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James E. Davis, Ph.D.

William and Charlotte Gardner Professor of History Department of History and Political Science

Education: Wayne State University, B.A. 1962; Wayne State University, M.A. 1966; University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ph.D. 1971

Courses: U.S. History from 1848-1877; Historical Geography of North America; Seminar on Colonial/British History from 1774-1776; Senior Research Paper

Achievements: Recipient, Harry Joy Dunbaugh Distinguished Professor Award (1981,1993)

Research Interests: Civil War, geopolitics, theoretical geography

Professor James E. Davis may teach history but much of the reading material he assigns to students is current—with a copyright date of 2000 or later.

"When it comes to history, the significant conclusions one arrives at are almost always subject to revision," says Davis. "History is constantly changing for a variety of reasons and I spend every reasonable opportunity to refresh and update my readings and my scholarship. It's an endless feast of discovery."

Davis owes much of his interest in history to his father, an engineer who filled the family home in Dearborn, Mich. with books on history and political science. Every summer the family traveled to Civil War battlefields, national museums or national monuments.

"There's something humbling about standing on the same ground as your predecessors," Davis says. "You develop a sense of continuity and connection to those you've never known."

Davis began his career teaching history and English in junior and senior high schools in Dearborn. He taught for nine years before earning his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1971, the same year he joined Illinois College.

Davis first learned of Illinois College when he received a call from the president's office one afternoon while finishing graduate work in Ann Arbor.

"During my initial visit I was impressed with the campus but it was the students who won me over," Davis says. "There is an essential goodness to them. Their sincere desire to learn continually recharges me. Each morning I can hardly get to campus quickly enough."

Davis' teaching is not confined to the classroom. For more than 40 years, he has been taking students on study tours to such places as the former Soviet Union; Washington, D.C.; Israel and the West Bank; Turkey; and Civil War battlefields in Tennessee and Mississippi. He is a two-time recipient of the Harry Joy Dunbaugh Distinguished Professor Award, considered the highest honor bestowed upon an Illinois College faculty member.

Another benefit of teaching at Illinois College, Davis says, is the institution's close proximity to high quality libraries where he can conduct research with primary documents. He is the author of three books, Frontier America, Dreams to Dust and Frontier Illinois, and he is working on others. Much of his research is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Davis also has directed Illinois College interns at the Illinois State Museum, the Illinois State Historical Library and the Illinois State Archives.

"I want my students to walk away with the kind of skills and confidence it takes to continue learning," Davis says. "I want them to be able to find sources, interpret them, come to logical conclusions and be able to defend themselves. In short, I want them to learn how to learn. These are valuable assets no matter what career path they choose; and these assets make life full and rich."

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