News

Rose Dickenson, History and International Studies Major, is one of just twenty exceptional students to be selected as a 2026-27 Provost Scholar.

Once during the academic year, the Baylor history department gets together to honor its students in a historical but non-traditional way.

Dr. Dan Barish hosted an interfaith panel at Baylor on Judaism and inclusivity. Speakers highlighted that many Jewish students feel less comfortable expressing their identity due to concerns about antisemitism and stressed the need for stronger interfaith relationships.

Baylor’s history and political science departments hosted a public reading of the Declaration of Independence, bringing together administrators, faculty, staff and students to mark the anniversary.

The Department of History has presents the 2026 Charles Edmondson Historical Lecture Series, African Polity, Past & Present: Innovation and Reinvention in Contexts of Opportunity and Exigency, featuring Dr. Michael Gomez. The lectures will take place on Wednesday, April 15th and Thursday, April 16th from 3:30-5:00pm at the Armstrong Browning Library Treasure Room.

The Baylor departments of Political Science and History welcome notable Baylor administrators, faculty, and students as they publicly announce and read the Declaration of Independence in the SUB Bowl on Friday, April 17, at Noon in anticipation of the 250th anniversary this summer. 

Baylor Theatre and History students brought historical moments to life and added a little Broadway flair for one night with “1776 and More!,” a show celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Sam Klatt, Baylor Film and Digital Media Major and History Minor (2012), discusses the debut of his environmental documentary at the Mayborn Museum. 

History Major Hannah Barine reflects on being named a McNair Scholar while Outstanding History Student Elise Choi shares plans to study law.

Dr. Elmore expounds on her role as a historian of the borderlands, her new book, and how the Louisville Grant is aiding her work.

Marketing and Entrepreneurship Major Irene Salandra provides a glimpse into her strategies for marketing the History Department on social media. 

The digital projects featured in the exhibit were created by students in The Holocaust (HIS 4342), a course that examines Nazi Germany’s systematic mass murder of Europe’s Jews and other targeted minorities during the Second World War.

Baylor’s history and theater department are collaborating to bring to life the Second Continental Congress onstage at 2-4 p.m. on March 29 at the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center. Theater students will reenact scenes from historical musicals such as “1776,” “Hamilton” and more while history students portray each of the Founding Fathers and provide historical context for the debate of declaring independence.

Join History and Theater Arts students in the Mabee Theater of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center and the original "room where it happened" as they reimagine the Second Continental Congress and debate the pros and cons of declaring independence. 

Sunday, March 29 2026 | 2:00pm | Mabee Theater in Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center

Dr. Stephen Sloan, director of the Institute for History at Baylor, has created a way for visitors to learn about Waco’s history.

The Department of History will hold a roundtable titled “Body, Mind, Spirit: American Women in Journalism and Health” for Women’s History Month featuring three panelists from Baylor University’s Department of History. This event is free and open to the public. 

The Roundtable will be held on March 19, 2026, in Draper 152, 1420 S 7th St, Waco, TX 76706 at 3:30pm. 

We are now accepting submissions for our annual Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship. Baylor history alum and faculty are welcome to submit their books that were published in 2025.  Submissions are due May 1st. 

The Department of History's Fall 2026 course brochure is LIVE and ready to help you select your history classes for the Fall.

Ready to visit one of Europe's most historic cities? Drs. Wingerd and Smith discuss the benefits of studying abroad with the History Department. 

The Baylor Libraries are proud to announce Dr. Ricardo Álvarez‑Pimentel, Assistant Professor of History at Baylor University, as the inaugural recipient of the Charles Guittard First Book Publishing Award. 

Baylor undergrads aren’t the only beneficiaries of Baylor’s study abroad programs! History PhD Candidate Emma Fenske reflects on her experience teaching at Liverpool Hope University.

Phi Alpha Theta is hosting its semesterly book sale! Buy books about History, Political Science, Religion, Sociology, and more at a pay-what-you-can rate!

Tuesday, March 3, from 10am-3pm outside of Tidwell.

KWTX News Ten’s Justin Earley and Lauren Westbrook talk with Stephen Sloan and Rick Tullis about a series on their show called 'Waco 175' featuring significant moments from Waco's 175-year history.

The Baylor Department of History and the Baylor Libraries Makerspace welcome you to create a replica presidential campaign button in honor of Presidents' Day! 

Monday, February 16, 2026 from 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm at Moody Library.

The Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society, the Department of History, and the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures proudly present the 2026 Keston Spring Lecture

"The Patriarch vs. the Revolution: Defending Religious Freedom in Early Soviet Russia"
featuring Dr. Scott Kenworthy on Thursday, February 26th at 3:30pm.

