Rate My Professor James Smither

James Smither is Professor of History in the History department at Grand Valley State University, where he joined as Assistant Professor in 1990, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1996, and to full Professor in 2004. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Brown University (1989), with a dissertation titled 'Myth and Reality of Kingship during the French Wars of Religion'; an M.A. in History from Brown University (1983); and a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago (1982). Before arriving at Grand Valley State University, Smither served as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Dayton (1988-1990), Lecturer at the University of Connecticut (1987), and English Teacher at Lycée Marcel Roby in St. Germain-en-Laye, France (1985-1986). His teaching portfolio includes courses on Western Civilization, World History, Early Modern Europe, Renaissance and Reformation Europe, European Military History to 1815, Early Modern France, Reformation Europe, History of Warfare, and graduate-level seminars on War and Reformation Europe.

Smither's academic specialties encompass Early Modern Europe and France, Military History, Oral History, Renaissance, and Reformation. Since 2006, he has directed the GVSU Veterans History Project in partnership with the Library of Congress, recording over 800 video oral history interviews with veterans and civilian witnesses from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts. These interviews, along with photographs, letters, and diaries, are archived in GVSU's Special Collections and the Library of Congress database. The project has produced documentaries such as 'Nightmare in New Guinea' (premiered 2006, broadcast on WGVU-TV 2007), 'A Team of Their Own' on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (2015), and 'With the Marines in Vietnam' series (first episode 2016), as well as short videos and PBS broadcasts. His scholarly publications include 'The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and Images of Kingship in France, 1572-1574' (The Sixteenth Century Journal, 1991), 'Propaganda and Theater: Authorial Intent and Audience Response to Political Pamphlets in France, 1550-1650' (Cahiers du dix-septièmes, 1991), and co-editing 'A Surgeon's Civil War: The Civil War Letters and Diary of Daniel M. Holt, M.D.' (Kent State University Press, 1994). Smither has also edited veterans' memoirs including 'Death and Life in the Big Red One' and contributed to preserving American wartime experiences through community partnerships, teacher training, and public presentations.