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Department of History

John Reda

Associate Professor
History
Office
Schroeder Hall - SCH 319
Office Hours
Office hours for Spring 2021 are as follows:

By appointment: phone and Zoom
Office Phone
(309) 438-8592office
phone
Email
jreda@ilstu.eduemail
  • About
  • Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Research

Current Courses

135.001History Of The United States To 1865

135.002History Of The United States To 1865

497.001Research in History

Teaching Interests & Areas

Professor Reda specializes in colonial, revolutionary, and early national American history. His research and teaching interests also include the French in North America and the Atlantic world. His book titled, "From Furs to Farms: The Transformation of the Mississippi Valley, 1762-1825," was published in 2016.

Research Interests & Areas

Colonial American History
Revolutionary America
Early National American History
French North American Colonial History
Atlantic World

Ph D History

University of Illinois-Chicago
Chicago, IL

MA History

University of Illinois-Chicago
Chicago, IL

BA Teaching of History

University of Illinois-Chicago
Chicago, IL

Inspirational and Influential Faculty Member, Fall 2022

History and Social Sciences Education Program
2022

Inspirational and Influential Faculty Member, Spring 2022

History ands Social Sciences Education Program
2022

Finalist -- Jon Gjerde Prize for the Best Book in Midwestern History

Midwestern History Association
2017

Finalist -- Russell P. Strange Memorial Book Award

Illinois State Historical Society
2017

Inspirational and Influential Faculty Member, Spring 2016

History and Social Sciences Education Program
2016

Book Review

Lee, J. Review of Jacob F. Lee, Masters of the Middle Waters: Indian Nations and Colonial Ambitions along the Mississippi. American Historical Review 126.1 (2021): 391-392.
Lofaro, M. Review of Michael A Lofaro, Boone, Blackhawk, and Crockett in 1833. Karol Weaver (EDs). Pennsylvania History 88.3 (2021): 431-433.
Reda, J. Review of Bryan Rindfleisch, George Galphin's Intimate Empire: The Creek Indians, Family, and Colonization in Early America. Journal of American History 107.3 (2020): 732-733.
Reda, J. Review of Carol Berkin, A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods 45.No. 1, Spring 2020 (2020)
Reda, J. Review of Henry Berger, St. Louis & Empire: 250 Years of Imperial Quest & Urban Crisis. Middle West Review 5.Issue 1 (2018)

Book, Authored

From Furs To Farms: The Transformation of the Mississippi Valley, 1762-1825, Northern University Press, Early American Places Series (forthcoming)

Book, Chapter

“From Subjects to Citizens: Two Pierres and the French Influence on the Transformation of the Illinois Country,” in French and Indians in the Heart of North America, 1630-1815, edited by Guillaume Teasdale and Robert Englebert. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, April,2013.

“George Rogers Clark and the Revolution in the West,” in Reporting the Revolutionary War:
Before It Was History It Was News, edited by Todd Andrlik. Naperville: Sourcebooks, November, 2012.

Presentations

Imperial Illusions: de Bourgmont and the French in 18th-Century America. Wichita State Universtity Department of History Fall Lecture. Wichita State University Department of History. (2019)
Imperial Refugees: French Identity in Spanish Louisiana, 1762-1804. 44th Annual Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society Annual Conference. French Colonial Historical Society. (2018)
Law, Diplomacy, and the Culture of Settler Colonialism in the American Empire. 40th Annual SHEAR Conference. Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. (2018)
From Furs To Farms: The Transformation of the Mississippi Valley, 1762-1825. Illinois History Forum. Illinois State Historical Society. (2017)
"From Furs to Farms in the Mississippi Valley". Conference on Race, Property, and the Law. Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University. (2015)
A Stateless Colony?: French Entrepreneurs and the Development of the Mississippi Valley in the 18th Century. 34th Annual Mid America Conference on History. (2012)
A Stateless Colony?: French Entrepreneurs and the Development of the Mississippi Valley in the 18th Century. 38th Annual Meeting of the French Colonial History Society. French Colonial History Society. (2012)
“Which Side Are You on? Allegiance and Identity in the War of 1812”. Illinois History Symposium. (2012)