IWU History

A beautiful Homecoming weekend and a nice one for History, too. Alyssa Culp, one of our two new faculty members, and I spent a great morning at the Humanities in Motion booth yesterday; and on Friday, John Camardella ‘03 was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Have you ever wondered why we give flowers on Valentine’s Day? Did you know that this tradition has had a lasting impact on international relations? Join us this Thursday, February 20th at 4 pm in Beckman, as Dr. Kaitlin Simpson answers these questions in her talk, “Every Rose Has its Thorns: Valentine’s Day, Labor, and Conflict in the U.S. and Colombian Cut Flower Industries.”

Please join the History Department on Wednesday, January 29th at 7 pm in Beckman Auditorium for a talk by Dr. Robert Fitzgerald: “Make America Hate Again: Reagan, Trump, and the Punk Rock Response.”

Last week our students enjoyed pizza with the president to kick off our new history club, the Historia Society! 🍕

This past week, Dr. Culp’s History of Death Gateway toured Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Thank you to Candace Summers from McLean County Museum who showed the class around this historical gem!