University of Southern Mississippi

Degrees Offered:
MA and PhD
Point of Contact:
Heather M. Stur
Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Co-Director, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
School of Humanities-History Program
University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5407
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
601-266-4779
Heather.Stur@usm.edu

601-266-5563
DaleCenter@usm.edu

Dale Center for the Study of War & Society Faculty
Andrew Wiest (PhD, University of Illinois-Chicago, 1990)
Distinguished Professor of History and Founding Director, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- Vietnam War
- National Guard History
- World War I
- World War II in Europe
- Modern Military Tactics and Strategy
- Military History Study Abroad Programs
Heather Stur (PhD, University of Wisconsin, 2008)
Professor of History and Co-Director, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- Vietnam War
- Cold War
- U.S. Foreign Relations
- Women and War
- Gender and War
- Global War on Terror
- Military Integration
- Postwar Nationbuilding
- Strategic and Tactical Leadership
Kyle F. Zelner (PhD, The College of William and Mary, 2003)
Associate Professor of History and Co-Director, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- War and Society in Early America
- Militias and Militiamen
- Early American Soldiers
- War and American Communities
- Veteran Communities
- War and Society Historiography
- Colonial and Revolutionary America 
Kenneth M. Swope (PhD, University of Michigan, 2001)
Professor of History and Senior Fellow, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- East Asian Diplomatic and Military History
- Comparative Military History in Asia
- World War II in Asia
- Late Imperial China
Douglas W. Bristol, Jr. (PhD, University of Maryland, 2002)
Associate Professor of History and Fellow, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- World War II
- The All-Volunteer Force
- African American Experience in the Military
- American Race Relations
- 20th Century Home Fronts
- Race & Gender in War
- Modern U.S. History
Kevin Greene (PhD, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 2011)
Associate Professor of History and Fellow, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- African Americans and America's Wars
- National Guard History
- Race and War
- Oral Histories of War and Military Service
- Music and War
- 20th Century U.S. History
- African American History
- Music History
Katya Maslakowski (PhD, Northwestern University, 2022)
Assistant Professor of History and Fellow, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- British Military History
- Counterinsurgency Warfare
- Special Forces
- Terrorism Studies
- Military Tactics and Expertise
- Science and Technology of Warfare
- Modern British History
Bafumiki Mocheregwa (PhD, University of Calgary, 2021)
Assistant Professor of History and Fellow, Dale Center for the Study of War & Society
- Military History of Africa
- The Cold War in Africa
- African Liberation Movements
- Neo-colonial British Military Influences in sub-Saharan Africa
- Botswana Defence Force
- History of Africa

Affiliated History Faculty
Matthew Casey (PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 2012)
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- United States Imperialism in Latin America
- Haiti and Fears of Race War in Latin America
- Military Veterans, Race and Citizenship
- U.S. Occupations in the Caribbean
Andrew P. Haley (PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 2005)
- History of American Culture
- American Home Fronts
- American Labor during War
- Food Rationing during War
Patrick Hoehne (PhD, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023)
- Nineteenth Century U.S. History
- Extralegal Violence in the U. S.
- Digital Humanities
- Geographic Information Systems and Mapping
Brian LaPierre (PhD, University of Chicago, 2006)
- Modern Russia/Soviet Union
- War and Social Change in Modern Russia
- World War Two: The Eastern Front
Joseph Peterson (PhD, Yale University, 2017)
- Modern European History
- Modern France
- The French Revolution and Napoleon
- The Holocaust
- Nazi Germany
General Information
The Dale Center for the Study of War & Society and History program of the School of Humanities at the University of Southern Mississippi allows students to concentrate in a wide variety of research areas related to the study of conflict.  War and Society scholars ordinarily examine the links between the social, cultural, and political values of societies and the wars they wage. Several historians at Southern Miss have specialties that complement this approach.  Our graduate program can also support more traditional Military History topics such as operations, strategy, and tactics. Thus, our program allows for a great deal of flexibility and creativity in combining War and Society and traditional Military History approaches to the study of the history of conflict.

We hope to produce students who can speak to wide literatures and enter the job market as well-defined and broadly-trained scholars. As home to a faculty with a unique concentration of interests related to the study of war, the Dale Center is an ideal place to train graduate students for careers in college and university teaching, research, Professional Military Education, governmental or non-profit work, and/or Public History/Digital Humanities positions.  We are proud that the U. S. military has trusted the Dale Center to educate a number of officers who will go on to teach the leaders of tomorrow’s U.S. armed forces.

Assistantships and Other Funding
We offer several competitive assistantships for both MA and Ph.D. students.  The deadline to apply is February 1.  Assistants work no more than twenty hours a week; they receive a stipend, full tuition waiver (in-state or out-of-state), and basic health insurance (with a student co-pay each pay period).

The Dale Center also offers graduate students funding for professional development, such as funding for some professional memberships and financial assistance for students traveling for research or conference presentations.

In addition, the Dale Center offers several fellowships and scholarships, on a competitive basis, to augment assistantship funding:

- Colonel W. Wayde Benson (USMC ret.) Fellowships
- Margaret Boone Dale Fellowship for Research in Women and War
- The Pat and Jean Welsh Dale Center Graduate Fellowship
- The Lamar Powell Graduate War & Society Scholarship

Updated 9/23

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