although there are trouble spots around the world. Instead of a sense of peace and prosperity, though, the final weeks of the campaign have been dominated by [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-11-05T08:55:11+00:00 November 5th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Trump presidency inspires wave of books on impeachment

AP Originally Posted: October 23, 2018 More than 40 years after working on the impeachment of Richard Nixon, former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman is back on the case. This time, it’s with a book: “The Case for Impeaching Trump.” “The book really forced me to think this through,” Holtzman, a New York Democrat and member of the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, said during a recent telephone interview. “There’s so much news every day being thrown at you that it’s hard to separate it all out. When I did, it became clear there was a basis for proclaiming the president had committed high crimes and misdemeanors.” “The Case for Impeaching Trump” is part of a wave of new books and reissues of older works that is [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-10-31T07:05:18+00:00 October 30th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Jeff Engel, Center for Presidential History, President Trump heads to Texas to campaign for Senator Ted Cruz

USA Today Originally Posted: October 22, 2018 Jeff Engel, Director of the SMU Center for Presidential History lends expertise for this Oct. 22 USA Today article. One of the political world's most fractious couples gets together again Monday in Texas. President Donald Trump heads to Houston to stump for embattled incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, the latest phase in a political relationship that has gone from warm to bad to tolerable. "Ted Cruz has become a friend of mine," Trump said during a political rally over the weekend in Missoula, Montana – never mind that Trump once nicknamed him "Lyin' Ted," insulted his wife, and suggested his rival's father was somehow involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination. For his part, Cruz has expressed his support for the [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-10-24T08:04:32+00:00 October 24th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Meet SMU presidential historian Dr. Jeffrey Engel

SMU Daily Campus Originally Posted: October 11, 2018 Most days, you can find Dr. Jeffrey Engel in his office surrounded by history tomes. The Director of the SMU Center for Presidential History at SMU has filled his office with the work presidential historians, including his own. Dr. Engel was attracted to this area of study because he believes in the concept of narrative history. That is, an idea that history should be told in a form where it is accessible to people from all walks of life. “I remember feeling a profound sense of shame because a proper human should know events from the past,” Dr. Engel said, while reflecting on a moment from his childhood that reinforced his desire to study and make a [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2018-10-11T08:29:12+00:00 October 11th, 2018|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off