PROF. KAREN HAGAN
Welcome to US History 1301 and 1302!
Sometimes, a field just happens to click. I've been fascinated by the past as long as I can remember. There's something about visiting a site that has a long historical memory, about being right where important events took place that has resonated with me since I was a child. I've always loved history's logical and intellectual challenges as well. To me, there's nothing better than being confronted with a historical question - Why did this happen? When did this start? Whose idea was this? - and then teasing out some type of explanation. That moment when you "get it," when patterns start to reveal themselves or behaviors begin to fit into context, is exhilarating.
For me, therefore, teaching history is a dream come true. I get to ask questions, talk them over with students and professors, and then share whatever I/we learn. What a great job!
I've been a professor at Victoria College since 1997. Before coming to Victoria, I taught at Louisiana State University, Nunez Community College, and Southern University at New Orleans.
I've got a Ph.D. in History from LSU and a Master's in American History from the University of Virginia. I wrote a book about Confederate rhetoric (an analysis of Civil War speeches made by southerners). I also have a couple or articles and a second book titled Our Vidas, Our Historias, which is an oral history of Hispanics in South Texas.
I don't have a research specialty. Instead, as a community college professor, I get to research anything and everything. My last research project had to do with World War II. Before that, I got all caught up in the relationship between a Civil War Confederate general and his father. Whatever interests me, I research.
So, if you take a class with me, remember that I think history is magnificent. Don't dread this subject. It's far more profound and moving than most people realize.
