Robert Elder

On leave for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Areas of Specialization

American South, Early Republic, Intellectual History, Religious History, Gender, American Conservatism

Education

Ph.D., Emory University
M.A., Clemson University
B.A., Clemson University

Academic Interests & Research Narrative

My research focuses on the cultural, intellectual, and religious history of the American South and the early republic. My first book examines the influence of honor culture on evangelical religion in the early 19^th  century South, and links this interaction to the origins and progress of modern identity in the region. My second book examined the life and thought of one of the country’s most controversial historical figures, South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun. I am currently writing a history of the nullification crisis (1828-1833), one of the most consequential political and constitutional conflicts in American history. I have published articles and reviews in venues such as The Journal of Southern History, The Journal of  American History, The American Historical Review, Church History, and The Journal of Southern Religion. Assorted essays in The Bulwark, Local Culture, The Dispatch, and Books & Culture. 

Selected Publications:

Books

The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the Deep South, 1790-1860 (UNC Press, 2016)

Calhoun: American Heretic (Basic Books 2021)

• Finalist, George C. Rogers Book Award, South Carolina Historical Society
• Finalist (shortlist), Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year, Biographers International Organization
• Winner, Laney Book Prize, Austin Civil War Roundtable

Articles

“Rejecting Restraint: The 1856 Guard House Riot and the Roots of Political Violence in Antebellum South Carolina,” The Journal of Southern History 91, no. 3 (2025): 447-480. 

Essays

“A New Era for An Old Idea: The nullification doctrine shows signs of life,” The Dispatch, July 14, 2025

Selected Activities

Grants

• National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar, 2025-2026

Regular Course Offerings

• Undergraduate:
  • HIS 1300 | US in Global Perspective: The Transatlantic Slave Trade
  • HIS 4365 | The Early Republic
  • HIS 4368 | The Civil War and Reconstruction
  • HIS 4384 | History of the South
• Graduate:
  • HIS 5369 | The Historian's Craft

Other Courses Taught

• Undergraduate:
  • HIS 4340 | Slavery in Film

Work with Students

Accepting graduate students

Book time with Elder, Robert: Office Hours Fall 2024

Follow Dr. Elder on:

x/Twitter: @southernphd