Stallworth and Mahan Lecture Series
With the generous support of the University of South Alabama Foundation, the Department of History sponsors two distinguished lecture series featuring historians who have made a scholarly impact within the historical field. In the fall, the Stallworth Lecture focuses on southern U.S. history while in spring, the Mahan Lecture rotates among a variety of historical fields. For over a decade, members of the 91Ƶ community as well as the Mobile community have had the opportunity to engage with visiting scholars who have created pathbreaking scholarship while exploring the stories of humanity.
Stallworth Lecture
The Stallworth lecture is named after N. Jack Stallworth, a lifelong Mobilian, who was well known in Mobile business circles having owned and operated several business ventures and restaurants over the years. He was a graduate of Castle Heights Military School in Tennessee and of Louisiana State University with a degree in forestry. Jack Stallworth was instrumental in founding the America’s Junior Miss, the Mobile Chapter of the English Speaking Union, and the Camellia Ball. With his grand leadership of the Mobile Carnival Association, he became known as “Mr. Mardi Gras.” His love of Mobile, Southern life and history, led him to provide, through the 91Ƶ Foundation, funding to establish and support the N. Jack Stallworth Lecture in Southern History. His contributions also include funding for two scholarships named after his parents, Minnie Lee Wilkins Stallworth and Montgomery Carlton Stallworth, for students majoring in history with an emphasis in Southern history at the University of South Alabama. Additionally, the Stallworth family home and contents were left to the 91Ƶ Foundation to be used to enhance the teaching of Southern history and to support programs of the University.
N. Jack Stallworth Lecturers
2007 Emory M. Thomas, University of Georgia
2008 David W. Blight, Yale University
2009 Anthony J. Badger, University of Cambridge
2010 James C. Cobb, University of Georgia
2011 Jacquelyn D. Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill
2012 Stephanie McCurry, University of Pennsylvania
2013 Margaret Humphreys, Duke University
2014 James Oakes, Graduate Center, CUNY
2015 Alan Taylor, University of Virginia
2016 John Boles, Rice University
2017 Laura F. Edwards, Duke University
2018 Joseph Crespino, Emory University
2019 Tera Hunter, Princeton University
2020 No Lecture
2021 No Lecture
2022 Thavolia Glymph, Duke University
2023 Jefferson Cowie, Vanderbilt University
2024 Kari Frederickson, University of Alabama
Mahan Lecture
The Mahan Lecture is named after Howard F. Mahan, the founder of the University of South Alabama Department of History. Mahan was born in New York City and grew up in nearby New Jersey. He interrupted his undergraduate studies in science and engineering at Drew University to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. After serving a full tour as a navigator on bombing missions over Europe, he returned to Drew. He decided to study history now as a way of better understanding the war that he and the world had just endured. He continued as a graduate student at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in U.S. history. Always interested in adult education, Professor Mahan took a position with the University of Alabama Extension Division in Mobile in 1954. He was one of the original faculty members of the University of South Alabama in 1964 and was the founder of its Department of History. He served as chair of the Department from 1964 to 1983. After nearly forty years of teaching U.S. history in Mobile, Professor Mahan retired in 1993. With the generous support of the University of South Alabama Foundation, the 91Ƶ Department of History has established an annual lecture in honor of Professor Mahan’s enduring contributions to his students, colleagues, community, and state.
Howard F. Mahan Lecturers
2001 Dan T. Carter, University of South Carolina
2002 Christopher R. Browning, University of North Carolina
2003 Daniel H. Usner, Vanderbilt University
2004 Jacqueline Jones, Brandeis University
2005 Carol Gluck, Columbia University
2006 William Martin, Rice University
2007 Lawrence Powell, Tulane University
2009 Magnus T. Bernhardsson, Williams College
2010 Susan Reverby, Wellesley College
2011 Mary Roldan, City University of New York
2012 Gary Gerstle, Vanderbilt University
2013 Wendy Goldman, Carnegie Mellon University
2014 Patrick Maney, Boston College
2015 Rae Yang, Dickinson College
2016 David Sorkin, Yale University
2017 James Hevia, University of Chicago
2018 Erica Armstrong Dunbar, Rutgers University
2019 Kate Brown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2020 No Lecture
2021 Asma Afsaruddin, Indiana University
2022 No Lecture
2023 Joe Trotter, Carnegie Mellon University
2024 Mary Fissell, Johns Hopkins University