Dr. Richard Hughes
Professor, Director of History & Social Sciences Education Program
Office
SCH Schroeder Hall 302B
Office Hours
Fall 2025 MW 12:30-1:30 pm and By Appointment
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Current Courses
HIS 136.001 History Of The United States Since 1865
HIS 100.002 History Lab: Foundations of Historical Analysis
HIS 249.001 United States In The Twentieth Century Since 1945
Teaching Interests & Areas
Professor Hughes teaches courses in both United States history and history education and currently serves as the director of the Secondary History and Social Sciences program. Before obtaining his graduate degrees, he taught history, government, and economics at Southern High School in Durham, North Carolina and has served as a reader for the College Board's Advanced Placement U.S. History exam. His research interests include twentieth-century social and cultural American history and the scholarship of teaching and learning with a focus on the evolving disciplinary understandings of history teachers and teacher candidates. He has published book chapters and articles in The Oral History Review, The Historian, The History Education Research Journal, The History Teacher, Social Education, The Social Studies, and Social Studies Research and Practice. He has also served on the editorial board of Teaching History: A Journal of Methods. Most recently, he has co-authored a chapter on teaching history in the United States and the United Kingdom in The International Review of History Education.
Research Interests & Areas
20th Century America Social History, History Education
Ph D History
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
MA History
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Other
St. Edward's University
Austin, Texas
BA Political Science
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2025
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2025
Dr. John Chizmar and Dr. Anthony Ostrosky University-Wide Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award
2025
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2022
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2022
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2021
IMPACT Award
University College, Ilinois State University
2021
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2020
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2020
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2019
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
2018
Nomination - Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching
Baylor University
2018
Outstanding University Teacher Award
Illinois State University
2018
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2017
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2016
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2015
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2014
Influential and Inspirational Faculty Award
Department of History
2014
John Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching
College of Arts and Sciences
2013
Outstanding Teacher Award
College of Arts and Sciences
2011
Grants and Contracts
Integrating Critical Visual Literacy with Library of Congress Visual Primary Sources for Equitable Education in Illinois
Richard L Hughes, Heather Koopmans, Hyeju Han.
National Louis University. August 2024 - September 30 2025
Reorienting the Past: Impact of a Survey course on Teaching and Learning History
Richard L Hughes.
Center for Integrated Faculty Development- SoTL Research Grants (URGs). August 2022 - 2023
College of Arts and Sciences International Travel Grant
Richard L Hughes.
Illinois State University. September 2019 - September 2019
SoTL Travel Grant
Richard L Hughes.
Cross Chair for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. 2019 - 2019
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Travel Grant
Richard L Hughes.
Cross Chair for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. February 12 2018 - April 20 2018
History Teacher Candidates and Discipline-Specific Pedagogy: Theory, Policy, and Practice in England and the United States
Richard L Hughes.
Illinois State University: Office of the Cross Endowed Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , SoTL Mini-Grant, FY16. December 2015 - June 2016
March Graphic Novel for Local High School History Teachers
Richard L Hughes.
Illinois Council for the Social Studies. September 2014 - September 2014
SOTL Small Grant Program
Richard L Hughes, Sarah D Brown.
August 2014 - June 2015
Faculty Research Award
Richard L Hughes.
August 2011 - June 2012
New Faculty Initive Grant (NFIG)
Richard L Hughes.
- 2005
Pre-Tenure Faculty Initiative Grant (PFIG)
Richard L Hughes.
- 2006
Teaching Development Travel Grant
Richard L Hughes.
Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology. - March 2012
Book Review
Review of Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity
Richard L Hughes.
(2025), 50, Teaching History
Review of Going to College in the Sixties, by John Thelin
Richard L Hughes.
(2022), 47, 69-70, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
The First Code Talkers: Native American Communicators in World War I
Richard L Hughes.
(2022), 41, 170-171, Great Plains Quarterly
Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement
Richard L Hughes.
(2022), 108, 879-880, Journal of American History
Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine that Rewrote America
Richard L Hughes.
(2021), 46, 37-39, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
The Great Texas Social Studies War of 1961-1962
Richard L Hughes.
(2021), 48, 83-87, American Educational History Review
Decolonizing the Corps of Discovery: A Collaborative Review of Teaching Critically about Lewis and Clark
Richard L Hughes, Kelly Cornale, Amanda Nies, Evan Wilson.
(2020), 45, 42-49, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
The Ideas That Made America: A Brief History
Richard L Hughes.
(2020), 45, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
They Called Us Enemy
Richard L Hughes.
(2020), 45, 62-64, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
Leaders of Their Race: Educating Black and White Women in the New South
Richard L Hughes.
(2019), 106, 226, The Journal of American History
Limousine Liberal: How an Icendiary Image United the Right and Fractured America
Richard L Hughes.
(2019), 58, 116-117, American Studies
Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
Richard L Hughes.
(2018), 43, 54-56, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
Civil Rights, Culture Wars: The Fight over a Mississippi Textbook
Richard L Hughes.
(2017), 94, 456-457, North Carolina Historical Review
Teaching History Then and Now: A Story of Stability and Change in Schools
Richard L Hughes.
