Blinn-Bryan Campus to host guest lecture on the importance of storytelling in history

Dr. David E. Shi will present 'Narrative History: Making the Past Come Alive' on Thursday, March 7

February 29, 2024

The Blinn College-Bryan Campus will host former Furman University president and preeminent historian Dr. David E. Shi for a discussion regarding the impact of engaging storytelling in the field of history.

Sponsored by Blinn’s History Department in the Division of Social Sciences, Shi’s presentation “Narrative History: Making the Past Come Alive,” will be held Thursday, March 7, at 6:00 p.m. in the Bryan Campus Student Center, Room F-120.

“Dr. Shi is an engaging speaker who has conducted extensive research into how good story telling impacts what moments in history endure and are passed on,” History Department Head Dr. Kenneth Howell said. “His visit offers our students and the larger Blinn community a unique opportunity to gain insight on how history becomes history from an expert in the field.”

Shi is a leading figure in American higher education and a renowned historian whose books have sold almost 3 million copies. His bestselling works, “America: A Narrative History” and “For the Record,” are used in classrooms at more than 800 colleges and universities. These books highlight Shi’s unique writing style that incorporates vivid biographical sketches, first-person quotations, and primary sources. Shi’s lecture will delve deeper into this approach of using storytelling to make history come to life for readers.

As president of Furman University from 1994-2010, Shi helped solidify the institution’s reputation as one of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges and a leader in promoting sustainability. Shi also taught at Davidson College in North Carolina for 17 years, a post which included serving as chair of the history department.

In addition to the numerous books he has published, Shi is the author of several hundred newspaper columns. He maintains an active public speaking schedule on campuses and at corporate and community events.

Shi earned his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Furman University in 1973 and his doctorate in history from the University of Virginia in 1976.

For more information about the lecture, contact Howell at khowell@blinn.edu.

Blinn’s History Program offers an Associate of Arts in History that transfers to many of the state’s leading universities, including Texas A&M University, Sam Houston State University, Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Students can complete the degree online or on Blinn’s Brenham, Bryan, RELLIS, Schulenburg, and Sealy campuses.

Through the Clear Affordable Pathways to Success (CAPS) Program offered in partnership with the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV), history students can earn their Associate of Arts in History from Blinn and their Bachelor of Arts in History from UHV.

To learn more about Blinn’s history degree offerings and partnerships, visit www.blinn.edu/history.