David Benac

Associate Professor of History

Office: (269) 387-5361

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Location:

4428 Friedmann Hall, Mail Stop 5334

Mailing address:

Department of History
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1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5334 USA

Education:

Ph.D., History, University of Missouri, 2003
M.A., Public history: Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, 1997
B.A., History: Michigan State University, 1995

Research Interests:

The American environmental movement of the late-twentieth century.
The heritage and history of the timber industry in culture and landscape, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

Bio:

Dr. David Benac is associate professor of history, Public History Coordinator, and history internship supervisor at �鶹��ý.

Courses he teaches include:

HIST 3105: The United States in the Global Era
HIST 3180: American Environmental History
HIST 3404: Introduction to Public History
HIST 4010: The American Environmental Movement
HIST 4080: Museum Studies
HIST 4100: Historic Preservation
HIST 5150: Heritage Tourism
HIST 6250: Topics in Cultural Resources Management
HIST 6440: Material Culture
HIST 6730: Research Seminar in Public History

Benac advises graduate �鶹��ýs in environmental and public history, including cultural resources management, environmental movements, heritage tourism, historic preservation, and oral history.

His research, at the intersection of environmental and public history, investigates how individuals and communities develop cultural ties to environments (built, natural, and landscape) and how these connections emerge in grassroots activism.

Recent public history projects and publications:

Conflict in the Ozarks: Hill Folk, Industrialists, and Government in the Courtois Hills. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2010.
Criffield-Whiteley House, Dowagiac, Michigan. National Register of Historic Places. September 23, 2016.

“The Value of a Historical Landscape: Heritage and Nature at Bridal Veil.” Oregon Historical Quarterly. Vol. 116, no. 4. Winter 2015.
“The New Orleans Lakefront: Created Land and Planned Development.” Journal of Urban History. May 2015.