History Faculty

Dr. Corcoran is a Boston native and a career educator. He has taught history and social studies in secondary schools in rural and urban communities of Maine, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. He has lived and taught in Colombia and Ecuador as well. Dr. Corcoran earned a Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of New Mexico in 2011. His research examines the development of inter-American education and culture in the mid-20^th century. As an academic historian and a committed classroom teacher, Dr. Corcoran is passionate about supporting aspiring educators and elevating the teaching of social studies in our nation's schools.

Natural hazards, climate change, water issues, warrior women, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and biogeography

Christine Hallman grew up in a small town in rural south-central Kentucky and is a first-generation college graduate. Before retiring, her parents worked in factories and still have a farm in Kentucky where they raised cattle, corn, tobacco, soybeans, alfalfa, and gardens. Dr. Hallman joined the Geography & Political Science Department at Northeastern State in 2010. She has published articles involving K12 STEM and geotechnology activities, phenology (growing season events), and tree-rings.  Dr. Hallman participates in Earth Day events on campus, coordinates service-learning projects, and develops experiential learning activities for her students.  At NSU, Dr. Hallman was a Top 10 RiverHawk Recipient (2017, 2022), received the Dr. Tiffany Maher Legacy Award (2020) and the Circle of Excellence in Teaching (2014); and has been gifted 14 NSU coins.

Native American History, U.S. West, American History Pre-contact to 1925, Interracial Marriage and Family in North America, Public History

Dr. Michelle M. Martin is a Michigan native who made her way west after completing her BA and MA degrees in history at Western Michigan University. From 1997-2015 she lived in Kansas and Oklahoma where she taught history at the community college and university levels and worked as a museum professional and historical consultant to the television and film industries. She earned her doctorate in history (and a minor in museum studies) at the University of New Mexico in 2022. Her areas of interest include Native American history, the U.S. West from 1800-1925, interracial marriage and family in North America, and Public History. Her current project explores an interracial marriage in the Mvskoke Nation during the Indian Territorial period. Dr. Martin enjoys photography, hiking, historical travel, and volunteering at local, state, and national historic sites.

American History from the Colonial Era to the late nineteenth century, American South, Oklahoma History and Government

Lindsay Silver is a Michigan native who has spent 10 years in the South and the West before joining NSU. She earned a B.A. in History and M.A. in American Culture at the University of Michigan-Flint and a Ph.D. in American History at Louisiana State University. Her research interests include intersections of gender, race, and sexuality in American culture during the 19th century. Her current book project, The Life and Death of Kate Townsend: Gender and Power in New Orleans Prostitution, 1858-1883, will be published by Louisiana State University Press.

Denis Vovchenko grew up as part of the Russian minority in Kazakhstan in the former Soviet Union. He studied for his B.A. and M.A. in Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Moscow State Lomonosov University. He earned a Ph.D. in Modern European History and the Middle East from the University of Minnesota. Inspired by his religious and cultural heritage, together with a love of learning new languages, Dr. Vovchenko has written several articles about the religious and political aspects of Russia's relations with the Balkans and the Middle East. His book, Containing Balkan Nationalism: Imperial Russia and Ottoman Christians (1856-1914), is published by Oxford University Press.

Jack Reavis is a retired Muskogee Public Schools educator. He teaches courses in American History at NSU.