Edward Schmitt

Edward Schmitt
I feel very fortunate to make my professional home in the same region where I grew up. I have been at Parkside since 2003, and I am regularly amazed by the dedication and determination of our students, who often manage challenging work and family responsibilities. I teach courses on 20th century U.S. history, African American history, race & ethnicity in American history, poverty in U.S., Wisconsin history, and several others. I am currently working on a book about the unique role of activist and humorist Dick Gregory in the social movements of the 1960s and beyond. I have three children, and my wife is also an educator. When I have spare time like to run and collect/repair old stereo equipment.

Teaching Interests

I teach courses on recent American history, race & ethnicity, African American history, poverty in American history, history of Wisconsin, and historiography, among others.

Research Interests

I research the intersections of politics, social change, and popular culture. I am currently working on a biography of activist and entertainer Dick Gregory.

Consulting Interests

Selected Publications

: Dick Gregory biography, University of Chicago Press (231 pp.)

2022: The Essential Dick Gregory, HarperCollins/Amistad (288 pp.)

2021: Review of Sidney M. Milkis and Daniel J. Tichenor, Rivalry and Reform: Presidents, Social Movements, and the Transformation of American Politics, American Historical Review (334-335 pp.)

: Milwaukee in Popular Culture, (12 pp.)

2012: To Right These Wrongs: The North Carolina Fund and the Battle to End Poverty and Inequality in 1960s America by Robert Korstad & James Leloudis, American Historical Review (3 pp.)

2011: "The War on Poverty", Wiley-Blackwell (35 pp.)

2011: Review of William S. Clayson, Freedom is Not Enough: The War on Poverty and the Civil Rights Movement in Texas, Journal of Southern History (1 pp.)

2010: President of the Other America: Robert Kennedy and the Politics of Poverty, University of Massachusetts Press (324 pp.)

2010: "Wanted: leaders in anti-poverty battle", Political Bookworm Blog of the Washington Post (1 pp.)

2009: "The Appalachian Thread in the Anti-Poverty Politics of Robert F. Kennedy", Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (22 pp.)

2008: Review of "The Cost of Being Poor: A Comparative Study of Life in Poor Urban Neighborhoods in Gary, Indiana" by Sandra L. Barnes, Indiana Magazine of History (1 pp.)

2008: Book Review - Ray E. Boomhower, Robert F. Kennedy and the 1968 Indiana Primary, Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (2 pp.)

2004: "Anna McGarry's Quest for Community in Philadelphia", U.S. Catholic Historian, University of Notre Dame Press

Teaching Awards

2013: Stella Gray Teaching Award Nomination, Committee on Teaching & Learning

Departmental Service

2012: Committee Member - History Department Latin America Assistant Professor Search
2012: Committee Chair - History Department Middle East Assistant Professor Search

College Service

2018: Committee Member - M.A. Program in Professional Studies (M.A.P.S.) Task Force
2017: Committee Member - CSPSS Distinguished Alumni Award Committee

University Service

2022: Committee Member - Committee on Teaching and Learning
2017: Committee Member - History Dept. Liaison to IPED
2014: Guest Speaker - Adventures in Lifelong Learning - Guest Lecture

Public Service

2022: Guest Speaker - Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and Black Student Union
2020: Guest Speaker - UW-Parkside College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies
2020: Guest Speaker - UW-Parkside Library Community Read
2019: Other - Foxconn Oral History Project
2017: Task Force Member - Kenosha Civil War Museum
2017: Guest Speaker - Adventures in Lifelong Learning
2016: Other - National History Day
2015: Guest Speaker - American Association of University Women, Kenosha
2014: Guest Speaker - UW-Sheboygan
2014: Guest Speaker - UW-Parkside Library
2014: Guest Speaker - New VISTA Volunteers Orientation
2014: Guest Speaker - Racine Public Library
2013: Other - Public Talk, "So Much is Happening! Dick Gregory and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s"
2012: Committee Member - Council of University of Wisconsin Libraries (CUWL)
2011: Guest Speaker - Wisconsin Community Action Program Association
2011: Guest Speaker - Friends of the Racine Public Library
2011: Guest Speaker - Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
2011: Guest Speaker - Racine Coalition for Peace & Justice
2011: Guest Speaker - Perspectives on Religious Issues, UW-Parkside
ETHN 337 - African-American History (DV)
HIST 101 - U.S.: Origins-Reconstruction
HIST 102 - U.S.: Reconstuctn-Recent Times
HIST 138 - African American History
HIST 180 - Popular Culture:
HIST 290 - Special Topics in History:
HIST 302 - Race/Ethn: USA 1890-Pres (DV)
HIST 336 - POVERTY IN AMERICAN HISTORY
HIST 337 - African-American History (DV)
HIST 344 - Gilded Age & Prg Era 1877-1917
HIST 345 - Amer in Power/Peril 1917-1953
HIST 346 - Recent America: 1953-Present
HIST 490 - Special Topics in History:
HIST 494 - Internship in History
HIST 497 - History Capstone
HIST 499 - Independent Study:
MAPS 769 - Tpcs-Content Exprtse Prof Edu:
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