A research grant from the prestigious Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation will help fund a University of Southern Mississippi professor’s research on a book focusing on how ordinary Europeans viewed the causes of World War I and its impact on their lives.

Dr. Michael Neiberg, professor of history and co-director of the department’s Center for the Study of War and Society, said his work will be in contrast to the standard writings on the war based on the views of heads of state, diplomats and military leaders.

“I’m doing this in part by examining the diaries and letters of average Europeans to get an understanding of how they viewed and reacted to the outbreak of the war, a massive event that by and large they did not anticipate,” he said.

Harry Frank Guggenheim was a successful businessman and noted philanthropist who served as U.S. ambassador to Cuba from 1929-1933. He established the foundation to support scholarly research on the issues of violence, aggression and dominance. It offers research grants to established scholars and to graduate students in the dissertation phase of their academic program.  

“It’s a real honor to be the recipient of a Guggenheim research award, but more than anything I count it as another accomplishment for our dynamic center and validation of the work we’re doing,” Neiberg said.

Neiberg joined Southern Miss in 2005 after having served on the faculty of the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he earned an Outstanding Academy Educator Award. His areas of expertise include World War I, war and society, American military history and the history of France. He also serves as director of graduate studies for the department.

“We are absolutely delighted at the news that Mike has been awarded a Guggenheim Foundation grant,” said Dr. Phyllis Jestice, chair of the Southern Miss Department of History. “These fellowships are one of the highest honors that can be given to a scholar in this country, and is proof, if further proof were needed, that he is a rising star in his research field, the history of War and Society. He is also an outstanding teacher and a great colleague.”

His most recent publication is “The Second Battle of the Marne,” and his work, “Making Citizen-Soldiers: ROTC and the Ideology of American Military Service,” was a finalist for the Thomas J. Wilson Prize and was named as a “Book for Understanding Our Times” by the Association of American University Presses.  
 
“Dr. Neiberg has produced significant scholarship through his natural creativity, passion for history and his drive to contribute to the field,” said Colin Colburn, a Southern Miss history graduate student from Elkhart, Ind. “These qualities alone prove his worthiness for the Guggenheim Fellowship, and he deserves this award for all his hard work.

“And his creative ability extends beyond the written word and into the classroom,” Colburn added. “He uses his knowledge and experience from traveling the world to bring history to his students.”

Neiberg has been published in and served as editor or co-editor for numerous academic journals and other publications, has contributed articles to the Los Angeles Times and New York Newsday, and been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among other media outlets. He served as a consultant for Lucas Films’ “The Young Indiana Jones” DVD collection. 

“Michael is an outstanding scholar on the area of War and Society, whose publication record places him among the top scholars nationally in this important subfield,” said Dr. Denise von Herrmann, dean of the Southern Miss College of Arts and Letters. “This recognition by the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation of his research efforts serves to further cement the high ranking of our graduate programs in this area.”

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