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A Tale of Two Mennonite Pastors: Siblings, Gender, and How to Disagree

Today we welcome Regina Wenger to the Anxious Bench. Regina is a doctoral student in the Baylor History department, currently studying with Barry Hankins and Elesha Coffman. This post was born in her seminar paper for my graduate course, and I asked her to share it with our readers. I want to share the story […]

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How To Get Into A History PhD Program

It is the most nerve-wracking time of the year. PhD hopefuls have uploaded finely-honed applications to their top choice doctoral programs and clicked submit. Now the waiting game begins. By mid-January programs with the earliest deadlines will begin notifying first-round candidates and extending offers for preview weekends, by March most offers will have been extended,

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Surviving the Academic Job Market Part 2: Interviewing Well

I have served on academic faculty since 2003. I have participated in a LOT of job searches–believe you me. I have watched candidates perform exceptionally well during interviews, and I have watched candidates fall flat on their faces. For example, the teaching demonstration that included around 60 power point slides and was still going strong

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Surviving the Academic Job Market: Two Baylor History Success Stories

It is difficult to achieve a full-time faculty appointment in History. A 2017 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education ran with the straightforward title: History Jobs Flat: Teaching jobs for historians are down, but data suggest their opportunities outside the professoriate are on the rise. 1145 history doctorates were awarded in 2015-2016 for the

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Scamming for God? The Tale of (Another) Huckster Preacher Kirbyjon Caldwell

Today I am pleased to welcome Jonathan Root to The Anxious Bench. Jonathan Root is currently a postdoctoral teaching fellow at the University of Missouri. He received his PhD in history in spring 2016 at Mizzou. His dissertation is a history of the relationship between the prosperity gospel and American popular culture. The phrase, “I’m

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Jessica Hahn and Evangelical Silence on Sexual Abuse

We are so pleased to welcome back John Wigger to the Anxious Bench. John Wigger is Professor of History at the University of Missouri and author of PTL: The Rise and Fall of the Evangelical Empire of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. #MeToo #ChurchToo In 1980 Jessica Hahn was sexually assaulted by one of the

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Medieval Christmas Tradition Behind Sausage Roll Jesus Controversy

Greggs, the largest UK bakery chain, recently sparked outrage among Christians. It created a Nativity scene to help promote its 2017 Advent Calendar. In one of the publicity shots, three (very white) wise men dressed in elaborate robes kneel by a straw-filled manger. But instead of baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, the manger boasts

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Top Ten DON’TS for Conference Presentations

I both love and hate conferences. I love them because of the free-flowing ideas and high energy. I love them because of the networking opportunities. I love them because they force me to finish critical pieces of my own research projects. Conferences are exciting, intellectually stimulating, and productive. They can also be advantageous for budding

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The Death and Historical Afterlife of a World War II Soldier

Last Friday, 29 September 2017, we lost another World War II veteran.Out of the more than 16 million men and women who served in the American armed forces during World War II, less than 600,000 survive in 2017. More than 300 die every day. As the Veterans Statistics page from The National WWII Museum in

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