MSU-Meridian faculty member, an MHC Teacher of the Year, gives lecture
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳oby G. Bates, an associate professor of history at 草莓视频-Meridian, is the 2021 Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year at 草莓视频for his outstanding work in the humanities.
Bates will deliver the 草莓视频College of Arts and Sciences Humanities Lecture March 2. Titled 鈥淲e are all Historians鈥揌istorical Thinking in Understanding Contemporary Affairs,鈥 his public presentation begins at 4 p.m. in MSU鈥檚 Riley Theater in Meridian. The lecture also will be livestreamed on WebEx. To participate, visit For more information, contact MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences at 662-325-2646.
His award also includes a $400 honorarium.
The Mississippi Humanities Council, funded by the U.S. Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi and pays tribute annually to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of Mississippi鈥檚 institutions of higher learning.
Bates鈥檚 presentation will focus on the 鈥渃omplex鈥 relationship between history and memory.
鈥淢y presentation deals with the often heard comments regarding history鈥斺業 hated history in school,鈥 and for the current students, 鈥業 hate studying history.鈥 My presentation explains that a dislike for history often is better described as a dislike for how instructors teach the subject of history,鈥 the Tupelo native explained.
鈥淓very single day, whether consciously or otherwise, we all deal with elements of history and memory,鈥 Bates said.聽鈥淥nce such a relationship is understood, the subject of history becomes much more approachable and relatable.鈥澛犅
Richard V. Damms, head of the Division of Arts and Sciences at MSU-Meridian, said Bates鈥 teaching, research and community-engaged scholarship exemplifies the MHC鈥檚 ideal that 鈥渢he humanities are for everyone.鈥 聽
鈥淗e has delivered dozens of public talks and workshops to teachers, community organizations, and radio and television audiences across the region served by the Meridian campus, usually on topics relating to the importance of historical thinking and understanding to contemporary affairs. For many in this community, Dr. Bates is the 鈥榲oice鈥 of history. He is a fine representative of both the humanities in action and the MSU-Meridian campus in this region,鈥 Damms said.
A faculty member at the MSU-Meridian campus since 2008, Bates specializes in the study of 20th-century United States, the Cold War and Latin America.
In 2020 he completed a three-year term on the board of directors for the Mississippi Historical Society and is the current co-host for 鈥淢ornings in Meridian,鈥 on WALT radio.
Bates is the author of, 鈥淭he Reagan Rhetoric: History and Memory in 1980s America,鈥 a 2011 Northern Illinois University Press publication, in addition to numerous articles and book reviews.
Bates was the 2018 recipient of MSU鈥檚 Office of Research and Economic Development Travel Grant, the 2011 Faculty Research Award for the Meridian Division of Arts and Sciences, and the 2011 Meridian Star Reader鈥檚 Choice Teaching Award.
He earned his Ph.D., master鈥檚 degree and bachelor鈥檚 degree, all in history, from the University of Mississippi.
MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,200 students, 323 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs, 15 master鈥檚 programs, and 27 undergraduate academic majors offered in 14 departments.聽It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities.聽For more details about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit . To learn more about MSU-Meridian, visit .
草莓视频is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at聽.