Facilities and Resources
The department of history is located in Strong Hall, the home of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs. Strong Hall is a state-of-the-art facility for college instruction, offering computer-assisted technologies in the classrooms.
Archives and collections
Missouri State University is home to an assortment of special collections and archives, which allow you access to a variety of regional historical documents, rare books and literature collections. Also, the University is a United Nations depository featuring official records of General Assembly meetings, treaties, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. These archives and collections provide you with access to a diverse selection of primary source materials for your research endeavors.
Ozarks history
Missouri State is also situated in the long and rich history of the Ozark Mountain region. The University is home to a unique collection of Ozarks history including the Ozarkiana collection, the only minor in Ozarks studies and a renown Ozarks historian, Dr. Brooks Blevins. Through a partnership with the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County, the University now cares for and maintains an extensive archive collection of Springfield-specific historical documents.
Islamic archaeology
Missouri State has ongoing projects in Jordan which combine archaeology and historical methods to study the peoples who have inhabited the region. Projects include the Northern Jordan Project and the Tall Hisban Excavations. Students can participate in both through the summer Jordan Archaeology Study Away program.
At home at Missouri State, students and faculty can also make use of the Jordan Archaeology Lab, located in the Religious Studies office suite in Strong Hall. The lab consists of a research collection of artifacts from Jordan and neighboring countries, as well as a reference library on Biblical, Islamic, Byzantine, and Crusader pottery and a ceramic reference collection of the same. Located in the Religious Studies office suite, the Lab is available for faculty and student research through advance permission and reservation.
Dr. Bethany Walker is a professor of Middle East history and Islamic Archaeology who directs and co-directs these projects and is the lab curator.