BW History Department hosts Phi Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference

The Baldwin Wallace University History Department and the Delta Upsilon Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society hosted the 2019 Phi Alpha Theta Ohio Regional Conference on March 16-17, 2019, at the Baldwin Wallace University Center for Innovation & Growth.

Phi Alpha Theta is an honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history, with over 400,000 members and 970 chapters across the United States. The annual regional conferences provide forums for undergraduate and graduate students to present papers, while fostering fellowship and the exchange of ideas.

Drs. Clayton Drees, Phi Alpha Theta National President, and Guy Farish, BW Associate Provost and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, kicked off the conference with welcoming remarks and messages from the PAT corporate office. Dr. Indira Gesink, BW History Department Chair, gave the keynote speech titled "Third Sex in Pre-Modern Islamic Societies: Genesis of an Idea." Seventeen undergraduate and graduate students from universities across the region presented papers on topics ranging from Brazilian immigration policies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and historiographical analyses to the rescue of Italian Jews during the Holocaust.

BW senior Olivia Plunket '19 earned one of the four conference awards at the event for her paper titled "Espionage in World War I." BW alumnus Anthony Kleem '17 received first place for the best graduate paper titled "Republic to Empire: The Late Roman Republic." Two BW students shared the prize for best undergraduate presentation. Dylan Brown's paper titled "The Impact of House Resolution 7077 on the Communities of Norther Summit County, Ohio" dealt with issues of imminent domain, and Aris Ward presented a paper on the relationship between Roman civic identity and Christianity titled "The City and God."

The conference was such a resounding success that Phi Alpha Theta Executive Director Dr. Michael Decker asked Delta Upsilon Faculty Advisor Dr. Kyriakos Nalmpantis to be the organization's regional representative for Ohio. Regional universities in attendance included Virginia Wesleyan University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Kent State University, Otterbein University, Bowling Green State University, Walsh University, Wayne State University and Lakeland Community College.