(2017), 42, 97-99, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
The American South and the Vietnam War: Belligerence, Protest, and Agony
Richard L Hughes.
(2016), Journal of American History
Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education
Richard L Hughes.
(2016), United States Intellectual History Blog
Review of John Lewis, March: Book One
Richard L Hughes.
(2015), Teaching History
Review of Diana Turk et al, Teaching Recent Global History: Dialogues among Historians, Social Studies Teachers, and Students (2014)
Richard L Hughes.
(2014), 39, 105-106, Teaching History
Review of Penny Lewis, Hardhats, Hippies, and Hawks: The Vietnam Antiwar Movement as Myth and Memory
Richard L Hughes.
(2014), 53, 105-106, American Studies
Review of J.M. Anderson, 'The Skinny on Teaching: What You Don't Learn in Graduate School
Richard L Hughes.
(2012), 37, 110-111, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods
Review of Oliver Zunz, 'Philanthropy in America: A History'
Richard L Hughes.
(2012), The History Teacher
Review of Dangerous Ideas on Campus: Sex, Conspiracy, and Academic Freedom in the Age of JFK, by Matthew C. Ehrlich
Richard L Hughes.
115, The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society
Review of Not White Enough: The Long, Shameful Road to Japanese American Internment
Richard L Hughes.
New Mexico Historical Review
Book, Chapter
Searching for Metaphors: Exploring Teacher Candidates’ Epistemological Frames
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
(2024), Teachers and the Epistemology of History, 191-210, Teachers and the Epistemology of History, Palgrave MacMillan
“Teaching History in a Place with a Different History: Theory, Policy, and Practice in England and the United States,”
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
(2024), 10, History Education and Historical Enquiry, International Review of History Education
History, Literacy, and Popular Culture: Using Graphic Novels to Teach the Struggle for Racial Justice
Richard L Hughes, Meghan Hawkins, Katie Lopez.
(2017), Educating through Popular Culture: “You’re Not Cool Just Because You Teach with Comics", Lexington Books
Journal Article
“What Does a History Teacher Do?: Knowing, Understanding, and Enacting the Work of Teaching History,”
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
Historical Encounters: A Journal of Historical Consciousness, Historical Cultures, and History Education, 11 (2), 114-132, (2024)
Historical Narratives and Collective Memory: The African American Civil Rights Movement
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
History Education Research Journal, 18 (2), 18, (2021)
Propaganda and the 1936 Olympics: History, News Literacy, and Selling Nazi Germany to American Tourists
Richard L Hughes, Trevor Shields.
Social Education, 85 (3), 180-185, (2021)
Why Teach History
Richard L Hughes.
History Matters, 32 (6), (2020)
Assessment in the History Classroom
Richard L Hughes, Natalie Mendoza.
Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 44 (2), 51-56, (2019)
New Guidelines for SoTL in History: A Discipline Considers the SoTL Turn?
Richard L Hughes.
Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 44 (2), 34-43, (2019)
“’It’s Not Something We Thought About:’ Teachers’ Perception of Historiography and Narratives,”
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
Social Studies Research and Practice, 13 (1), 16-30, (2018)
“Teaching History Then: The Origins of the Journal and the Teaching History Movement of the 1970s,”
Richard L Hughes.
Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 42 (2), 99-103, (2017)
John Lewis' March: Book One: Assessing the Impact of a Graphic Novel on Teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Richard L Hughes, Meghan Hawkins, Katie Lopez.
Social Education, 80 (3), 151-156, (2016)
Race, Housing, and the Federal Government: Black Lives on the Margins of the American Dream
Richard L Hughes.
Radical Teacher, 106 (Fall 2016), 138-140, (2016)
The Lost Generation of HIstory Teachers: Student Teaching in Search of Thomas Becker
Richard L Hughes.
International Journal for Social Education, 25 (1), 19-27, (2013)
"Preparing History Teachers and Scholars?: Content Exams and Teacher Certification from the Progressive Era to the Age of Accountability
Richard L Hughes.
The Councilor: Journal of the Illinois Council for the Social Studies, 72 (2), 1-14, (2011)
Teaching about Racial Segregation in Postwar America Using Black Like Me
Richard L Hughes.
Social Education, 75 (1), 22-25, (2011)
Race, Music, and a Meaningful Approach to Teaching Historical Methods
Richard L Hughes.
Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 32 (2), 59-67, (2010)
Other
Documentary Film Review of Marching Forward, by Robert Cassanello, Oswmer Louis, and Lisa Mills
Richard L Hughes.
Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 47, (2022)
Bridging the Divide Between Content and Pedagogy: Reflective History Teaching
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
The SoTL Advocate, (March 28, 2016), (2016)
Teaching History in a Place with a Different History: A SoTL Study in Progress
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
The SoTL Advocate, (May 9, 2016), (2016)
Historians and History Teachers: Collaborative Conversations
Richard L Hughes.
The SoTL Advocate, (2015)
"Preparing the Next Generation of History Teachers: Voices from the Field"
Richard L Hughes, Sarah D Brown.
