2023 PROGRAM

Thursday, 16 March

 

4-6.00 pm: Registration at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education

Shepherd University, 213 N. King St., Shepherdstown, WV 25443

 

4.30-5.15 pm: Meet at the Byrd Center lobby for architectural tour with Dr. Keith Alexander, Associate Professor History Department, Shepherd University (walking intensive tour of Shepherdstown)

 

5.30-6.45 pm: Opening Session

Opening welcome by Dean Rob Tudor

Location: Byrd Auditorium

 

“No Two Alike: From the Frontlines of Virginia’s School Desegregation, Diverse Pioneers Tell You Their Stories”

Moderator: Dr. Brian J. Daugherity, Associate Professor of History, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Lewis N. Johnson

• Dr. Betty Lucretia Brown Bibbins

• Clara Silverstein

• Dr. Carmen Foster

 

7.00-8.30 pm: Evening Event

Location: Bavarian Inn (brew pub)

 

“Historians on Tap” (heavy hors d'oeuvres; participants wishing to drink must buy their own alcoholic beverages due to state regulations)

 

Friday, 17 March

 

8.00 am: Registration opens in Byrd Center Lobby

Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks

 

8.30-10.00 am: Session I

 

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“Slavery and Freedom in Antebellum and Civil War Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Daniel Thorp, Professor of History, Virginia Tech

• Dr. Sheri Ann Huerta, Adjunct Faculty in the Honors College and Department of History and Art History, George Mason University

• Dr. Warren Milteer, Jr., Assistant Professor of History, George Washington University

• Professor Jonathan A. Noyalas, Director, McCormick Civil War Institute and history professor, Shenandoah University

• Dr. Daniel Thorp, Professor of History, Virginia Tech

 

Location: Classroom 164

“A Digital Civil War: New Collaborative Research at UVA”

• Dr. Brian Neumann, Managing Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History University of Virginia

• Dr. Scot French, Associate Professor of Digital Public History, University of Central Florida

• Gideon French, undergraduate student, University of Virginia

 

Location: Classroom 165

“Power, Conflict, and Politics in Early America”

Moderator: Dr. Ben Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History, Shepherd University

• Anna Elizabeth Kiefer-Douglas, English Teacher, Mount Tabor High School

• Professor David James Kiracofe, Professor of History and Humanities, Tidewater Community College

• R. Neil Hening, independent scholar

• Dr. Sarah E. McCartney, visiting assistant professor, College of William & Mary

 

10-10.15 am: Break

 

10.15-11.45 am: Session II

 

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“The Complexities of Freeing Emigrants to Liberia in the Shenandoah Valley”

Moderator: Dr. Worthy Martin, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia

• Jane Ailes, independent researcher

• Dr. Marie Tyler-McGraw, independent scholar

• Deborah A. Lee, independent scholar

• Susanna Klosko, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia

 

Location: Classroom 164

“Defining Freedom in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth- Century Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. J. Jefferson Looney, Daniel P. Jordan Editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello

• Emily Lampert, PhD student, Rice University

• Dr. Lawrence Howard, independent scholar

• Dr. Catherine E. Saunders, instructional professor in English Department, George Mason University

 

Location: Classroom 165

“Constructions of Race in Nineteenth- and early Twentieth- Century Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Heidi M. Hanrahan, Professor of English, Shepherd University

• Dr. Rachael De La Cruz, Assistant Professor of History, Montana State University

• Melanie Garvey, Archivist and Historian, Clarke County Historical Association

• Dr. Steve Longenecker, Professor of History, Emeritus, Bridgewater College

• Clara Silverstein, Community Engagement Manager, Historic Newton

 

11.45 am -1.30 pm: Boxed lunches (pick-up at Byrd lobby)

 

12.15-1.15 pm: Virginia Forum Board Meeting

Location: Byrd Auditorium

 

1.30-3.00 pm: Session III

           

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“Data-Informed Methods and the Study of Slavery in Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Dean Rehberger, Associate Professor and Director of Matrix, Michigan State University

• Dr. Walter Hawthorne, Professor, Michigan State University

• Eric Kesse, PhD student, Michigan State University

• Bailey Griffin and Lorenzo Duran Charris, undergraduate students, Michigan State University

• Heather Bollinger, Senior Archivist, Fairfax Circuits Court Historic Records Center

 

Location: Classroom 164

“Research and Remembrance: Documenting Virginia Lynchings”

Moderator: Dr. Tom Costa, Professor of History, University of Virginia’s College at Wise

• Dr. Gianluca De Fazio, Department of Justice Studies, James Madison University

• Dr. Tom Costa, Professor of History, University of Virginia’s College at Wise

• Josh Howard, Historian, Passel LLC

 

Location: Classroom 165

            “Tour of the Robert C. Byrd Center archives and collection” (departs from classroom)

