Dr. Steven Burg
Professor of History, Public History Program Coordinator, and First Year Experience Co-Coordinator
Degrees
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison (United States History)
- MA, University of Wisconsin-Madison (History)
- BA, Colgate University (History)
Research Interests
- The identification, documentation, interpretation of African American cemeteries in Pennsylvania.
- Undertaking grassroots education and training in the South Mountain Region (Franklin County, York County, Cumberland County, Adams County) to empower residents to preserve historic places in their communities.
- Investigation of the state policies and influences guiding the architecture of cabins and other structures built in Pennsylvania State Parks as part of the state’s Leased Campsite Program, c.1913-1970.
- Working with Partners in Peace, a collaboration between the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Nobel Peace Center of Olso, Norway focused on “studying and implementing practices used by Nobel Peace Laureates.
Courses Taught
- History 105: Foundations of Global Cultures
- History 106: Modern World History
- History 201: Early U.S. History
- History 202: Recent U.S. History
- History 318: U.S. Women’s History
- History 319: Introduction to Public History
- History 363: History of U.S. and Worl War II
- History 460: Archives and Public History
- History 515: Seminar in 20th-Cnetury United States Social History
- History 539: Historic Preservation Practice and Advocacy
- History 601: Community History Research and Practice
Major Publications
- Burg, Steven B., “The Material Culture of Pennsylvania’s African American Cemeteries,” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 90, no. 4 (Winter 2023). Forthcoming.
- Burg, Steven B., Christy Fic, and Nastassia Foose Gantz, Cumberland Valley State Normal School to Shippensburg University: A Short History: 1871-2021 (Shippensburg, PA: Shippensburg University, 2023).
- Burg, Steven B. and Angela Cuthbert, “All Preservation Isn’t Local: An Inventory and Analysis of Historic Preservation Ordinances in Pennsylvania Municipalities,” Pennsylvania Geographer, volume 58, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2020).
- Burg, Steven B., David Beecher, Jennifer Ott, and Troy Ehrensberger, Meet Me At Stewart Hall: History and Memories of Shippensburg University’s Historic Stewart Hall. (Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 2016).
- Burg, Steven, John Maietta, Peter Miele, Jennifer Ott, and Mary Lee Shade, eds., Duty Calls at Home: Central Pennsylvania Responds to the Great War (Shippensburg, PA: Shippensburg University Center for Applied History, 2014).
- Burg, Steven B., “The North Queen Street Cemetery and the African American Experience in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 1800-1950.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, volume 77, no.1 (Winter 2010).
- Burg, Steven B., “From Troubled Ground to Common Ground: The Locust Grove African American Cemetery Restoration Project: A Case Study of Service Learning and Community History.” The Public Historian, vol. 30, no. 2 (May 2008): 51-82.
- Burg, Steven B., ed. Black History of Shippensburg. (Shippensburg, PA: Shippensburg University Press, 2005).
- Burg, Steven B., “Wisconsin and the Great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918.” Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 84, no.1, (Autumn 2000).
- Michael E. Stevens and Steven B. Burg, Editing Historical Documents: A Handbook of Practice. (Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 1997).
Profile
Dr. Burg has been living in Shippensburg and teaching at Shippensburg University since 1999 where he has been privileged to work with amazing students and inspiring colleagues. He has been particularly lucky to be able to teach graduate and undergraduate classes that included meaningful, community-based projects that have contributed to the history and culture of our region. He has also served as a faculty coordinator of Shippensburg University’s First Year Experience Program since its inception in 2017.
In 2013, Dr. Burg had the privilege to serve as a Fulbright Scholar to the Kingdom of Sweden, and to teach and conduct research at the University of Gothenburg.
Dr. Burg is proud to serve on the board of both Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds and the advisory board of the Shippensburg University Fashion Archives and Museum.
In his free time, Dr. Burg loves taking advantage of the region’s wonderful historic sites, bike paths, and hiking trails. He is also coming up on three years of teaching himself Spanish with Duolingo app. He also enjoys cooking and baking, solving puzzles, traveling, and reading mysteries and biographies.