International Journal for Social Education, 25 (1), (2013)
Presentations
The Making of a Teacher: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Richard L Hughes.
Annual Conference American Historical Association, Chicago, IL, January 9, 2026
Unpacking Historical Images via a Framework for Critical Visual Literacy
Richard L Hughes, Trevor Shields.
Annual Conference of the Illinois Council for the Social Studies, Paletine, Illinois, October 17, 2025
What Happens When Teaching Mandates Go Your Way: Reimagining History Teaching and Curricula in Blue States
Richard L Hughes.
Annual Conference of History Educators International Research Network, Cologne, Germany, August 31, 2025
Case Studies and the Environment in the Social Studies Classroom: A Workshop on the Power of Place
Richard L Hughes, Grace Bartlett.
Southland History Collective: Summer Teacher Conference, University Park, Illinois, June 17, 2025
Crash Course as a Secondary Source: Teaching Content and Historical Thinking
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
National Council for History Education Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, March 21, 2025
Bridging the Divide: Environmental History, Environmental Education, and the Social Studies Classroom
Richard L Hughes, Keith Pluymers, Grace Bartlett, Emma Malone.
Spring Symposium on Teaching History and the Social Sciences, Normal, IL, February 21, 2025
What Happens When Teaching Mandates Go Your Way: Challenges of Reimagining History Teaching and Curricula in Blue States
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
H-Net Teaching Conference, Online, August 22, 2024
Reorienting the Past: Reimagining a Survey Course Amid Calls for ‘Uncoverage.’
Richard L Hughes.
Teaching and Learning Symposium, Normal, IL, January 10, 2024
Teaching History in a Place with a Different History: Theory, Policy, and Practice in the United States and England
Richard L Hughes, Sarah Drake Brown.
American Historical Association, San Francisco, CA, January 6, 2024
“Education Programs, History Departments, and the Current State of K–12 Teacher Preparation,”
Richard L Hughes.
American Historical Association, San Francisco, CA, January 5, 2024
Collaborating to Engage and Enhance The Visual Literacy Skills of Pre-Service History Teachers
Heather Koopmans, Vitoria Faccin-Herman, Richard L Hughes.
IVLA 2023 Annual Conference, Champaign, Illinois, October 6, 2023
“Reorienting the Past: The Impact of a Survey Course on Teaching and Learning History.”
Richard L Hughes.
SoTL Commons, Savannah, GA, February, 2023
What Does a History Teacher Do?: Knowing, Understanding, and Enacting the Work of Teaching History
Richard L Hughes.
History teachers’ epistemic considerations A symposium on how teachers make sense of histo, Umea, Sweden, October 13, 2022
SoTL Research and the Tenure and Promotion of Historians
Richard L Hughes.
Annual Meeting, Online, February 26, 2022
Civil Rights and Historical Narratives: Assessing Students as Emerging Teachers
Richard L Hughes.
Annual Conference of the Organization of American Historians, Online, April 16, 2021
Teaching LGBTQ + History: An Inclusive Approach
Richard L Hughes, Monica Noraian, Sara Piotrowski.
Annual Spring Symposium on Teaching History and the Social Sciences, Normal, IL, February 7, 2020
Navigating Historical Maps: Teaching Geographic and Historical Thinking
Richard L Hughes, Judith Loraine Bee, Amy Wilkinson.
2019 Annual Conference, Austin, Texas, November 24, 2019
Propaganda and the 1936 Olympics: History, News Literacy, and Selling Nazi Germany to American Tourists
Richard L Hughes, Trevor Shields.
2019 Annual Conference, Austin, Texas, November 22, 2019
From Epistemological Architecture to Clinical Experiences: Teaching History Across Settings
Richard L Hughes.
ISSOTL 2019, Atlanta, Georgia, October 10, 2019
Images, Collective Memory, and Forging Historical Narratives: A Study of Teaching and Learning the African American Civil Rights Movement
Richard L Hughes.
HEIRNET 2019 Annual Conference, Vienna, Austria, September 3, 2019
Encountering History and History Instruction: Perceptions of Emerging Teachers
Richard L Hughes.
SoTL Commons Conference: A Conference of Teaching and Learning, Savannah, Georgia, January 24, 2019
Taking Your Teaching to the Next Level: The Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW)
Richard L Hughes, Rosie Hauck, Alison Alcorn, Chris Grieshaber, Stef Gardiner-Walsh, Joe Matson.
Symposium on Teaching and Learning, Normal, January 9, 2019
Three Enduring Problems for History Teachers (And How to Manage Them)
Richard L Hughes, Peter Burkholder, Lendol Calder, Natalie Mendoza.
2019 Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, January 3, 2019
Historians, Teachers, and Students: Impact of Students' Perceptions on Classroom Instruction and Curriculum Development
Richard L Hughes.
Research on Teaching and Learning Conference, Hamilton, Ontario Canada, December 12, 2018
So Many Standards: Infusing NCSS and edTPA into Teacher Preparation
Richard L Hughes, Monica Noraian, Sara Piotrowski.
Annual Conference of the National Conference for the Social Studies, Chicago, Illinois, November 30, 2018