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January 20, 2019 at 5:04 pm

CHI Congratulates 2 New History Ph.D. Alumni, 3 Master’s Graduates

The Contemporary History Institute congratulates two newly minted History Ph.D. alumni of the institute, along with three master’s students who graduated in December.

Two Defend Doctoral Dissertations

Lance Poston, portrait

Dr. Lance Poston

Dr. Lance Poston defended his doctoral dissertation “Deconstructing Sodom and Gommorah: An Intervention in the Mythology of Black Homophobia” in September under the supervision of Dr. Katherine Jellison, Professor and Chair of History. The committee members were Dr. Brian Schoen, Dr. Kevin Mattson (both History), Dr. Barry Tadlock (Political Science), and an off-campus expert—Steve Estes of Sonoma State University.

Poston is now the Director of the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives at the University of Kentucky.

Luke Griffith, outdoor portrait

Dr. Luke Griffith

Dr. Luke Griffith defended his doctoral dissertation “’Green Cheese’ and ‘the Moon’: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Euromissiles” in October under the supervision of Dr. Chester Pach, Associate Professor of History. The committee members were Dr. Ingo Trauschweizer, Dr. Paul Milazzo (both History) and Dr. James Mosher (Political Science).

Griffith currently teaches at Rio Grande University in southern Ohio.

Master’s Students Graduate in December

The center also congratulates three new M.A.s who graduated in December 2018:

James Fisher (History)

  • Thesis title: An Intellectual History of Thomas Sankara
  • Committee Members: Dr. Assan Sarr (chair), Dr. Ziad Abu-Rish, and Dr. John Brobst
  • Fisher has joined the Ph.D. program in History.

Matthew McGuire (History)

  • Summer 2018, with examination fields in recent U.S. and modern Latin American history
  • Committee Members: Pach (director) and Dr. Patrick Barr-Melej

Sana Saidykhan (History)

  • Thesis title: “The Only Good Crocodile is a Dead One”: Contradictions in Conservation Policies and Agricultural Activities in the Gambia,1938-1965
  • Committee Members: Sarr (Chair), Milazzo, and Abu-Rish
  • Saidykan has joined the Ph.D. program in History.

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