History

Fellowships expand options for PhD students

Living in Pullman while working on her graduate degree, Tabitha Espina yearned for the people, and the lumpia and adobo, that she grew up with in Guam. That all changed when she joined the first cohort of WSU’s grant-funded project, “Reimagining the 21st Century Land-Grant PhD” and began working with a community of Filipino and […]

Origins of Leap Year

With 2020 being a Leap Year—a once-every-four-years manifestation created to deal with our imprecise notion of a year being 365 days—WSU experts looked back on the development of the modern calendar. Ancient civilizations depended on the cosmos above to guide their decisions, said Michael Allen, a senior instructor in physics and astronomy. “We know from […]

History project to share stories of fallen WWII Cougars

A legendary quarterback, class president, and triple-sport letterman turned husband, father and high school coach. A first-generation college student and son of a modest farming family. A business major, fraternity brother, and newlywed turned Wildcat fighter pilot. An international scholar who left the Philippines to attend college 7,000 miles away … and never returned. The […]

Sutton to lead Dept. of History

An expert in the historical intersection of U.S. politics and religion, Professor Matthew A. Sutton will serve as chair of the Department of History at Washington State University, effective August 16. Sutton is the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor in history. As chair, he succeeds Steven Kale, who is returning to the history faculty. “Dr. […]

Inside Outside

Biophilia, our innate affinity for and connection to nature, is not only for children—parents, too, are taking time from hectic schedules to unwind with meditative forest bathing, and many doctors now prescribe visits to the park instead of pills. Getting kids outside is nothing new to Jeff Sanders, WSU associate professor and environmental historian. He […]

“Indians to Indians” researcher earns Fulbright award

History doctoral student and future professor Ryan W. Booth has received a Fulbright U.S. Student award to spend nine months in India exploring socio‑cultural characteristics attributed to indigenous soldiers during the British Raj up to a century ago. His work adds an international element to his dissertation, and may well lead to a new global […]

English professor returns to History Channel

Narrative historian and English professor Buddy Levy is making a return to the History Channel. Levy, the author of a 2005 biography about early American adventurer Davy Crockett, is among the experts interviewed in the cable network’s latest documentary series “The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen.” The new series by executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio explores […]