By Lindsey Foster
Ferrum senior and history major Mary Stoudt will present her research work on Mar. 19 at the 24th Bertoti Conference hosted by Virginia Tech University.
(Ferrum senior and history major Mary Stoudt. Photo Credit: Ryann Tyree.)
This conference is an annual event that allows undergraduate and graduate students to present their papers in a professional setting. This year Stoudt is the only Ferrum student that was accepted into this conference; it will also be her first time talking about her research work at an academic conference.
“I’m overall just excited for the opportunity because it’s a way for me to open up doors and opportunities for myself,” Stoudt said.
Stoudt’s paper presentation is titled, “Tough Conversations: How the Spread of Christianity Sparked a Social Movement in the Antebellum South.” It looks into how evangelical Christianity affected enslaved Africans, free African Americans, and pro-slavery Christians. Specifically, Stoudt discusses how the Bible, interracial congregations, all-Black congregations, and Black preachers sparked social movements in the antebellum south.
Each year, a graduate student is selected for the Brian Bertoti Award for Outstanding Historical Scholarship. Undergraduate students have the opportunity to have their papers published in the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Historical Review. Stoudt’s paper is also a finalist for the VTUHR award.
"I am proud that we are sending a student to virtually represent Ferrum College and the History Program,” said Ferrum history professor Michael Hancock-Parmer, “I only wish more would follow Mary's lead in this endeavor!"
Virginia Tech’s conference will take place on Mar. 19-20, 2021 via Zoom. Megan Kate Nelson, the author of “The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West”, will deliver a keynote address at the conference.