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Brian Craig Miller, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of History |
Educational Experience
Ph.D., History: The University of Mississippi, 2006
M.A., History: The University of Mississippi, 2002
B.A., History: The Pennsylvania State University, 2000
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor, Emporia State University, 2007- present
Visiting Assistant Professor, The University of Mississippi, 2006-2007
Graduate Instructor, The University of Mississippi, 2004-2006
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Courses I teach here at Emporia State UniversityHistory 111 The United States to 1877 |
Current Research Projects
1. I am currently in the process of finalizing my revisions to my first manuscript, John Bell Hood and the Fight for Civil War Memory. The work is a cultural biography that examines the life and memory of Hood, exploring such topics as his transition from boyhood to manhood on the frontier of Kentucky, his military career, the ramifications of amputation on both the body and southern notions of honor, the effects of failure in battle and the process that Hood (and later his supporters) took in order to construct and secure his memory in the realm of Civil War history. The work seeks to shed light on how historians have overlooked the memory construction process and solely judged Hood on his failure to secure military victory in the latter years of the Civil War. Through this misrepresentation, historians have included undocumented evidence (Hood was hooked on pain killers and consumed alcohol when commanding in battle), misrepresentations about his childhood (interpreting the antebellum culture of Kentucky as a hindrance, rather than a qualifier, of the progression towards manhood), and problematic comparisons to other Civil War commanders, notably Robert E. Lee.
2. I am also currently researching my second book, tentatively entitled, Reconstructing Manhood: Women and the Experience of Confederate Amputees. Initially, this work is only exploring the Confederacy, but may eventually expand to include the Union as well. I am seeking to offer the first major study that explores what it means to lose a limb during the Civil War. How did the loss of a limb change notions of manhood and, in turn, womanhood? Did notions of dependency change? How did the reality of defeat in the war alter the meaning of physical sacrifice for the soldier and their family? Any suggestions or hints on sources you may have as I undertake this project are greatly appreciated.
20 Fun and Completely Random Facts about Brian Craig Miller
- Favorite College Football Team: Penn State (and Emporia State, of course)
- Favorite Professional Football Team: The Philadelphia E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!
- Favorite Music Video with a Cartoon Cat: Opposites Attract w/ Paula Abdul and M.C. Skat Cat
- Favorite Places I’ve Visited: South Africa, London, New York City, Yellowstone National Park
- Favorite Animal that bit me: Scarlett, the Lion Cub, from Seaview, South Africa
- Favorite Animal that did not bite me: Brandy and Lexus, my German Shepherds growing up
- Musical Artist I’ve seen the most in concert: Dolly Parton
- Favorite Cracker: Cheez-Its
- Least Favorite Cracker: Chicken Biscuits (Chicken flavored crackers? Yuck!)
- Person from History I would like to have dinner with: Abraham Lincoln
- Person from History I would NOT like to have dinner with: Alexander Hamilton
- T.V. shows I watch faithfully: Deadwood, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds, Judge Judy, Brothers and Sisters, The Graham Norton Show and Family Guy
- Favorite Discontinued Kool-Aid Flavor: Purplesaurus Rex
- Favorite Broadway Musicals I’ve seen: The Lion King, Wicked, Miss Saigon, Phantom
- Favorite Decade: The 1980s
- Favorite College Mascot Tradition: The Mini-Scoreboard in the Reveille Graveyard at Texas A&M
- Least Favorite College Mascot: The Notre Dame Leprechaun (He don’t even give out cereal)
- Movies I’ve seen way too many times: Clue, Gone with the Wind, Legally Blonde, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Bug’s Life, Star Wars and James Bond Films
- Favorite Musical Artist promoting Literacy: Fergie (She spells in all her songs)
- Favorite Detective: Scooby Doo
I am excited to be here at Emporia State University. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I grew up in Huntersville, PA (on a Christmas tree farm). Having lived in State College, PA, Oxford, MS and Memphis, TN, I am looking forward to teaching here in the Mid-West.
Please contact me if I can be of any assistance to you. My email is
bmiller4@emporia.edu and my
office, in 411A Plumb Hall, has a phone, which you can call at (620)
341-5573.
Last Updated May 23, 2008