Department of History
Welcome to the Department of History at Bowling Green State University!
We are a community of faculty, staff, students and alums brought together by pursuit of historical thinking and historical knowledge. Our mission is to further historical thinking to answer problems that matter to our world today. Through our courses our students become creators of engaging, original and rigorous historical knowledge that enrich the conversation in our society. Paired with professional development opportunities, we apply our history education to multiple, rewarding career tracks, such as consulting, education, government, law, museums, public relations, to name a few. Our faculty and alums are recognized for their expertise in historical research and their leadership in the field of policy history.
We invite you to discover our programs for undergraduate and graduate students, our people, and our current activities in our blog and and social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
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What do we learn in History?
News and Stories
History Department receives NEA Big Read Grant for 26-27 Programming
The History Department is excited to announce that we have received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read project, which will support public programming based around the book Betsy Ross and the Making of America by historian Marla R. Miller.
You can read more about the Threads of Democracy Project at this recent press release, and you can find more information at the Threads of Democracy website.
History Faculty participate in CIVICs 250 Grant
The Democracy and Public Policy Network (Depo) recieved a 3-year grant from the Department of Education to establish learning communities for K-12 educators to develop and strengthen American history and civics education. Several of our faculty led sessions for this year's in-person seminar, and Dr. Savitri Kunze and Kristin Schnerer are part of the CIVICs 250 Team.
You can read more about the In-Person seminar on our blog, and see media coverage of the program in the BG Independent, WTOL 11 and Toledo Blade article and editorial.
History Department hosts two renowned Historians
This fall, the Department had two acclaimed historians visit to deliver public lectures and share conversations with students and faculty. In October 2026, we hosted Dr. Marla R. Miller, author of Betsy Ross and the Making of America for an Author Talk as a part of the Threads of Democracy project. One of our graduate students, Hailey Kozey, wrote a wonderful reflection about Dr. Miller's visit, which you can read on the History Department Blog.
In November 2026, we hosted Pulitzer Prize winning Historian Dr. Alan Taylor for the Gary R. Hess Lecture in Policy History. You can read more about his visit on our History Department Blog. We are grateful to have recieved grant funding from the NEA Big Read grant to support Dr. Miller's visit, and we want to thank Emeritus Faculty Dr. Gary Hess and his wife Rose for their support of the Hess Lecture in Policy History.
Updated: 11/13/2026 06:52PM