Southeastern Louisiana University

David Benac

Position: Assistant Professor
Fields of Study: Public History, US History, Environmental History

Classes Usually Taught:  US History Surveys, Introduction to Public History, Public

History Internship, Public History Seminar, Historic Preservation Seminar, Historical Editing, Introduction to Archival Practice, Local/Regional History, Family History, Introduction to Museum Practice,Heritage Tourism, Audience and Media, and Oral History

Office Room Number: 347E

Office Phone Number: 985-549-5723

E-Mail: dbenac@selu.edu

Faculty Web Page Address:  http://www.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/dbenac/

Education: BA in History, Michigan State University (1995); MA in Public History, Indiana University--Purdue University at Indianapolis (1997); PhD in History, University of Missouri (2003)

Publications: 

• David Benac and Susan Flader, "History of Missouri Forests in the Era of Exploitation and Conservation."  Submitted for publication in the proceedings of the Upland Oak Ecology Symposium, October, 2002, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
• Articles on environmental history and the Missouri Ozarks
• At work on Timber or Woods? Social and Economic Conflicts Over Access to the Resource of the Missouri Ozarks
• "Whose Forest Is This?  Hillfolk, Industrialists, and Government in the
  Ozarks," Missouri Historical Review (Oct. 2006)
• "Ozarkers and Industry: The Integration of Economic and Social Behaviors,"
  Big Muddy: Journal of the Mississippi River Valley (Spring 2006)
• Currently working on a project to apply the Historic  Preservation Act to the rebuilding of the city of New Orleans
  

Presentations:

• "Government to the rescue?  The growth of governmental power in the Missouri Ozarks."  Presented at the Missouri Valley History Conference, March 7, 2003, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
• "The Use and Exploitation of the Missouri Ozarks."  Presented at the Upland Oak Ecology Symposium, October, 2002, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
• "Manhood in the Ozarks."  Presented at the Mid-America Conference on History, September, 2002, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
• "A Company Town in the Missouri Ozarks: A Social and Environmental Study of Grandin, MO, and the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company."  Presented at the Ohio Valley History Conference, October 21, 2000, Murray State University, Murray, KY.
• "Lessons in the Past: Local Reaction to the Missouri-Ozarks Timber Industry." Presented at the Great Lakes History Conference, October 6, 2000, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI.
• "The Importance of Independence." Presented at the Mid-American History Conference, September 22, 2000, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
• "Clinging to Independence: The Rise and Fall of the Missouri Ozarks Timber Industry."  Presented at the Missouri Graduate Conference on History, March 2000, University of Missouri, Columbia.