Dr. Steve Longenecker
Professor
Department of History and Political Science
"The most basic goal is to help students move to the next level," says Steve Longenecker, professor of history. "Beyond that, we prepare some students for a career in history, and all receive life skills from historical study. Above all, studying history is fun, and we try to convey that to students."
Longenecker's teaching specialty is early U.S. history while his research speciality is American religious history. Currently he is working on a book-length project that examines race and religion in antebellum Gettysburg, Pa. This region, he said, has long been neglected by scholars as it relates to ethnic and denominational diversity, and slavery and race.
His most recent publication is The Brethren During the Age of World War: A Source Book on the Church of the Brethren, 1914-1950. Longenecker was commissioned to write the book by the Church of the Brethren Historical Committee.
"During this period modern war, modern nation-states, professionalization, independent women, the youth cult, secularization of popular culture and the modern economy all had strong impacts upon the Brethren denomination," Longenecker said. "The chronological period includes intriguing topics, including two world wars, old orderism, movies, missionaries, fundamentalism, the Great Depression and a tremendous burst of service in the post-World War II period."
Other books Longenecker has authored include Daily Crosses: Outsiders and the Mainstream in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Baylor University Press, 2002; Piety and Tolerance: Pennsylvania German Relilgion, 1700-1850, Scarecrow Press, 1994; Selma's Peacemaker: Ralph Smeltzer and Civil Rights Mediation, Temple University Press, 1987; and The Christopher Sauers, The Brethren Press, 1981.
Longenecker, who earned his doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University, is the recipient of Bridgewater College's Martha B. Thornton Teaching Award. |
