Bowdoin College History Department

History at Bowdoin

Bowdoin College's rich history combines with the exceptional resources of an elite liberal arts college to offer students an exciting atmosphere for the study of history. Come -- explore our heritage and our offerings. Thinking about what a major or minor in History could do for you? Click here to find out more.

Paul Nyhus Travel Grants

Spector Award in History

Recent Faculty Publications

Chiang Shaping the Shoreline
 Shaping the Shoreline: Fisheries and Tourism on the Monterey Coast , by Professor Connie Chiang, was recently published by University of Washington Press. This book examines Monterey's development from a seaside resort to a working-class fishing town and, finally, to a tourist attraction again. Through the subjects of work, recreation, and environment - the intersections of which are applicable to communities across the United States and abroad - Connie Chiang documents the struggles and contests over this coastal region.
Conlan, Samurai Warriors
 Weapons and Fighting Techniques of the Samurai, 1200-1877, by Professor Tom Conlan, was recently published by Amber Press. This book, which is illustrated with over 300 line drawings and color photos, explores the samurai, their ideals, and techniques and instruments of war. In addition to explaining arms and armor, this work shows how technologies of warfare changed, as massed formations of pike wielding men superseded the earlier bands of mounted warriors. Conlan also explores the impact of guns and cannon on the battlefield in the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Herrlinger Working Souls Working Souls: Russian Orthodoxy and Factory Labor in St. Petersburg, 1881-1917 , by Professor Page Herrlinger, was recently published by Slavica Publishers.
Rael Activism African American Activism Before The Civil War: The Freedom Struggle in the Antebellum North, by Professor Patrick Rael, was recently published by Routledge. This book is the first work to gather together scholarly essays published from 1965 to the present on the role of African Americans and race in the struggle for equality in the northern states before the Civil War.
Klingle Emerald City Emerald City: An Environmental History of Seattle, by Professor Matthew Klingle, was recently published by Yale University Press. This book explores the role of nature in the development of the city of Seattle from the earliest days of its settlement to the present. Combining environmental history, urban history, and human geography, Klingle shows how attempts to reshape nature in and around Seattle have often ended not only in ecological disaster but also social inequality.


Department coordinator: Josephine Johnson
Dept. Phone: (207) 725-3291
Dept. Fax: (207) 725-3929

Mailing Address:
History Department
Bowdoin College
9900 College Station
Brunswick, ME 04011-8499
24 Hubbard Hall