As part of Baylor’s year-long America 250 initiative, Dr. Sweet is hosting a diverse series of history-related events to bring alive the story of America’s founding.

Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson, Ralph and Bessie Mae Lynn Chair of History and Associate Professor of History, recently became the steward of the Ella Wall Prichard Fund for Early Black Baptist History.

For the 2026 Black History Month lecture, the Department of History presents "Socialist De-Colony: Black & Soviet Entanglements in Ghana's Cold War" which will feature Dr. Nana Osei-Opare, Assistant Professor of History at Rice University. The lecture is free and open to the public, and it will be held February 12th at Moody Memorial Library, 1312 S 3rd St, Waco, TX 76706, in the Schumacher Flex Commons. The lecture will be held from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. 

In celebration of America's semiquincentennial, Join Dr. Sweet, in full Patriot military dress from the American Revolution, as she drives across campus quizzing students about which historic American event they would participate in; the Boston Tea Party or Washington's crossing of the Delaware River.

Dr. Felipe Hinojosa discusses co-authoring his new book with Dr. Rudy Guevarra and how LatinX culinary culture shapes American identity. 

Phi Alpha Theta strives for civil discourse by “promoting the scholarship and study of history among all university students,” according to Houston senior and vice president Natalie Fakhriravari.

Dr. Paul Emory Putz, Baylor History Ph.D., wins two prestigious awards for his new book, The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports. 

Daniel J. Watkins, Ph.D., is one of 20 members of the National Humanities Center's Teacher Advisory Council for the 2025-26 academic calendar

While some professors teach with slideshows and worksheets, history lecturer Dr. Anthony Gaspar teaches material in a unique way — through impressions.

Dr. Paul Emory Putz, Director of the Faith & Sports Institute and program director for the Master of Arts in Theology and Sports Studies at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, has been awarded the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History (ASCH) for his book, The Spirit of the Game: American Christianity and Big-Time Sports. 

We are pleased to introduce three new faculty members who have joined the department for the 2025-2026 academic school year. Welcome, Professors!

Dr. Daniel Watkins wins the prestigious Robert L. Reid Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in the Humanities.

Prestigious humanities grant will support book project by Robert Elder, Ph.D., on the pivotal 1832 nullification crisis

Four new books have been published by our faculty this year on a wide variety of topics. 

A variety of professors including Baylor History's Dr. Beth Allison Barr and Dr. Andrea Turpin came together to discuss feminist issues within their disciplines at the Christian Feminisms: Faith, Gender, and Justice panel on Thursday afternoon. 

History Major, Mikel Minne, is leading the charge as our Student Ambassador this year, providing support to both faculty and History majors.

In August 2015, Hamilton opened on Broadway and turned the world upside down.  Ten years later, it continues to play non-stop across the country and around the world.  Join faculty from History, Theatre Arts, and Music on September 3rd, 3:30 pm at the Moody Memorial Library as they discuss the impacts that this revolutionary hit musical has had on their disciplines. 

Baylor History graduate Gabe Creech won the inaugural Charles Francis Guittard and Nancy Davis Labastida Endowed Award in History for his paper on Bonapartist exiles in Champ d’Asile.

Baylor's newest Regents include Spencer Yim, a University Scholar in Baylor’s Honors College, double-majoring in political science and economics with minor in Chinese and history.

Congratulations to Dylan Washington, winner of Baylor History's Alumni Award for Early Outstanding Achievement, and Josh Borderud, winner of Baylor History's Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement! 

Baylor History Major Katie Curley describes the discovery of an untouched Etruscan tomb during her recent Baylor study abroad trip to Italy.

Ever wonder what you can do with a history major? Check out Baylor History Department’s newest video and hear directly from history majors and professors about the exciting possibilities a history major can offer!

This spring, 23 Baylor students and recent alumni won the prestigious Fulbright awards, including two Baylor History students: recent graduate Mike Ermis and PhD candidate, Rebecca J. Blemur.

Baylor History Department Chair and Associate Professor, Dr. Julie deGraffenried, was recently named a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Historical Society.

We have two new Alumni Awards, and we are accepting nominations. Nominate a fellow alum or yourself today. Submissions are due June 1. 

John and Nancy Jackson's support of Baylor University's engagement with the Latin American community—both within the U.S. and abroad—led them to establish the Jackson Family Chair for Baylor in Latin America. Their endowment supports a vision for greater engagement, where academic excellence brings attention to critical issues and fosters meaningful connections. This endowed chair empowers chairholder Felipe Hinojosa, Ph.D., to engage faculty across the University in deeper research, expand understanding, and further Baylor's mission across borders and generations.

