War and Society, a field born out of the “new social history” movement of the 1970s, expands on the field of military history, with its traditional focus on leaders, strategy, and battle movements.  War & Society scholars look at war and the military “from the bottom up,” studying the consequences of conflict on communities, soldiers, non-combatants, societies, and cultures.  They also focus on how a historical society’s ideals and values influenced the makeup of its armed forces and the way it fought its wars.  The War & Society field grows stronger every year, as can be seen in the diversity of academic projects undertaken by the faculty and graduate students of the Center for the Study of War & Society at Southern Miss.

On May 10th, 2013 the CSW&S will celebrate the graduation of several of our graduate students. We are extremely proud of the work they have all done and we offer them our hearty congratulations:

Ms. Stephanie Anne Seal will graduate with an MA in American History and War & Society.  Her thesis was entitled "Victims of Liberty: Virginia’s Response to Loyalists and Loyalism in Williamsburg, 1770-1781.  Her major professor was Dr. Kyle Zelner.

Dr. Dennis Conklin's dissertation "Conflict and Controversy in the Confederate High Command: Johnson, Davis, Hood, and the Atlanta Campaign of 1864" was co-chaired by Drs. William Scarborough and Susannah Ural.

Dr. Wesley Joyner earned his PhD in American History and War & Society by writing "Second Families of Virginia: Professional Power-Brokers in a Revolutionary Age, 1700-1790," with a focus on military professionals in Revolutionary Virginia.  Dr. Joyner's major professor was Dr. Kyle Zelner.

On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, the War and Society Roundtable at the Library of Hattiesburg, Petal, and Forrect County will discuss Judith Van Buskirk's Generous Enemies: Patriots and Loyalists in Revolutionary New York.  The moderators will be CSW&S Masters student Ms. Stephanie Seal and CSW&S Sr. Fellow Dr. Kyle Zelner.  For more info, click here.

The Center for the Study of War and Society at Southern Miss is proud to announce that "Vietnam in HD," a documentary co-written by CSW&S Founding Director Dr. Andrew Wiest (who also was the historical consultant on the series) had been awarded the New York Festivals Gold World Medal for best television documentary. Way to go, Andy!!!  For more information, click here.

The Center for the Study of War & Society at Southern Miss is proud to announce that one of our PhD students, Mr. Colin M. Colbourn has been selected as one of three Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education Fellows with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) to research the fate of American soldiers from World War II missing in action in the South Pacific. Well deserved, Colin! To read more, check out this link.

We are thrilled to announce that the winner of this year's Jack Lucas Award for the best undergraduate essay on a War & Society topic has been awarded to Ms. Anna Todd for her paper entitled "Lost in the Wilderness: Ministerial Authority and the Literature of King Philip's War."'  The committee received a large number of entries this year and many were particularly strong.  Ms. Todd will be presented with the award at the May War & Society Roundtable.  She will be graduating on May 10th and moving on to study for her Master's degree in colonial History at the University of Connecticut.  We are very proud of Anna's dedication, hard work, and excellent scholarship.

CSW&S Fellow Dr. Heather Stur has been awarded an extremely competitive Fullbright Scholarship to teach and do research in Vietnam, at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) in Saigon.  For more information, click here.  Congratulations, Heather!