Humanities and Social Sciences at Northwest

04/22/2026

https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2026-04-21/was-abolitionist-john-brown-a-hero-or-a-menace-in-kansas-the-question-still-matters?utm_source=npr.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=national_highlight&utm_content=homepage

In Kansas, the name John Brown is shorthand for a violent period of the state’s history in the lead-up to the Civil War. One hundred and seventy years later, some modern day activists and educators are still debating his legacy.

04/17/2026

Congratulations to all of our honor society inductees for 2026! We are so very proud of you!

04/03/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Ethan Bottone and Dr. Kim Casey on their tenure and promotions! We are fortunate to have you in our department!

Northwest Missouri State University’s Board of Regents on Thursday approved the promotions and tenure appointments of 21 faculty members.

04/03/2026

Next Thursday, Northwest welcomes constitutional scholar Jeffrey Rosen! It is free and open to the public. See link for more information.

Northwest Missouri State University will host Jeffrey Rosen, a legal scholar and law professor, for the University’s Distinguished Lecture Series and the annual Lemon Lecture next month.

04/02/2026

This Monday (April 6), the Missouri Court of Appeals will be held at Northwest in the Union ballroom. The session starts at 1pm, and is open to the public. See more information in the link below.

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, is returning to Northwest Missouri State University, where it is scheduled to convene court on Monday, April 6.

04/02/2026

Allison Woodward, Katie Sauter, and Nora Crowley presented at the Kansas Association of Historians conference in Topeka last Saturday on using local history and archival sources in the classroom. Way to represent Northwest!

04/01/2026

Dr. Ford's Women and Gender in US History class visited the National Archives in Kansas City and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence last week. There's always something fun happening in our department!

03/27/2026

Writing for The Conversation, NCPH member Marla Miller discusses how the mythology of Betsy Ross reveals a hidden history of the women’s work that heavily aided efforts during the American Revolution. Betsy Ross, along with other women in Philadelphia, were tasked with making flags when building the American navy. Ross’ story is just one well-known example of the wide network of women’s wartime production and labor, including making flags, uniforms, and other cloth materials; cooking in military encampments; managing affairs for absent family members, and much more. Although Ross may have never created the “first” US flag, the attention given to her story demonstrates the importance of her and other women’s work to early American history and beyond.

Betsy Ross probably did not sew the first American flag, but she was one of many craftswomen whose wartime labor helped build a nation.

03/24/2026

The students in the Master in Digital and Public History (Luxembourg) are in the midst of organizing their annual online seminar in June. The topic is “Public History in Global Perspectives” (16 June). Only students (undergraduate and graduate) can present. The application deadline is April 27th:

The online seminar ‘Public History in Global Perspectives’ is organised by the first-year students of the Master in Digital and Public History (MADiPH) at the University of Luxembourg on Tuesday, 16 June 2026. This student-led conference addresses students globally and offers them a platform to ...

03/20/2026

Four years ago, Michigan undertook a report on Native American boarding schools that operated in the state, hiring a Native-owned consulting firm from Washington state to prepare it. While the report was completed last year, culminating in a list of recommendations for state officials, it went un-released to the public until it was leaked by Bridge Michigan last month, prompting questions about why it was withheld. The report highlights the continued inaccessibility of key primary source documents held by the Catholic Church and the need to preserve survivor networks as a matter of urgency while they are still living.

There is something fishy going on with a state-sponsored investigation of Indigenous boarding schools in Michigan. As one headline put it, “Michigan Spent $1.1M Probing Tribal Boarding Schools Then…