IWU History

09/29/2026

Join us on October 5 at 7 pm for a talk about the complicated history of the Girl Scouts, given by visiting scholar, Amy Erdman Farrell.

10/13/2025

A beautiful Homecoming weekend and a nice one for History, too. Alyssa Culp, one of our two new faculty members, and I spent a great morning at the Humanities in Motion booth yesterday; and on Friday, John Camardella ‘03 was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

02/17/2025

Have you ever wondered why we give flowers on Valentine’s Day? Did you know that this tradition has had a lasting impact on international relations? Join us this Thursday, February 20th at 4 pm in Beckman, as Dr. Kaitlin Simpson answers these questions in her talk, “Every Rose Has its Thorns: Valentine’s Day, Labor, and Conflict in the U.S. and Colombian Cut Flower Industries.”

01/16/2025

Please join the History Department on Wednesday, January 29th at 7 pm in Beckman Auditorium for a talk by Dr. Robert Fitzgerald: “Make America Hate Again: Reagan, Trump, and the Punk Rock Response.”

11/06/2024

Last week our students enjoyed pizza with the president to kick off our new history club, the Historia Society! 🍕

10/25/2024

This past week, Dr. Culp’s History of Death Gateway toured Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Thank you to Candace Summers from McLean County Museum who showed the class around this historical gem!

10/08/2024

UPDATE: this event has been postponed for a later time - thank you for your understanding!

We are thrilled to be co-hosting a watch party with Ames Library for this event! Join us for a webinar sponsored by Alumni Engagement, featuring our alumna Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris, who will share insights into the shocking world of nineteenth-century surgery and its transformation from her book, The Butchering Art!

10/02/2020

https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/aha-statement-on-the-recent-white-house-conference-on-american-history-(september-2020)?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=96278176&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--8jYG8TGXF9laE0rohdGhS6iZ-LYOwNUKfsB8FoPG-V8BrPhy3SVo4EjwQcLhJ844a7ZrKjEAHdqTSuv1a9eo1nULLew&utm_content=96278176&utm_source=hs_email&fbclid=IwAR1zpIzt1wKFOPCsTPI7I80W3PuEgIlkFf766ZRP4oDUIuEF5Q_xm1vtin4

The AHA has issued a statement on last week’s “White House Conference on American History” deploring the tendentious use of history and history education to stoke politically motivated culture wars.