NEWS & EVENTS

History Facutly Semester in Review (May 2009). Dr. James Stitt, professor of history at High Point University, presented his paper, entitled "Canada's National Productivity Council,” at the 34th annual meeting of the Economic and Business Historical Society in Grand Rapids.

His paper analyzed the National Productivity Council (NPC), composed of union and manufacturing representatives, and its creation by the Canadian government in 1960 to determine ways national industry could become more productive to compete better in world trade. The NPC, a product of a Conservative administration, ended when the Liberal Party won an election in 1963. The organization's accomplishments were fewer than one would expect, considering the notoriety the NPC received.

At the meeting, Stitt was also reelected as chairman of the Board of Trustees for a second three-year term.

Dr. Frederick Schneid, professor of history and director of the Honors Program at High Point University, presented a paper entitled "The Army of the Kingdom of Italy Revisited: Examining Military Contributions in the Napoleonic Imperium," at the annual meeting of the Society for Military History, held April 2-5 in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Schneid's paper examined the recent historiography concerning Napoleon's satellite state in Italy and its army. He used the Italian army as a case study to explore the problems of the historical methodology surrounding Napoleonic conscription.

"In the past 25 years, common understanding of Napoleonic conscription has been informed by studying desertion and further influenced by the historiography of the Risorgimento," says Schneid. "A broader examination of conscription and a comparative approach looking at other satellite states and Imperial France help to provide a comprehensive understanding of conscription during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars."

Schneid was also invited by Brill Publishing to serve as a series editor for its award-winning "History of Warfare" series.

The Society for Military History is a national organization with international participation that promotes the study of military history. Schneid serves as southern regional director for the organization.

Dr. Philip Mulder has been promoted from associate professor to full professor. Mulder, now a full professor of history, began his career at HPU as an adjunct in 1992 and then as a full-time faculty member in 1997. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Calvin College, as well as a Master of Arts and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Frederick Schneid, history professor at High Point University, recently participated in a panel at the annual meeting of the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era, 1750-1850, held in Savannah, Ga.

Schneid participated in "1809 in Historical Perspective," which discussed the bicentennial of the Austrian war against Napoleon in 1809. The topic, he says, details the first major test of Napoleon's grand empire, after its creation in 1807. The panel included experts on Austria, Prussia and Napoleonic Europe.

The Consortium, Schneid adds, includes 16 colleges and universities, and HPU is a directing institution of the organization. Through the History Department, HPU edits and publishes the annual Selected Papers of the Consortium, which is held by several hundred university libraries worldwide.

Dr. Renzo Honores, assistant professor of history at High Point University, along with several HPU students, attended the Harvard National Model United Nations event Feb. 12-15 in Boston.

The annual event is a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly and its different committees. This year's educational event was attended by more than 100 universities from all over the United States and several other countries.

Dr. Renzo Honores, assistant professor of history at High Point University, recently presented a paper at the 123rd annual AHA Conference on Latin American History, held Jan. 2-5 in New York City.

Honores presented "Caciques as Legal Benefactors: Cacial Legal Offensive in the Andes, 1552-1572." The paper explores how the Andean caciques (local lords) used the legal system and how these lords were successful in their legal campaigns between 1552 and 1572 in the Peruvian Andes.
While at the conference, which is one of the oldest academic institutions in the country, Honores also participated in a panel, "Colonial Caciques as Native Leaders and Go-Betweens in Mesoamerica and the Andes." The panel, which consisted of five participants and one discussant, was part of the "Conference of Latin American History," which is a chapter devoted to Latin American History and affiliated with the "American Historical Association."

Dr. Peng Deng, professor of history at High Point University, recently presented a paper at the International Symposium on the Shangshanxiaxiang Movement, sponsored by Fudan University and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. The event was held Dec. 21-22 in Shanghai, China.

Deng describes his paper, "The Pre-Cultural Revolution Shangshanxiaxiang (transfer of urban youth to rural areas in China) Movement and the Maoist Utopia," as a scathing criticism of the large-scale transfer of young people from cities to rural areas in Maoist China.
"Due to the sensitive nature of the topic and its bold argument, my paper generated much discussion after my presentation," Deng says. "The symposium was the first one on the Shangshanxiaxiang movement in China, and was well-attended by scholars from all over China and graduate students at Fudan University."