 

3-3.15 pm: Break

            Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks

 

3.15-4.15 pm: Short Sessions

 

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“Visions of Modernity: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Political Economy of West Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. John E. Stealey III, Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, Shepherd University

• Dr. Daniel W. Sunshine, postdoctoral fellow, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Matthew Grace, PhD candidate, University of Virginia

 

Location: Classroom 164

“Real and Imaginary: Plantation Images of the Enslaved in Lynchburg, Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Erin N. Bush, Assistant Professor of U.S. and Digital History, University of North Georgia

• Leslie King, independent researcher, futurist, and consultant, and Dr. Laura A. Macaluso, independent researcher and writer

 

Location: Classroom 165

“New Perspectives on Civil War-era Technology”

Moderator: Dr. Madeleine Forrest, Assistant Professor of History, Virginia Military Institute

• Tracy L. Barnett, doctoral candidate, University of Georgia

• Michael G. Stroud, independent scholar

 

4.15-5.15 pm: Freedom and Slavery in a Border Region

Location: Meet in front of Byrd Auditorium

• Walking tour of Ferry Hill and C&O Canal led by Dr. Ben Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History, Shepherd University (walking-intensive)

 

5.15-6.45: Dinner in Shepherdstown

 

7.00-8.00 pm

Location: TBD

Discussions and Reflections Dr. Peter V. Bergstrom

 

Saturday, 18 March

 

8-9.00 am: Registration at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education

Shepherd University, 213 N. King St., Shepherdstown, WV 25443

 

8.30-10.00 am: Session IV

 

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“Freedom to Disfranchisement: Public History, Digital Technology, and Telling the Stories of Black Virginians”

• John Deal, Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography

• Marianne Julienne, Editor, Dictionary of Virginia Biography

• Peter Hedlund, Director, Encyclopedia Virginia

• Patti Miller, Editor, Encyclopedia Virginia

• Brent Tarter, Independent Scholar

 

Location: Classroom 164

“Free and Enslaved Civilians in the Civil War era”

Moderator: Dr. James J. Broomall, Associate Professor of History, Shepherd University

• Dr. Madeleine Forrest, Assistant Professor of History, Virginia Military Institute

• Dr. Randall Gooden, Professor of History, Clayton State University

• Rachael B. Nicholas, PhD candidate, West Virginia University

• Dr. Shawn McAvoy, Associate Professor of History and Religion, Patrick & Henry Community College

 

Location: Classroom 165

“Self-Emancipation and Black Identity in Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Dan Thorp, Professor of History, Virginia Tech

• Dr. Richard S. Chew, Professor of History, Virginia State University

• Sean Moseley, M.A. graduate student, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Dr. Anthony S. Parent, Jr., Professor, Department of History and American Ethnic Studies, Wake Forest University

 

10-10.15 am: Break

Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks

 

10.15-11.45 am: Session V

 

Location: Byrd Auditorium

“Teaching the Enslaved People of George Mason Memorial to Diverse Audiences”

Moderator: Kate Egner Gruber, Acting Director of Curatorial Services and Special Exhibitions Curator, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

• Dr. Steven Harris-Scott, Academic Director and Assistant Professor, INTO George Mason University

• Ward Othman, Director of Student Experience, INTO George Mason University

• Mika Endo, Adjunct Professor, George Mason University

           

Location: Classroom 164

“Exploring Religious Diversity in Virginia”

Moderator: Dr. Ben Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History, Shepherd University

• Dr. Barbara J. Howe, Associate Professor of History Emerita, West Virginia University

• Angela Lehman, M.A. student, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Elizabeth Sanford, M.A.T. student, Furman University

             

11.45-1.30 pm: Lunch in Shepherdstown

 

1.30-3.30 pm: Tours (meet in front of Byrd Center and will require carpooling)

 

Kevin Pawlak: Shepherdstown and battlefield

Dr. James J. Broomall: Antietam (the 1862 Maryland Campaign and the Emancipation Proclamation)

Dr. Ben Bankhurst: Jefferson County Museum with Lori Wysong and Harpers Ferry/Storer College

 

 

Program Committee:

Dr. James J. Broomall, Associate Professor History and Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, Shepherd University and 2023 Virginia Forum Program Committee Chair

Dr. Cicero Fain III, Visiting Diversity Scholar at Marshall University

Kate E. Gruber, Acting Director of Curatorial Services and Special Exhibits Curator, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

Beth Parnicza, public historian

Dr. Joe Rizzo, executive director of Wilton House Museum

Dr. Nadine Zimmerli, editor of History and Politics at the University of Virginia Press

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Local Arrangements Committee:

Dr. Ben Bankhurst, Associate Professor of History, Shepherd University

Dr. Heidi Hanrahan, Professor of English, Shepherd University

Kristen Marino, administrative assistant, GTM Center, Shepherd University