SHSU History Department's Civil War Consortium Hosts Summer Conference

SHSU History Department's Civil War Consortium Hosts Summer Conference

The Sam Houston State University Civil War Consortium hosted its first annual summer symposium June 12-13, 2026, at the Don E. & Katy Walker Education Center. To coincide with the U.S. semi-quincentennial anniversary, the symposium took as its theme "Four Score and Seven Years Later: Civil War Americans and the Legacy of the Revolution."

Led by co-directors Brian Matthew Jordan and Evan C. Rothera, the consortium's faculty of nationally prominent, prize-winning Civil War historians opened comparative vistas on the American Revolution and the Civil War. Sessions considered questions of nationalism and memory, African American participation, the two conflicts as insurgencies, atrocities suffered during both conflicts and prisoners of war. Speakers included Adrian Brettle, Andrew Lang, Krista Kinslow, Ann Tucker, Anne Sarah Rubin, Barbara Gannon, Matthew Clavin, Lorien Foote, Wayne Motts and Evan C. Rothera.

The symposium brought together current undergraduate and graduate students, SHSU alumni and faculty, secondary educators and public historians. Jordan and Rothera will edit a book based on the presented papers. 

"While it was wonderful to bring so many leading scholars together on campus, the most meaningful aspect of the symposium was seeing current students and alumni connect with one another and share their passion for the subject," Jordan said. "The symposium allows us to extend the work we do in the classroom, and I can't wait for next year."

The SHSU Civil War Consortium is the only academic center for the study of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. Each year, in addition to the summer symposium, the consortium hosts visiting historians, lectures, workshops and an emerging scholars program. For more information, contact the Department of History or Jordan or Rothera.