GMC News
GMC Presents at WHA
Rob Sherwood and Edward Shelor, Georgia Military College History Department, recently attended the World History Association (WHA) 15th Annual Conference on the campus of California State University at Long Beach, June 22 – June 25, 2006. Sherwood and Shelor presented papers about teaching world history to their colleagues in attendance.
Shelor\’s presentation topic was Travel and Teaching World History, which drew upon his two decades of living and working outside the continental United States. Some of his travel highlights included working in India, Korea, Bosnia, Hawaii, and many other locations. He presented information about how faculty can fund their travel opportunities and how to assist students who aspire to study abroad.
Sherwoods’ discussion covered the delicate issue of Who Needs That? What to Leave Out When Teaching World History. This topic addressed, when considering the length and breadth of world civilizations, how faculty decide what needs to be presented in a limited amount of time to help develop cultural literacy among American students. He covered some ways to consider the best sources and methods for being efficient and avoiding repetition or too much overlap with other disciplines.
The WHA President noted that a record number of historians attended this year as 350 people gathered for professional development, intellectual discussion, and camaraderie. The conference attracted professors from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Some notable U.S. institutions represented included Harvard, University California – Berkeley, and University of Hawaii who sent their top scholars in World History to share their research with their colleagues. Georgia was well represented by Georgia Military College, Columbus State University, Morehouse College, and others.
Shelor observed, “It’s a bit of long trip to California for a conference, but it was all well worth it to be a part of such prestigious group of scholars and I really appreciate GMC making this opportunity available to Rob Sherwood and myself. Most importantly, GMC’s students will benefit from our exposure to new ideas, great research, and new friendships within the community of world history faculty.”
