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Overview
Ty Seidule (born 1962) is a retired United States Army Brigadier General and military historian who joined Hamilton College’s History Department in 2020 as a Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor of History. He is the author of Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause (2021), a memoir and historical argument that challenged the romanticized view of the Confederacy. Seidule earned his B.A. from Washington and Lee University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. During his Army career he served as head of the History Department at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has also become the Executive Director of Common Ground, a Hamilton College civil discourse initiative.
Relevance to Research
Seidule appears in every Hamilton College catalog from 2020–21 through 2024–25, consistently listed as “Ty Seidule (2020), Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor of History.” The catalogs document two primary courses he taught: HIST 215 (The American Civil War), co-taught with Professor Maurice Isserman, which examines the causes, conduct, and legacy of the Civil War with particular attention to slavery; and HIST 319 (Monuments and Myths: Civil War Memory), a research seminar examining Civil War memorialization from 1865 to the present. By the 2024–25 catalog his title had updated to also reflect his role as Executive Director of Common Ground, and he taught HIST 281, GOVT 281, and COLEG 281 versions of Common Ground: A Laboratory for Civil Discourse, a speaking-intensive course on the history of free speech in America using “Reacting to the Past” pedagogy.
Notes
- Joined Hamilton College History Department in 2020 as Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor of History
- Credentials: B.A., Washington and Lee University; M.A., Ph.D., Ohio State University
- Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General; former head of the History Department at West Point
- Author of Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner’s Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause (St. Martin’s Press, 2021)
- Courses at Hamilton:
- HIST 215 – The American Civil War (co-taught with Maurice Isserman): causes, conduct, and legacy of the Civil War; attention to slavery, emancipation, and popular memory
- HIST 319 – Monuments and Myths: Civil War Memory: research seminar on Confederate memorialization from 1865 to present
- HIST/GOVT/COLEG 281 – Common Ground: A Laboratory for Civil Discourse: history of free speech; “Reacting to the Past” role-play pedagogy (added by 2024–25)
- Executive Director of Common Ground at Hamilton (noted in 2024–25 catalog)
- Listed in faculty section of History Department in all five surveyed catalogs (2020–21 through 2024–25)
Related Sources
- yhm-arc-pub-cat-2020-21 — first listing as Chamberlain Fellow and Visiting Professor; HIST 215 and HIST 319 described
- yhm-arc-pub-cat-2021-22 — continued listing; courses confirmed
- yhm-arc-pub-cat-2022-23 — continued listing; courses confirmed
- yhm-arc-pub-cat-2023-24 — continued listing
- yhm-arc-pub-cat-2024-25 — updated title with Executive Director of Common Ground; Common Ground course listed
Related Topics
- curriculum-and-academic-departments — Seidule’s courses in the History Department
- course-catalogs-collection — primary source for his appointments and course listings
- faculty-governance-and-academic-affairs — Seidule’s visiting professorship and fellowship role
Related Entities
- maurice-isserman — co-instructor of HIST 215, The American Civil War