The University of North Texas History Department

Shout out to Dr. Geoffrey Wawro who did an interview with local Fox 4 last year about the current conflict between Israel, the U.S., and Iran, with much of his analysis still an ever present topic in our current day discourse.

https://www.fox4news.com/video/1664198

How successful was attack on Iran's nuclear facilities? A new leaked report suggests that the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities may have only set them back a few months. UNT Military History professor Geoffrey Wawro weighs in on the latest developments.

Dr. Arunima Datta was recently featured in an interview with NBC5 to talk about the history of football (soccer) chants and their connection to history as a form of expression. Her interview is very timely as Dallas looks to host the FIFA world cup next month!

Check out her interview here! https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/chants-anthems-and-organized-chaos-the-art-of-the-international-soccer-fan/4028407/

Chants, anthems, and organized chaos: The art of the international soccer fan Whether you call it a chant, an anthem, or just organized chaos, the art of the team chant is part of the fabric of international soccer for fans. For Charlotte Tate’s family, who are transplants to North Texas from England, it’s more than tradition; it’s part of their history. “My dad opene...

Do you love the humanities? Do you want to gain skills, make friends, and promote the academic subjects you care about? Join the Students of Humanities Association!

The organization is open to both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in any of the programs of the humanities.

's Dr. Geoffrey Wawro will be featured in the brand new documentary series 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑊𝑎𝑟 𝐼𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠! The series consists of twenty episodes released weekly, with the first two episodes released yesterday for Memorial day.

Be sure to check it out! Congrats to Dr. Wawro who continues to stand out as a leading expert in the field of military history!

Check out this amazing story about the Tillman Watson Cemetery in Luther, Oklahoma which features Dr. Edith Ritt-Coulter, a graduate of our graduate program!! Dr. Ritt-Coulter is currently a lecturer of history at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The article features her grant project on the Tillman Watson Cemetery, the only all-black cemetery on Route 66. Established in 1889, much of the cemetery's history is still shrouded in mystery. The project hopes to uncover the decades of history of those laid to rest there and share their stories with the world.

Check out the article here! https://www.news9.com/route66/luther-oklahoma-tillman-watson-cemetery-restoration

Luther community restores Route 66's only all-Black cemetery For years, the Tillman Watson Cemetery in Luther was left neglected. Now, a team is working together to preserve and honor the all-Black cemetery.

For their final project, students of Dr. Zoe Ortiz' HIST 4004 The Roman Empire acted as the co-curator for the exhibition 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝐶𝑎𝑒𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑠: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑒 in which they were tasked with curating an artifact from their assigned emperor and topic. Their combined projects formed an exhibition that explored key themes and events from the final 150 years of the Roman Empire.

Student then created amazing facsimiles of real objects from museums or items known to have existed in period like tools and statuary. This project helped demonstrate the real world skills, incredible analytic abilities, and amazing artistic vision that our students possess.

Kudos to our SEVEN History students who presented their research and supported each other at this year’s Texas Medieval Association Annual Meeting at Rice University, April 11-12, 2026! We are so proud of you!

Pictured, left to right:

•Anastassia Haynes, BA, who presented: “The Plague Documents: The Literacy and Linguistic Demographics in the Late Medieval and Early Modern British Isles”

•Iris Anderson, MA, who presented: “‘Virum illam non feminam esse’: Spiritual Gender Transition in Christina of Markyate’s ‘Life’”

•Michael Singler, MA candidate, who provided collegiate support

•Dylan Cormier, MA, who presented: “Creating a Christian Cyprus:
An Evaluation of Epiphanius of Salamis Between History and Memory in Late Antique Cyprus”

•Dr. Kathryne Beebe, Faculty Mentor, who presented: “Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies and the Digital Humanities”

•Hayden Murphy, PhD candidate, who presented: “The Rostock Cathedral Feud: A Case Study on Political Autonomy in the Late Medieval Hanseatic Region”

•Hannah Pullen, PhD candidate, who presented: “The Inquisitor’s Bible: Jacques Fournier’s ‘Postilla super Matheum’ and the Use of Biblical Commentary to Understand Interrogation Techniques in the French Inquisition”

•And Avery Powell, PhD candidate, who presented: “‘Kýflan gauzka’: Gender, Power and Queen Margaret of Norway”

Congratulations to all!

Yesterday we hosted a small end of year celebration for our graduate students! In between hanging out with friends, chatting with professors, and enjoying some food and drinks, we also highlighted some of our graduate students for their hard work this past year.

Award Winners:
1. Outstanding TA Award: Hannah Pullen
2. Outstanding TF Award: Avery Powell
3. Grad Student Service Award: Madison Black
4. Research and Creativity Award (PhD): Miguel Velis
5. Outstanding MA student: Dylan Cormier

Congrats to our award winners as well as the many graduate students who are graduating with their degrees this semester! We are all so proud of you!!

Graduating Spring 2026:

PhD: Gretchen Bullock
MA: John Adair, Iris Anderson, Natalie Bennett, Dylan Cormier, Sergio Garcia, and Alec Mayor

Our 2nd Annual Harland Hagler Alumni and Friends event last night was truly an amazing event! Between catching up with old friends, making new connections, enjoying fantastic food, and listening to thoughtful speeches by currents and former students, the event encapsulates everything that makes our department and students great!

This year our main lecture was delivered by Dr. Chloe Northtrop, a graduate of our Ph.D. program in 2015 and current Chair of the Department of History at TCC Connect. We also took time to highlight a few of our current graduate students on their fascinating research and recognize both our graduate and undergraduate students who received departmental scholarships for this year. Special thanks was also given to a few of our community partners like Bearded Monk, The Dallas Way, and Dallas Voice for their support in many of our research projects and providing avenues for student advancement.

The event was capped off with a raffle, with winners receiving copies of some of the latest books released by our amazing faculty. Thank you to everyone who came out and made it truly a night to remember! We look forward to a great year ahead. Be sure to follow our socials for updates on our event next year!!

All of us at want to give a big congrats to Alec Mayor on passing his Masters Non-thesis exam today! His committee consisted of Dr. Kerry Goldmann as his major professor, with Dr. ToniAnn Treviño and Dr. Arunima Datta as committee members.

Congratulations Alec on your amazing achievement after all of your hard work in our program! We cannot wait to see what you do in the future!!