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James M. Denham, Ph.D.

Professor of History

Denham

My goal as a professor is to aid students in reading and thinking critically while developing an appreciation for the relevance of history to their daily lives. I encourage students to understand ‘cause and effect’ of historical events, as well as appreciate the ‘why important’ and the significance. Finally, I believe that active engagement through research, writing, and developing public presentations is essential to good teaching, and I enjoy sharing my projects with my students.

-James M. Denham

McKay Archives

 863.680.4312

fax 863.616.6407

Biography

James M. Denham is Professor of History and Director of the Lawton M. Chiles Jr.  Center for Â鶹ÊÓƵ History at Â鶹ÊÓƵ Southern College.  Before coming to Lakeland in 1991, Denham held teaching appointments at Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University, Georgia Southern University, and Limestone College in South Carolina.  A specialist in Southern, Â鶹ÊÓƵ, Criminal Justice, and Legal history, Denham received his Ph.D degree from Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University.  He is the author of Â鶹ÊÓƵ Founder William P. DuVal: Frontier Bon Vivant. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2015), "Fifty Years of Justice: A History of the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Â鶹ÊÓƵ. (Gainesville: University Press of Â鶹ÊÓƵ, 2015), and "A Rogue's Paradise": Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Â鶹ÊÓƵ, 1821-1861 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997). Denham is also the author of four other books including Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sheriffs: A History, 1821-1945 (Tallahassee, Sentry Press, 2001), with William W. Rogers; Cracker Times and Pioneer Lives, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Reminiscences of George Gillette Keen and Sarah Pamela Williams(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000), with Canter Brown, Jr. Echoes from a Distant Frontier: the Brown Sisters’ Correspondence in Antebellum Â鶹ÊÓƵ (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), with Keith Huneycutt and The Letters of George Long Brown: A Yankee Merchant on Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Antebellum Frontier (Gainesville: University Press of Â鶹ÊÓƵ, 2019), with Keith L. Huneycutt.

Denham's articles and reviews have appeared in the America Historical Review, American Journal of Legal History, Journal of Southern History, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Quarterly, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bar Journal, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Military History of the West, Gulf Coast Historical Review, Georgia Historical Quarterly, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Living, South Â鶹ÊÓƵ History Magazine, and the Tampa Tribune. An award-winning author and public speaker, Denham was awarded the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Society's Arthur W. Thompson Prize in 1992 and in 2002 he was awarded the society’s James J. Horgan Book Prize for Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sheriffs. 

Denham has lectured widely throughout the state for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Humanities Council and other organizations. He is a frequent contributor to Â鶹ÊÓƵ Public Radio. Denham has also served fellowships at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, the University of South Carolina, the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University, Columbia University, the National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC, and the Virginia Historical Society. In 2015 the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Society awarded Denham the Rembert Patrick Book Prize for Fifty Years of Justice.   In 2016 the Board of Directors of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ House on Capitol Hill in Washington D. C. named him Â鶹ÊÓƵ Distinguished Author of the Year.

Teaching Experience

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Southern College

  • Assistant Professor, 1991-96
  • Associate Professor, 1996-00
  •  Professor, 2000-
  • Director, Center for Â鶹ÊÓƵ History, 2001-
  • Chair, History-Political Science Dept 2015-

Limestone College

  • Assistant Professor, 1987-91

Georgia Southern University

  • Instructor, 1987

Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University

  • Adjunct Instructor, 1985-6

Courses Taught

  • Western Civilization I &II
  • U.S. Survey I & II
  • Old South
  • New South
  • U.S. Diplomatic History I & II
  • U. S. Foreign Policy
  • Civil War and Reconstruction
  • History of Women in America
  • Modern Latin America
  • African American History
  • Â鶹ÊÓƵ History           
  • Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Heritage of Diversity and Justice (Honors)
  • England and the World Wars (England May Option Program)

Education

  • Ph. D., History, Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University, (1988)
    • Dissertation: “A Rogue’s Paradise: Violent Crime in Antebellum Â鶹ÊÓƵ, 1988
    • Major Field:  U. S. Nineteenth Century, concentration in the Antebellum South
  • M. A.,  History, Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University  (1983)
  • B. A., History, Â鶹ÊÓƵ State University (1980)

Awards

  • Rembert Patrick Prize, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Society for Fifty Years of Justice – 2016
  • Named Distinguished Author of the Year, Â鶹ÊÓƵ House on Capitol Hill – 2016
  • Awarded Tenure – 2011
  • Preservationist of the Year, City of Lakeland - 2005
  • James J. Horgan Book Award, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Society, for Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sheriffs – 2002
  • Arthur W. Thompson Prize, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Society - 1992

Publications

Denham's articles and reviews have appeared in the America Historical Review, American Journal of Legal History, Journal of Southern History, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Historical Quarterly, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Bar Journal, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Military History of the West, Gulf Coast Historical Review, Georgia Historical Quarterly, Historical Methods, South Â鶹ÊÓƵ History Magazine, and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Supreme Court Historical Review.

Projects

Denham has lectured widely throughout the state for the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Humanities Council and other organizations. He is a frequent contributor to Â鶹ÊÓƵ Public Radio. Denham has also served fellowships at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, the University of South Carolina, the University of Wisconsin, Harvard University, Columbia University, the National Humanities Center, Research Triangle Park, NC, and the Virginia Historical Society.

Current Projects

Lawton M. Chiles, Biographical Study