Each year, the History Department invites a distinguished guest to present current research or to discuss teaching and other issues related to the history profession with faculty and students at the Helmreich Symposium. The Symposium offers students opportunities outside the classroom to engage with questions of history and historiography.
The Symposium was established in honor of Professor Emeritus Paul Helmreich and in appreciation of his distinguished service to the History Department and Wheaton College. A scholar of modern Europe, Helmreich is author of From Paris to Sèvres: The Partition of the Ottoman Empire at the Peace Conference of 1919-1920. He chronicled Wheaton College’s proud history in Wheaton College, 1834-1912: The Seminary Years, followed by Wheaton College, 1834-1957: A Massachusetts Family Affair. Helmreich was a devoted teacher and a model of collegiality at Wheaton. An active member of the local community, he served Norton’s town government and Little League, and he is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics. Helmreich attended Amherst College (B.A.) and Harvard University (Ph.D.).
The Helmreich Symposium features notable historians from New England, members of the History Department, and history major alumni who are now in the historical profession. The Symposium is free and open to the public. History majors, minors, and all other members of the Wheaton College community are encouraged to join us.
Recent speakers at the Helmreich Symposium:
2017 – Holly Robbins, Westfield State University
2016 – Pelin Kadercan, Brown University
2015 – Christian Appy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
2014 – Trais Pearson, Cornell University
2012 – Elaine Carey, St. John’s University
2011 – Anthony Grafton, Princeton University
2010 – Yuen-Gen Liang, Wheaton College
2010 – Paul Helmreich (inaugural address)