Rev. Cornelius P. Forster, O.P. Making History Conference

Sponsored in honor of Rev. Cornelius P. Forster, O.P. through a generous endowment from the Gladys Brooks Foundation

Each spring, the Department of History and Classics sponsors a formal conference to highlight the best research produced by our students. The students participating in The Rev. Cornelius P. Forster, O.P., Making History Conference have either submitted senior honors theses in history or outstanding original research in other history or classics courses. All students enrolled in history or classics courses (including freshmen, graduate students, and non-majors) are eligible for nomination by their professors. Selected students work closely with a committee of professors to turn their papers into polished oral presentations.

Participants not only get to share the fruits of their hard work with the wider community, but also gain valuable experience in presenting complex ideas and arguments in a clear and informative way. Students, faculty, family, and friends all turn out for this fabulous one-day conference, which (of course) also includes great food. This annual conference is sponsored through a generous grant from the Gladys Brooks Foundation.

Come check out the Making History programs from 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018 and 2017 to see some of the recent original student research from the department. Many of the student papers presented at the conferences can be found in the Library Digital Commons History Student Papers and Undergraduate Theses.

2021 Making History Web Gallery

We are proud to celebrate the exceptional research our students have done in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Click on the images below to see brief video presentations and webpages about their projects, and to leave comments. Enjoy!