Three preeminent scholar/teachers from United States universities have been selected as finalists for Baylor University’s 2026 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, the only national teaching award – with the single largest monetary reward of $250,000 – presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching.

Baylor University students continue to be awarded the most prestigious – and highly competitive – scholarships and fellowships at the national and international level for critical language study and cultural exploration.

Baylor University faculty members Elesha J. Coffman, Ph.D., professor of history, and T. Philip Nichols, Ph.D., associate professor of English education, have been selected to receive the 2025 Centennial Professor Awards for summer research projects.

Krystal Tan’s paper for Dr. Dan Watkins’s Capstone Seminar in European History, “Thibaudeau’s Paradox: A Revolutionary’s Complicity in Napoleon’s Empire,” was published in the Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History.

The university’s history department will host a worship and presentation event about senior history majors’ research on African American history at Toliver Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Waco on Wednesday. The Toliver Chapel Student Showcase, which will shed light on the volume of topics found in the study of African American history, seeks to expose presenting undergraduates and attendees alike to the kind of work commonly found in the academic world.

We are now accepting submissions for our annual Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship. Baylor history alum and faculty are welcome to submit their book's that were published in 2024.  Submission are due April 21. 

The Baylor Model Organization of American States (MOAS) team represented the Republic of Costa Rica at the Washington, DC MOAS Summit from April 7 - 11, 2025. 

Two Baylor experts on women’s history — Dr. Andrea Turpin, an associate professor and director of the Baylor history graduate program, and Amy Achenbach, a doctoral candidate and Baylor history teacher — sat down to answer the big questions about women in history.

Dr. Benjamin Cowan, a historian of Cold War-era Brazil, visited Baylor as the keynote speaker at the Charles Edmonson Historical Lecture, a lecture series that has brought renowned historians to Waco since 1978.

In a two-day event, the Charles Edmondson Historical Lecture Series will feature the award-winning Dr. Benjamin Cowan, Professor of History at UCSD. His lectures will cover Brazil’s Cold War and the rise of Christian conservatism in Brazil, linking each to contemporary issues in our hemisphere.

Undergraduate students from Baylor University took part in the Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States (ESMOAS) Program’s Tenth Inter-American Court of Human Rights Moot Court (IACHR) Competition, held at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

In the Armstrong Browning Library, Dr. Wallace Daniel gave a lecture based on his newest book, “Freedom and the Captive Mind: Fr. Gleb Yakunin and Orthodox Christianity in Soviet Russia.”

Former Baylor History major and Waco coffee entrepreneur, Dylan Washington, reflects on how Baylor History prepared him for a career in entrepreneurship. 

As part of Women’s History Month, members of Baylor’s History Department, in collaboration with the John and Nancy Jackson Chair for Baylor in Latin America, have organized a panel featuring perspectives from Latina “changemakers” whose activism and careers have made the city of Waco a more just and equitable place. 

Dr. Steven Jug is one of six faculty members who received the Elizabeth Vardaman Awards for 2025, recognizing them for their exceptional efforts in helping undergraduate students thrive academically.

Baylor University history professor, Dr. Beth Allison Barr, herself a pastor's wife, details a shift in evangelical attitudes toward women in the church in her new book, Becoming the Pastor's Wife.

Department faculty and graduate students presented their research at the Women's History Month roundtable on Wednesday, March 5th. From the Antebellum South to women's healthcare to the Crimean War to women's education, the roundtable explored a variety of topics to contextualize the female experience. 

The Department of History will hold a roundtable titled, “Reflections in History” for Women’s History Month featuring four panelists from Baylor University’s Department of History. This event is free and open to the public. 

The Roundtable will be held on March 5, 2025, in Morrison 100, 1322 S 5th St, Waco, TX 76706, from 4:00 - 5:00 pm. 

This spring, students in Dr.  Ricardo Álvarez-Pimentel's class are hitting the archives to uncover the remarkable stories of Waco's Hispanic community.

The John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair in Latin America & Professor of History would like to present, "Gather: Food Justice and Nourishment in an AntiBlack World." Dr. Ashanté Reese will discuss in her lecture a theory of change, food justice has remarkably shifted our understandings of the relationships between space, access, and the body.

Calling all history majors and incoming Baylor history majors, our department's scholarship application is now open! We have opportunities for current majors and for incoming majors. Deadline for both is March 7, 2025. Learn More!  

Dr. Stephen Sloan represents Baylor as its inaugural Big 12 Faculty of the Year award recipient. 

