BPC seniors present ‘History 490’ special topics papers

Senior seminar presenters for HIS 490 are, from left, Billy Hine (“Camp Lawton, Georgia: The World’s Largest, Forgotten Prison?”); Jason Patterson (“The Declaration of Independence in Rhodesia, 1965: Tainting the Source?”); Maria Landrum (“‘The Old School is on Fire!’ Lyons Junior High’s Moment in History, July, 1975”); Chelsea Milroy (“Warren K. Moorehead: An Historian in the Public Arena”); and, Carl Davis (“Giovanni Belzoni: From Circus Strongman to Celebrity Excavator”). (Photo provided)

MOUNT VERNON— Every year at Brewton-Parker College, history majors approaching graduation cap their course of studies with a senior seminar class—HIS 490. This course offers these majors the opportunity to do some hands-on research in primary sources on a topic of their choice. 

Last Tuesday, in the Morgan Gallery of the Fountain-New Library, five seniors delivered presentations on their chosen fields of study to an appreciative audience of students, faculty and guests.

Topics covered in this year’s diverse program included: the 1975 Junior High School fire in Lyons; a little-known Confederate P.O.W. camp near Millen in Jenkins County; the “borrowing” of the US Declaration of Independence by a white-minority regime in Africa in the 1960s; the extraordinary careers of an early-nineteenth-century archaeological pioneer; and a public disagreement over the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 between a nineteenth-century American archaeologist and the New York Times.

“Each presentation was impressive evidence of the weight of original research carried out by the speakers, and of the surprising discoveries and unexpected turns that can emerge from such research,” said HIS 490 professor, Dr. Ian Crowe.

The five presenting seniors were Billy Hine of Twin City, Jason Patterson of Dublin, Maria Landrum of Lyons, Chelsea Milroy of Cartersville and Carl Davis of Richmond Hill.

To learn more about the course or the Division of Social & Behavioral Sciences, please contact the Office of Admissions at 912-583-3265.

Registration is going on now for the spring semester. The Division offers major and minor coursework in History, Human Services, Psychology, Sociology, American Studies, Political Science, as well as opportunities to earn an Associate of Arts degree and General Studies major. Spring Semester classes begin January 11, 2010, on the Mount Vernon and Newnan campuses.

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