Alum comes back to campus to give WWII book talk

17 Friday Apr 2026

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In December, 2025, the Department of History welcomed alumnus Ed Kruszynski (’84) for a powerful public lecture and book talk on his two works, The Medic’s Wife and Unbreakable. Throughout the talk, he invited our students and members of the community to see World War II not only through battle lines, but through the intimate lens of a family archive—what he called a “time machine” into the 1940s.

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Robin Wall Kimmerer talks draw many into a discussion to rethink humanity’s relationship with the natural world

08 Wednesday Apr 2026

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This post is guest-authored by History MA student, Roberto Rios.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, mother, enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Native American botanist, professor, and author, spoke with community members and students at Bowling Green State University on Friday, March 27, in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center, and at the Veterans Memorial Building at the Bowling Green, City Park, Saturday, March 28. Dr. Kimmerer, discussed themes from her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plant, and her perspective of interacting with the environment to a combined crowd of over 1200 people from across the region.

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History Department Seeks Applicants for Part-Time Teaching Assignments

25 Wednesday Feb 2026

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Department of History

Part-time Instructors (Adjuncts):  Various Fields

Details:  The Department of History at Bowling Green State University (http://www.bgsu.edu/arts-andsciences/history.html) seeks applicants for part-time teaching assignments in all areas of history, from the ancient to the modern world for Academic Year 2026-27 and the following summer. Successful applicants will teach introductory courses in US and World history, as well as upper-division topical courses as needed.

Qualifications:  Candidates must have at least a master’s degree in History or equivalent. Evidence of successful teaching at the collegiate level is preferred. 

Application: Applicants should submit: 1) letter of application, 2) full curriculum vita, 3) two current (dated within the past year), original letters of reference; 4) official transcripts indicating the highest degree earned. Finalists will also be required to authorize and pass a background check prior to offer of employment.  Submit application materials to:  Amílcar E. Challú, Chair, History Department, achallu@bgsu.edu, or 132 Williams Hall, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403.

Unless applicants request otherwise, applications will be kept on file for possible openings in the future.

Applications must be postmarked/received by April 27, 2026.

Bowling Green State University is an EEO/Vet employer. We encourage applications from all, regardless of sex, race, veteran status, disability, age, gender identity, genetic information, religion, or sexual orientation.

Planting Willow Branches: Wyandotte Storytelling and Survivance

23 Monday Feb 2026

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This blog post is cross-posted from Dr. Challu’s blog, which you can find at blogs.bgsu.edu/achallu

Last week Heidi Nees, jenn stucker and I hosted Ciara Cotter and Chris Houk of the Wyandotte Nation Cultural Division. They came from Oklahoma to lead a program on Wyandotte storytelling, an event of the In The Round series.

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Two history faculty speak in Great Decisions lecture series

12 Thursday Feb 2026

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Earlier this winter, Bowling Green State University’s Department of History was well represented in the Great Decisions lecture series at the Wood County Senior Center, as two of our faculty brought historical insight to contemporary global issues.

In January, Dr. Amilcar Challu, History Professor, opened the 2026 series with a compelling talk on America’s changing role in the world. Drawing on his own experience from Argentina to the United States, Challu unpacked the concept of liberal internationalism, which is a post-World War II, rules-based order rooted in universal rights, multilateral cooperation, and cultural exchange. Through personal anecdotes, including how U.S. cultural diplomacy shaped his academic path, he illustrated how soft power underpinned U.S. global leadership for decades. Challu then contrasted this legacy with contemporary “America First” tendencies, urging citizens to reflect on the evolving international order and the importance of historical perspective in shaping future foreign policy.

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History Alum guides students in launching Maumee’s America-250 celebration

30 Friday Jan 2026

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This January, history was literally in the air at Maumee High School. In a creative twist on community engagement, sophomores in BGSU History alum Jamie Naragon’s College Credit Plus class conducted 28 oral interviews with local residents to explore how Maumee has changed over time. Her students crafted a performance that wove these interviews into a narrative of the city’s past, which included a slide show of historic photos and music that brought these stories to life.

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BGSU Faculty panel explored Venezuelan crisis in roundtable discussion

22 Thursday Jan 2026

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On a cold day in January, BGSU faculty convened a roundtable discussion examining the implications of U.S. intervention in Venezuela and what it reveals about today’s changing international system. The panel included History Chair and Faculty member, Dr. Amilcar Challu, Dr. Valeria Grinberg, Professor of Spanish and Director of the Institute for the Study of Culture and Society, Dr. Michaela Domiano, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, Dr. Neal Jesse, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and Dr. Beatrice Guenther, Director of the International Studies program.

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Research trip unearths the hidden story of the Olympic Games during the Cold War

15 Thursday Jan 2026

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This post is guest authored by Garrett Lewis, where he tells of his recent research trip. The Department looks forward to his analysis and further development of his thesis.

From October 5th-8th, I traveled to the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign to visit their archives, as they hold the Avery Brundage collection. This collection is crucial to my thesis research, as I am writing about the early Cold War Olympics and the formation of the narrative of East-West conflict through sport. Avery Brundage, an alumni of the University of Illinois, served as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1952-1972. This period not only saw the introduction of the Soviet Union to the Olympic Games, but also extended over a series of Cold War hot points. Brundage, himself, was a staunch Cold Warrior, and my project examines the role he and the IOC played in forming a narrative of East-West conflict. This is important because the Olympics were founded as a tool to bring international peace, and the assertion that these high-ranking officials could have been undermining this mission through their rhetoric and actions complicates a traditional narrative of the role of the IOC during the Cold War.

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Adjunct faculty and History alum highlights similarities between current farm stress and 1980s Farm Crisis

21 Friday Nov 2025

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Back in September, one of our adjunct faculty and History alumni, Chase Fleece, offered a sobering historical perspective on today’s turmoil in agriculture in his public lecture at Carter Historic Farm. Set within this living history site operated by the Wood County Park District, Fleece linked modern financial stress for farmers to the infamous farm crisis of the 1980s. He described how farmers back then built their operations on massive debt, expanded recklessly, and ultimately suffered when land values collapsed, interest rates surged, and global conditions shifted.

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