Faculty/Staff Directory
Dr. Matthew Zimmerman
478.471.5749
Department Chair & Associate Professor
| Office Hours: | MW 12:00-2:00 SoAL 119 |
| Locations: (Campus & Office) |
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| Syllabi: | |
| Teaching and Research Interests: | Colonial America Native Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Mine Labor TEACHING PHILOSOPHY History is filled with drama, violence, and conflict. However, it also tells stories of compassion, friendship, and triumph. The duty of a History teacher is to show students how to think for themselves, how to analyze evidence, and how to develop an argument based in critical thought. The responsibility of a History teacher is to impart an appreciation of the subject by telling the stories behind the evidence. By engaging students in the material through the stories that history has to offer, students are better able to come to an understanding of the issues under consideration and therefore are more equipped to draw conclusions from them. |
| Courses: | HIST 2111: US to 1865 HIST 2112: US since 1865 HIST 3000: Historical Methods HIST 3100: History of Latin America HIST 3710: Colonial America HIST 3720: Revolutionary America HIST 4710: Atlantic World HIST 4760: Gender, Marriage, and Family in American History HIST 4898/4899: Research Practicum HIST 4930: Research Seminar in American History |
| Education: (All institutions attended and degrees or credentials earned) | Ph.D., Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA M.A., Ohio University, Athens, OH B.A., Widener University, Chester, PA |
| CV: | CONTACT Middle Georgia State University Department of History and Political Science 100 University Parkway Macon, GA 31206 (478)471-2862; (478)471-5749 matthew.zimmerman@mga.edu EDUCATION Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA Degree Awarded: Ph.D. Major Field: Colonial American History Dissertation: “Married to the Faith: Colonial American Quakers and the Trans-Atlantic Community” Ohio University, Athens, OH Degree Awarded: M.A. Major Field: American History to 1865 Thesis: “A Flicker in the Light: William Penn’s Motivations for a Peaceful Indian Policy in Pennsylvania, 1681-1718” Widener University, Chester, PA Degree Awarded: B.A. Major: History EXPERIENCE Fall 2024-Present: Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Middle Georgia State University Summer 2019-Fall 2024: Chair, Department of History, Middle Georgia State University Summer 2014-Summer 2019: Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Middle Georgia State University Fall 2014-Present: Associate Professor of History, Middle Georgia State University; Tenured August 2014 Fall 2007-Summer 2014: Assistant Professor of History, Middle Georgia State College, Macon, GA RECENT PUBLICATION 2025: “Networks: Trails, Canals, Rails, and Roads -- Native American Trails,” The Greater Philadelphia Region: A New History for the Twenty-First Century, vol. 1, ed. Howard Gillette Jr. and Carolyn T Adams, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. RESEARCH INTERESTS Colonial America Native Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Mine Labor TEACHING PHILOSOPHY History is filled with drama, violence, and conflict. However, it also tells stories of compassion, friendship, and triumph. The duty of a History teacher is to show students how to think for themselves, how to analyze evidence, and how to develop an argument based in critical thought. The responsibility of a History teacher is to impart an appreciation of the subject by telling the stories behind the evidence. By engaging students in the material through the stories that history has to offer, students are better able to come to an understanding of the issues under consideration and therefore are more equipped to draw conclusions from them. |
| Professional Experience: | Fall 2024-Present: Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Middle Georgia State University Summer 2019-Fall 2024: Chair, Department of History, Middle Georgia State University Summer 2014-Summer 2019: Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Middle Georgia State University Fall 2014-Present: Associate Professor of History, Middle Georgia State University; Tenured August 2014 Fall 2007-Summer 2014: Assistant Professor of History, Middle Georgia State College, Macon, GA |
| Publications and Scholarships: (Last 5 Years) | RECENT PUBLICATION 2025: “Networks: Trails, Canals, Rails, and Roads -- Native American Trails,” The Greater Philadelphia Region: A New History for the Twenty-First Century, vol. 1, ed. Howard Gillette Jr. and Carolyn T. Adams, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. |
| Professional Affiliations: | Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Friends Historical Society |
| Organizations: | Phi Alpha Theta Pi Gamma Mu |
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