James M. Denham, Ph.D.
Professor of History
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.
Biography
James M. Denham is Professor of History and Director of the Lawton M. Chiles Jr. Center for ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ History at ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ. Before coming to Lakeland in 1991, Denham held teaching appointments at ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ State University, Georgia Southern University, and Limestone College in South Carolina. A specialist in Southern, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ, and Criminal Justice and Legal history, Denham received his Ph.D degree from FSU. He is the author of "ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ 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 ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ. (Gainesville: University Press of ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ, 2015), and "A Rogue's Paradise": Crime and Punishment in Antebellum ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ, 1821-1861 (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997). Denham is also the author of three other books including ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Sheriffs: A History, 1821-1945 (Tallahassee, Sentry Press, 2001), with William W. Rogers; Cracker Times and Pioneer Lives, the ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Reminiscences of George Gillette Keen and Sarah Pamela Williams (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2000), with Canter Brown, Jr. and Echoes from a Distant Frontier: the Brown Sisters’ Correspondence in Antebellum ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2004), with Keith Huneycutt.
Denham has lectured widely throughout the state for the ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Humanities Council and other organizations. He is a frequent contributor to ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ 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.
Education
- Ph.D., M.A., B.A., History, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ State University
Awards
- Rembert Patrick Prize, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Historical Society for Fifty Years of Justice – 2016
- Named Distinguished Author of the Year, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ House on Capitol Hill – 2016
- Awarded Tenure – 2011
- Preservationist of the Year, City of Lakeland - 2005
- James J. Horgan Book Award, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Historical Society, for ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Sheriffs – 2002
- Arthur W. Thompson Prize, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ 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, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Historical Quarterly, ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Bar Journal, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Military History of the West, Gulf Coast Historical Review, Georgia Historical Quarterly, Historical Methods, South ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ History Magazine, and the ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Supreme Court Historical Review.
Book Chapters
With Canter Brown, “South Carolina Volunteers in the Second Seminole War: A Nullifier Debacle as Prelude to the Palmetto State Gubernatorial Election of 1836” in W. Steve Belco, ed. America’s Hundred Years War: U. S. Expansion to the Gulf Coast and the Fate of the Seminole, 1763-1858. Gainesville: University Press of ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ, 2011, 209-36. “Victoria Seward Varn Brandon Sherrill: South ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ Women as Community Builders”, in Larry Rivers and Canter Brown, eds. The Varieties of Women’s Experiences: Portraits of Southern Women in the Post-Civil War Century. Gainesville: University Press of ÅÝܽ¶ÌÊÓƵ, 2010, 54-63.