Edward Schmitt
Professor - History
History Department
Ph.D., Marquette University, 2003
- PHONE:
- (262) 595-3416
- EMAIL:
- schmitt@uwp.edu
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.
- 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
HIST 102 - U.S.: Reconstuctn-Recent Times
HIST 180 - Popular Culture:
HIST 302 - Race/Ethn: USA 1890-Pres (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