Student Research Experiences

The Department of History and Philosophy embeds research directly into its degree programs, guiding History and History Education majors from a foundational methods course through capstone seminars and thesis work that produce original scholarship. This page describes the built-in research requirements and learning outcomes of the history degrees and showcases student publications, presentations, awards, and accomplishments, along with resources available through the Office of Undergraduate Research.

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Student Research in the History Degrees

Research is built into the degree requirements for both History and History Education majors. Students begin with a historical methods course that introduces the research techniques, concepts, and frameworks of the discipline. History majors then apply those skills in a capstone experience consisting of either two research seminars or a research seminar paired with a Senior Thesis. In either path, the capstone culminates in an original research paper or thesis.

History Education majors complete an additional writing-intensive course focused on historical thinking and the teaching of American history. In this course, teacher candidates read and analyze scholarly works, practice fundamental research methods, examine contemporary debates in history and history education, and design lessons that engage secondary students in the study of the past.

By the time students graduate they will be able to:

  • Evaluate sources, methods, motivations, and interpretations within historical narratives
  • Demonstrate sound historical research practices and
  • Develop research to present convincing and well supported arguments

Review the current history degree requirements and history education degree requirements for more information on courses. 

Student Publications

The opportunity to publish student research is ample within the history degree. Students will often publish in the Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research, however, they may publish in many different journals, as well! Review the list below to see some of the publications by our students.

    • Kojali, Kaitlin Jean. "The Survival of Manuscripts: Resistance, Adoption, and Adaptation to Gutenberg's Printing Press in Early Modern Europe." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 10, no. 1 (2023): article 2. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1270.
    • Huerkamp, Madelyn. "Shapeshifting: How to Validate Your Own Reality." Stance: An International Undergraduate Philosophy Journal 16, no. 1 (2023): 38–49. https://doi.org/10.33043/S.16.1.38-49.
    • Poole, Anna K. "Reckoning Roanoke: A Historiographical Examination of the Lost Colony." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 10, no. 1 (2023): article 1. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1271.
    • Hardy, Mia K. "Arianism Revised: The Re-emergence of an Infamous Heresy." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 11, no. 1 (2024): article 6. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1299.
    • Bramlett, Andrew J., and David B. Parker. "Thomas R. Marshall: Progressive Era Politics, a Presidential Hoax, and the 1920 Election." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 11, no. 1 (2024): article 5. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1317.
    • Baker, Ingrid E., and Albert Way. "The Introduction and Spread of Kudzu in Georgia." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 11, no. 1 (2024): article 3. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1320.
    • Poole, Anna K., and Ryan Ronnenberg. "Honor, Violence, and Recovery: The Stripping of Female Agency During the Partition of India." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 11, no. 1 (2024): article 1. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1314.
    • McDonald, Aidan R. "Treasures of God: The Fur Trade as a Motivating Factor of the Swedish Crusades." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 12, no. 2 (2025): article 1. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1365.
    • Russo Goncalves, Thais. "Balancing Power and Influence: U.S.-Brazil Foreign Relations in the 20th Century." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 12, no. 2 (2025): article 2. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1346.
    • Bramlett, Andrew J. "The Seduction of Journalism in Atlanta: William Randolph Hearst and the Atlanta Georgian." The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research 12, no. 2 (2025): article 4. https://doi.org/10.62915/2474-4921.1345.
    • Currier, Alexandria. "Indeterminate Politics: U.S. Interventionism within Nicaragua." The Saber and Scroll Journal 13, no. 1 (2025).
    • Bramlett, Andrew J. "'Cobb Out Front in Bid for Stadium': Professional Baseball and the Rise of Suburbia, 1957–1962." Atlanta Studies, October 20, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18737/atls20251020.
    • Currier, Alexandria. "The Death of Isolationism: U.S. Foreign Policy and Afghanistan." The UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Journal of History 6, no. 1 (2026). https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2z85c2j8.
    • Bramlett, Andrew J. "Boosterism and Civic Pride in Atlanta: Union Station and the Dixie Terminal, 1925 - 1930". Georgia Historical Quarterly 110, no.1 (2026): 1-35.

Student Presentations

Students have presented their research at conferences, exhibits, and other venues to showcase their work. Review the list below to see where some of our students have presented in the past.

