NDSU, Minnesota State University Moorhead and Concordia College sponsored the 47th annual Northern Great Plains History Conference Sept. 26-29 in Fargo. Approximately 250 people attended the event, which was last held in Fargo in 2003. The conference annually draws historians from throughout the Upper Great Plains.
Mark Harvey, professor of history, led NDSU’s coordination of the event, which featured panel sessions discussing the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota War, journalism on the Northern Plains, the U.S. Civil War, European history, Native American history and women’s suffrage.
John Cooper, recently retired professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was the keynote speaker. He discussed the U.S. presidential election of 1912, which featured four candidates from four parties. “He regaled us with his extensive knowledge of that election and its importance in our history,” Harvey said.
Attendees had the chance to visit the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile silo near Cooperstown, N.D. The conference featured a historical walking tour along the Red River and an opening reception at the Heritage Hjemkost Interpretive Center. Mark Sundlov of the Fort Buford State Historic Site gave a presentation on the impact of the Cold War in North Dakota.
Angela Smith, digital historian and assistant professor of history, held a hands-on, collaborative digital history workshop. During the workshop, participants used online primary sources and basic video editing to create a short digital historical narrative.
Harvey said several dozen students attended sessions and volunteered to manage the conference. He said NDSU doctoral student Stacy Reikowsky assisted in coordinating the conference.
Other NDSU staff, faculty and students involved in the conference include Jack Jackson, administrative secretary; David Silkenat, assistant professor; Troy Reisenauer, teaching assistant; Aaron Barth, teaching assistant; Ross Collins, professor; Clifford Canku, assistant professor; Kristi Groberg, assistant professor; Tracy Barrett, assistant professor; Michael Robinson, director of NDSU Archives; Kathleen Brokke, archival assistant; John Cox, professor and department head; Ann Braaten, assistant professor; Jacqueline WayneGuite, collection manager; and Larry Peterson, professor.
For more information on the conference, visit www.ndsu.edu/history/department/the_northern_great_plains_history_conference_2012.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.