history – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Hallie Hovey-Murray ’16 brings a fresh voice to autism advocacy

SMU News Originally Posted: March 10, 2020 Almost everyone has something that makes them “different.” But that distinction can become your strength, says Hallie Hovey-Murray ’16. She speaks from experience. Just weeks before graduating from SMU, she wrote an op-ed that began, “Hi, my name is Hallie, and I have autism.” Soon after the piece was published, Hallie’s inbox blew up with invitations to tell her story. A history major in SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, she earned her bachelor’s degree at 20 and decided to use her new-found celebrity to shine a light on autism. She returned to her home state of Virginia to study law, and became the only contestant with autism to compete in the Miss Virginia pageant. For her [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-03-11T07:54:28-07:00 March 11th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, History, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

SMU historian Andrew R. Graybill is a newly elected member of the Texas Institute of Letters

Dallas Weekly Originally Posted: March 5, 2020 SMU historian Andrew R. Graybill and University alumna Regina Taylor, an actress and playwright, are newly elected members of the Texas Institute of Letters, an organization that celebrates Texas literature and recognizes distinguished literary achievement. Graybill and Taylor are among 19 new members to be inducted at the upcoming institute annual meeting, to be held in Georgetown March 27-29. “I was thrilled to be selected, particularly because of the extraordinary achievements of the institute’s other members,” Graybill says. “Texas is often undersold. It’s an exceptionally creative place. And to enter as part of a class that includes musicians Robert Earl Keen and James McMurtry is especially exciting to me.” Graybill, a San Antonio native, is a professor in the [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-03-09T11:33:46-07:00 March 6th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History, SW Center|Comments Off

Could George Washington Be Elected Today?

Psychology Today Originally Posted: Feb. 16, 2020 George Washington won his two terms in office as president with the unanimous consent of the Electoral College. In fact, he ran unopposed. What made him so popular? Although Washington was the commander in chief of the Continental Army, he wasn’t the best general in the Continental army. And while not a dullard, many of his contemporaries were far smarter than he. And although he was the president of the Constitutional Convention, he was far from the best politician. Washington’s popularity rested elsewhere. Some context helps understand Washington’s great appeal. The country had won its independence from Great Britain and no one wanted to return to a regime of tyranny. So the original conglomeration of states formed the [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-02-26T09:17:37-08:00 February 26th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

12 Things I’ve Learned as a Ph.D. Student

Inside Higher Ed Originally Posted: Jan. 29, 2020 As an undergraduate, I seldom felt overwhelmed by coursework. I found praise easily. I wrote an award-winning honors thesis and graduated summa cum laude. When I heard horror stories about graduate school, I knew I would be an exception. I was wrong. Although I lost 10 pounds in my first semester in Southern Methodist University’s history Ph.D. program from the stress of coursework, I want to avoid being all doom and gloom. I can confidently say that I have never learned so much in such a short period of time. After my first semester of coursework at the university, 12 significant lessons particularly stand out. I hope this list will prove beneficial for other current and future [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-02-04T07:54:11-08:00 February 4th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Graduate News, History|Comments Off

Congratulations to Andrew R. Graybill

Read the full press release

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-03-06T07:41:13-08:00 January 29th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History, SW Center|Comments Off

Dr. Rachel Ball-Phillips credits SMU and Tower Center for enabling international opportunities

Tower Center Blog Originally Posted: Jan 23, 2020 FROM SMALL TOWN TEXAS TO INDIA: HOW AN SMU TOWER CENTER FELLOWSHIP OPENED DOORS Former SMU Tower Center alumna, Dr. Rachel Ball-Phillips, is an adjunct lecturer in History and the Director of National Student Fellowships and the President’s Scholars at SMU. She credits SMU and the opportunities awarded through the Center with opening doors that enabled her to pursue her passion for Indian studies. We spoke with her to learn more about her journey from a small town in Texas, to India, and now professor, writer and scholar at SMU. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-01-27T10:40:16-08:00 January 28th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History, Tower Center|Comments Off

Listen: SMU Historian Discusses The Trump Impeachment Trial’s Place In American History

KERA Originally Posted: Feb 7, 2020 Donald Trump is only the third president in American history to be impeached. Dallas-based historian Jeffrey A. Engel sat down with Think’s Krys Boyd to discuss how Trump’s impeachment and acquittal might influence American history and the future of the presidency. Some have criticized the impeachment process as being too political — but that is exactly what the founding fathers intended, according to Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and co-author of "Impeachment: An American History.” “There’s really no secret to this in the sense that the founders wanted people to play out politics because they didn’t think politics was a bad thing,” he said. “What they were more worried about, obviously, was partisanship, [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-02-18T19:00:49-08:00 January 20th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History|Comments Off

Clements Hall: A Window into the Past

Hilltopics Originally Posted: December 13, 2019 Until recently, most students around campus took little notice of Clements Hall. Despite being directly on the main quad, it has remained secluded behind old trees and a rather plain facade. This would have probably remained the case had the windows been measured properly over the summer. Instead, however, Clements has been thrust into the limelight, or rather, the construction lights. In reality, though, Clements has a far more colorful past than its current façade lets on. Back in its heyday, it was actually known as the social center of campus! So, while Clements is getting its windows together, let’s take a moment to see why the university is going to all this effort to restore it. Back in [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-01-15T09:59:28-08:00 January 15th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, History, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Teaching Innovation

SMU Stories Tracking history through algorithms – using an iconic childhood toy to demonstrate physics – trading traditional diversity training for real communication skills – storytelling. SMU professors bring innovative tools and techniques to wherever the students are. And it only starts in the classroom. READ MORE

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-01-07T08:30:21-08:00 January 7th, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, History, Physics|Comments Off

Alexis McCrossen, History, featured in Time

Time Originally posted: Dec. 27, 2019 “‘Hiring Day’ was part of the larger economic cycle in which most debts were collected and settled on New Year’s Day,” says Alexis McCrossen, an expert on the history of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and a professor of history at Southern Methodist University, who writes about Hiring Day in her forthcoming book Time’s Touchstone: The New Year in American Life. Americans are likely to think of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as a time to celebrate the fresh start that a new year represents, but there is also a troubling side to the holiday’s history. In the years before the Civil War, the first day of the new year was often a heartbreaking one [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2020-01-02T08:34:52-08:00 January 2nd, 2020|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, History|Comments Off