    • Jenna Boone – presented “Captain’s Equation’: Quantifying Wellness in the Age of Sail” at the 35th annual meeting of the Southeast World History Association at the College of Charleston (2023)
    • Duncan McLendon – presented "Typhoon Encounters: How Politics Influences the Naval Response," at the 28th Annual Symposium of Student Scholars (2023)
    • Benjamin Malik – presented “The Fall of the Galleanists and the Wall Street Bombing of 1920” at the Georgia Association of Historian’s Conference (2024)
    • John Neal – presented “’They’re All Gone’: The 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre and the Usage of the Media by Palestinian Terror Groups’” at the Georgia Association of Historians Conference (2024)
    • Nathan Graves – presented “Essential Secrets: How Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Schlegel Found a New Home in the Postmodern Condition" at the Eastern Michigan University Undergraduate Conference (2024)
    • Duncan McLendon – presented "Assimilation Policy or Military Development: Conflicting Methods in the Japanese Occupation of Guam," at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) (2025)
    • Alexandria Currier - presented "Indeterminate Politics: US Interventionism within Nicaragua," at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) (2025) 
    • Students in Adina Langer’s Museum Exhibition’s course created and presented a traveling exhibit entitled “Juneteenth: The Fight for Freedom and Recognition.” (2025)

Student Awards and Accomplishments

Our student's research is award-winning, contributes to the community, and showcases their skills. Review the list below to see what our students have accomplished in the past.

    • Kaitlin Jean Kojali – Winner of the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper “The Survival of Manuscripts: Resistance, Adoption, and Adaptation to Gutenberg's Printing Press in Early Modern Europe.” (2022-2023)
    • Sierra McHugh-Bryan, Sevyn Rosa, and Fletcher Morris - Winners of the BCOE Global Lesson Plan Award (2022-2023)
    • Anna Poole - Runner up for the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper "Reckoning Roanoke: A Historiographical Examination of the Lost Colony" (2022-2023)
    • Sergio Trejo - Winner of the BCOE Outstanding Student Teacher Award (2022-2023)
    • Chris Wynn – Winner of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council’s Award for Excellence in Student Research Using Historical Records (2023)
    • Ingrid Baker – Runner up for the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper “The Introduction and Spread of Kudzu in Georgia.” (2023-2024)
    • Andrew J. Bramlett - Runner up for the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper “Thomas R. Marshall: Progressive Era Politics, a Presidential Hoax, and the 1920 Election” (2023-2024)
    • Anna Poole – Winner of the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper “Honor, Violence, and Recovery: The Stripping of Female Agency During the Partition of India" (2023-2024)
    • Thais Russo Goncalves – Runner up for the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for his paper “Balancing Power and Influence: U.S. – Brazil Foreign Relations in the 20th Century.” (2024-2025)
    • Students in HIST 3325 - Won the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Award for Excellence in Student Archives-Centered Work in a Public Institution for their curated exhibit The Fight for Civil Rights: Traveling Exhibit which highlighted the Civil Rights movement (2025)
    • Andrew J. Bramlett – Winner of the KSU Undergraduate Research Award for their paper “The Seduction of Journalism in Atlanta: William Randolph Hearst and the Atlanta Georgian.” (2024-2025)
    • Students in HIST 3326 - Prepared a preliminary National Register eligibility application for two historic African American cemeteries on the Berry College campus. Positive feedback from the State Historic Preservation Division helped Berry College obtain a $50,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to further study, document and develop a preservation plan for the cemeteries (2024)
    • Andrew J. Bramlett - Accepted into the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Undergraduate Advisory Council (2025)
    • Madie Houser – selected to be one of four in-person presenters for the Symposium of Student Scholars for their paper “Oh Destructive Gin! Oh Infatuated Human Kind!: Gin Reformers’ Battle for Virtue in 18th Century London.” (2025)
    • Students in HIST 3326 - Surveyed 81 historic resources in the City of Kennesaw to support the city's Certified Local Government requirements. (2025)
    • Students in HIST 4426 - Conducted a conditions assessment to develop a Historic Structure Report of the 1867 Deckner House, which will guide Atlanta Technical College Foundation’s development plans for the building (2025)
    • Kameryn Dixon - Accepted into the Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) for their research proposal “The Ignored Physiological Roots of Black Women’s Mental Illness” (2025)

Additional Resources