You might think that a historian sits in an ivory tower, poring over a list of facts and dates. That wouldn’t be Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson. It’s his fascinating and interrelated experiences in military, religious and diplomatic arenas — combined with his palpable passion for learning and teaching history — that make the subject come alive in his classroom and lectures.

The Waco History App, managed by our very own Dr. Stephen Sloan, has a self-guided African American history tour with 30 stops around our community. If you are wanting a guide, mark your calendars because the Institute for Oral History will be hosting a Black History Walk on February 15, 2025. 

For the 2025 Black History Month lecture, the Department of History presents "Entangled Alliances: A Reinterpretation of Blackness & Freedom in the American Revolution," which features Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson, Ralph & Bessie Mae Lynn Chair and Associate Professor of History at Baylor University. 

Have you ever wondered what a historian’s office looks like? Boston Tea Party memorabilia, bear masks, medals, and colonial reenactment costumes are only a few of the special items that make up Dr. Sweet’s creative space. Take a tour!

The Graduate School's Outstanding Dissertation Award recognizes exceptional scholarship, research, and writing by doctoral students. 2023 PhD graduate, Skylar Ray, was recognized as one of the recipients of the 2023-2024 award. 

Registration for Spring 2025 opens in November. Come check out all the amazing undergraduate courses the History faculty will be teaching!

Alumni, students, and faculty of History, Religion & Sociology, please join us on October 25th from 3:00 - 4:00 pm in the Tidwell Foyer to reconnect with fellow alumni. 

Take a tour of the building and enjoy some refreshments while seeing friends. 

For 70 years now, virtually every Baylor undergraduate student has taken religion and history courses in Tidwell Bible Building. So many students and alumni have fond memories of the building — but how much do you know about its history?

Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair in Latin America, becomes one of forty-five fellows to join the sixth cohort of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo.

Provost Nancy Brickhouse and President Linda Livingstone will kick off this year’s Readers Meet the Author series on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at Noon, as Dr. Elesha Coffman converses with Dr. Elizabeth Flowers about "Turning Points in American Church History: How Pivotal Events Shaped a Nation and a Faith" in the Schumacher Flex Commons on the first floor of Moody Memorial Library.

Did you know that Baylor held one of the first recorded homecoming games?

Baylor professor, Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, serves as the review editor of a new publication, the Journal of Texas History. The JTxH will showcase the history of Texas and the Greater Southwest and will include the many histories of its people and culture.

Dr. Felipe Hinojosa is presenting three lectures during the month and working on a new book that focuses on the Latino Civil Rights Movement from the 1960s-1990s.

Here are some upcoming events which are free and open to the public. Come support our faculty & students at these events. We hope to see you there!

Graduate student alumnus, Amadi Amaitsa, successfully earns a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship in the Department of History for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Dr. Kimberly Kellison, Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Associate Professor of History at Baylor University, has been awarded the 2023 Guittard Book Award for Historical Scholarship for her book, Forging a Christian Order: South Carolina Baptists, Race, and Slavery, 1696-1860. 

Have you ever wondered what happened here in Waco? Well there is an app for that and now a scavenger hunt. Dr. Stephen Sloan & Baylor’s Institute for Oral History celebrates the anniversary of Waco’s founding by coordinating a Waco history scavenger hunt. 

Meet the 2024-2025 Department of History Student Ambassador, Krystal Tan. This Senior History major has a passion for learning and is eager to engage with our community.

History doctoral student & Fulbright Scholar, Annie Himler Cheng, describes her research project that is taking her to Cambodia.  

The department is proud to announce the 2024-2025 scholarship recipients. 

The John and Nancy Jackson Endowed Chair in Latin America & Professor of History, Dr. Felipe Hinojosa, looks to add to this year's Hispanic Heritage Month events by bringing in esteemed guest faculty for three lectures. 

Come enjoy the James Vardaman Lecture featuring Dr. Carolyn Muessig on Thursday, August 29, 2024 in the Armstrong Browning Library from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. 

Dr. Julie Sweet discusses why - and how - she makes history come alive on the Baylor Connections podcast.

Three faculty members and three doctoral students from the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences have received 2024 grant awards from Louisville Institute.

The academic year is complete: finals graded, books returned, students graduated — and Baylor faculty honored! Congratulations to this year’s Baylor professors of the year!

Doctoral student, Allie R. Lopez, received the 2024 John Higham Research Fellowship from the Organization of American Historians. 

History graduate student, Patrick Leech, guest lectures at the University of Gdańsk in Poland as a part of his Fulbright research on Hungarian refugees after the 1956 Uprising using digital humanities methodologies.