Faculty
Dr. Richard R. Heiser
Professor of History
Department Chair
B.A.,
rrheiser@presby.edu
Research field: 12th-century England
Teaching fields: Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern Europe
While I have been teaching college students since 1988, my history with Presbyterian College began in 1999, having taught in New York for a number of years.
My academic career started when I completed a B.A. at Nyack College, a private Christian liberal arts college. During the four years of my undergraduate study, I had been inspired by faculty who modeled excellent instruction in history and genuine interest in their students. It became a career goal to follow in their footsteps. So, from Nyack College, I attended Florida State University where I took both graduate degrees (M.A. and Ph.D.) in medieval European history. My doctoral dissertation concerned the lower government officials of the reign of Richard I Lionheart, the crusader king of England who died in 1199. From that research I have published a few articles and in 2000 co-authored with my former professor, Dr. Ralph Turner, a book entitled The Reign of Richard Lionheart.
Over the course of my career as a professor, I have taught many different courses, but the fields where I have been asked to do most of my teaching cover western civilization from its beginnings to about 1700 A.D. What follows is a list of the courses that I regularly teach at PC:
• Ancient Western Civilizations
• Early Medieval Europe
• Late Medieval and Renaissance Europe
• Early Modern Europe
• History of England to 1688
• History of Scotland to 1750
• History of Ireland
• Senior Seminar (This course allows the professor to select a topic and the ones that I have covered include the Crusades, Inquisition, Rome, and the Byzantines)
I invite you to visit my website at http://web.presby.edu/~rrheiser to look over some of my syllabi and other items of interest.
My wife and I have four children, two of whom are college students and two of whom are high school students. We love living in the upstate of South Carolina, especially enjoying camping, hiking to waterfalls, and gardening. Chasing around after our busy children and their activities takes up a good bit of our time, but it is a joy in our lives.
Dr. Anita Olson Gustafson
Professor of History
B.A.,
864- 833-8499
aogustaf@presby.edu
Research field: American immigration
Teaching fields: Early America, History of the South, Women in America, Immigration, Slavery
I have taught at Presbyterian College since 1997, so I have had the distinct pleasure of working with a great group of students and faculty over the past decade. My research field is American immigration history, particularly the movement of people from Sweden to America, but I have also developed interests in a number of other areas in American history. I teach American Colonial and Revolutionary History, History of the South, Women in American History, Young America, Immigration History, Slavery and Freedom in America, American history survey courses, as well as the Modern World, one of PC’s general education courses. I have also led, with other faculty colleagues, travel courses to Oxford University and to the American West of Lewis and Clark.
I received my B.A. in Swedish and economics with a minor in history at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois. It was at North Park that I came to understand the value of an education received at a small liberal arts college. I earned my M.A. and my Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Shortly after completing my doctorate, my husband, Charlie, and I moved to South Carolina where a few years later our son was born. We now enjoy living near the Presbyterian College campus and feel very much at home in South Carolina.
Dr. Michael A. Nelson
Associate Professor of History
B.A.,
mnelson@presby.edu
Dr. Roy B. Campbell
Assistant Professor of History
B.A.,
rbcamp@presby.edu
Research field: Modern China
Teaching fields: China, India, Middle East, Revolutions
I joined PC’s History department in the fall of 2002, directly after finishing my PhD work at Florida State University. What led me to PC was the desire to teach in a small liberal arts college much like my undergraduate alma mater, Wingate University. At PC, I teach a number of classes on Chinese History (my major field), and I also regularly offer courses in my minor areas of concentration, India and the Middle East. Beginning with a Fulbright fellowship to the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu (the former New Hebrides), a lot of my research over the years has centered upon the Western colonial experience in various areas of the world. At PC, I’ve made this general interest a primary theme in a number of my specialty classes, such as Asia and the Western Impact, Violence and Terror in the Modern World, and Millenarian Movements in the Modern World. My favorite part of teaching at PC is the opportunity to lead students on trips abroad. Over the past few years, I’ve joined my colleagues in leading student groups to China, Oxford, Vietnam, and Istanbul, Turkey. Psssst…Ireland is on the horizon for May of 09!
While I’m a native of North Dakota (really!), I spent a good portion of my youth in the panhandle of Florida. At Wingate, I met my lovely wife, Suzette, who recently assumed the role of PC’s Retention Coordinator. Since coming to PC, we’ve been blessed with two adorable boys, Dakota (4) and Skye (2). As a family, we love traveling to out of the way places, and you’ll also see us in regular attendance at Blue Hose sporting events!
Dr. Brett M. Bebber
Assistant Professor of History
B.A.,
bebber@presby.edu
Research field: Modern Britain
Teachings fields: Modern Europe, Racism and Migration, History of Sport, Environmental History
I came to PC in the fall of 2008 and look forward to being part of the PC community. I received my B.A. in history and religious studies from Hope College in 2001, an M.A. in history from the University of Arizona in 2005, and a Ph.D. in Modern European history from the University of Arizona in 2008. My research focuses on the intersections of race, gender and violence in postwar Britain. My current book project, The Culture of Football, explores the cultural implications of social control, working-class violence and political racisms in modern British football. I am also interested in the history of sexuality, environmental history, and the history of sport and leisure in Modern Europe. I teach several courses on these topics and benefit from students' contributions and analytical insights on ways of viewing the world and its past.
Prof. Stefan W. Wiecki
Instructor of History
B.A.,
swwiecki@presby.edu
Research field: Modern Germany
Teaching fields: Modern Europe, Modern war, Fascism Communism, and Democratic transformations
Before joining the PC history department in the fall of 2008, I taught modern European history for two years at Wellesley College. I received my undergraduate degree in history and political science from the Free University Berlin in Germany. After finishing my B.A. in 1999, I participated for a year in the Washington Semester Program at American University in Washington, DC and worked as an editor for a homeless
newspaper and later as a research assistant for the Institute for National Strategic Studies. In 2001, I joined the Ph.D. program in Comparative History at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. My research examines Germany's transformation from Nazi dictatorship into democracy after WWII. I became interested in democracy development
after serving as a NATO peacekeeper in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. My experiences there greatly inspired me to become a teacher and contribute to the development of democratic values through education. Here at PC, I will offer courses on the origins and impact of modern war, especially WWI and WWII. Another class will compare fascist movements and regimes in Europe, East Asia, Africa, and South America.
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