8th Annual Phi Alpha Theta History Conference

2019 Phi Alpha Theta Conference Presentations

• Keynote Presentation

  Presenter | Dr. Thomas Cauvin | Assistant Professor at Colorado State University and President of the International Federation for Public History

• U.S. Diplomatic Response to Native and Foreign Powers Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Margaret Vaverek, Librarian, Texas State University, and Jason Rivas, Graduate Student, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | John Rogers, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Issac Xaiver Auld, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Comparative Analysis of the United States, France, and Spain’s Use of Neutrality in 1776 and 1793’”
  • Christopher Bragdon, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Effects of Cherokee Nationalism and American Public Opinion on Early U.S. Diplomacy”
  • Kendall Jo Allen, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | Education as a Diplomatic Tool in Negotiations with Native People”

• Transformations in Architecture Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Peter Dedek, Associate Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Kyla Campbell, Graduate Student, Texas State University

  • Kyle Walker, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture’s Role in the Preservation Movement in San Antonio”
  • Mary Kahle, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “The Architecture of Moral Treatment for the Mentally Ill in Nineteenth Century U.S.”
  • Nikolas Koetting, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “‘A Comparative Analysis of the Architecture of Charleston and New Orleans

• Decolonization and the British Empire Panel

  Faculty Commentators | Dr. Nancy Berlage, Director of Public History, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Francisco Rodriguez Arroyo, Graduate Student, Texas State University

  • Rayanna Hoeft, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “A Collection’s Purpose: Connecting Material Culture to Museum Visitor Experience”
  • Messia Gondorchin, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Misunderstood Monuments of a Forgotten War: Commemoration of the Second Boer War throughout England”
  • Desmond Workhoven, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Barton Brothers: Privateers and Founders of the Scottish Navy”

• Thomas Jefferson and National Leaders Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Shannon Duffy, Senior Lecturer, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | John Rogers, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Christian M. Prado, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Nature and Nurture: How Human Tendency and Exterior Influence Affected Early Diplomatic Policy”
  • Samantha S. Cayse, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “North African Pirates and American International Affairs: Evolution of Jefferson’s Diplomacy with the Barbary States”
  • Asher C. Rogers, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Jefferson’s America in the Age of European Colonialism: Western Territories & the Louisiana Purchase”

• Gender and Women’s Identity Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Jessica Pliley, Associate Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Messia Gondorchin, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Jennifer Blackwell, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Two for the Price of One: The First Ladies and American Diplomacy Beyond the Confines of the Women’s Sphere”
  • Lauren Kahre-Campbell, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Gendered Patterns of Inheritance in Early Modern England”

• Foreign Policy and War Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Ellen Tillman, Associate Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Desmond Workhoven, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Evan Moore, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “The Continental Army’s Role in Violence at the Battle of King Mountain”
  • Andrew Freeman, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “From Tampico to Niagara Falls: How a Perceived Insult Led to Invasion, Occupation, and Mediation”
  • Robert J. Anzenberger, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Herbert Hoover: Finland’s Guardian Angel”

• The Continuous Role of Slavery in Revolutions and Diplomacy Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Dwonna Goldstone, Director of African American Studies Program, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Messia Gondorchin, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Ana Sofia Hernandez, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “‘The Impact of the Haitian Revolution on Early American Diplomacy Towards Slavery”
  • Reagan Deona Sekander, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Annexation of Texas and the Issues that Slowed the Process”

• Perspectives in Modern History Panel

  Faculty Commentators | Mr. Dan K. Utley, Lecturer, Texas State University and Dr. Jeff Helgeson, Associate Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Desmond Workhoven, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Suzanne Schatz, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “The Fire Burns On: Texas A&M Bonfire, Women, and Tradition”
  • Ethen Peña, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Yellow Stained Tears”: The Effects of Historical Trauma on the American Indian Movement”

• The Chains of Early American Diplomacy Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Sara Damiano, Assistant Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | John Rogers, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Tobi Omo-Osagie, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Racial Barriers to American Diplomacy”
  • William Joseph Keenan, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “By Way of the St. Lawrence: The Bond of Slavery in Canada and The United States”
  • Alex J. Humphries, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Faith of the Confederacy Rests on Cotton”

• The Beginnings and Impact of the Monroe Doctrine

  Faculty Commentators | Dr. Thomas Alter, Assistant Professor, Texas State University, and Rayanna Hoeft, Graduate Student, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | John Rogers, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Hannah Thompson, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: How Early American Presidents Paved the Way for the Monroe Doctrine”
  • Sarie Aguirre, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Advancement of American Imperialism through The Monroe Doctrine”
  • Illeane Marquez, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Monroe Doctrine: A Policy of Non-Interference for European Powers for Peace and Safety”

• American Imperialism Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Joshua Paddison, Lecturer, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Messia Gondorchin, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Noa Vasquez, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “Conquest and Growth: The Two Ages of Filibustering”
  • Carlos Fidalgo, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Texas Quagmire: How Failed Diplomacy Sparked the Mexican American War”
  • Jacob Dowdell, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University | “The Tempering of US Imperialism: The Cost of an Island Empire”

• Military and Government Architecture Panel

  Faculty Commentator | Dr. Peter Dedek, Associate Professor, Texas State University
  Student Moderator | Desmond Workhoven, Undergraduate Student, Texas State University

  • Kyla Campbell, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “From Barracks to Balfour: The Evolution of Base Housing on American Military Bases.””
  • Evan Smith, Graduate Student, Texas State University | “Washington D.C.: A Unique Creation of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries”