The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians pursues scholarship in 19th century media history. Join us Nov. 13-15, 2025, for our signature event, the Sachsman Symposium on the Nineteenth Century Press, now in its 33rd year.
Announcement of 2025 Elections for the Board of the Society of Nineteenth Century Historians
Registration for the 2025 Sachsman Symposium Now Open
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians invites you to register for the 33rd Annual Sachsman Symposium on the Nineteenth Century Press set for the campus of Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia, November 13-15, 2025.
The conference schedule includes three days of outstanding scholarly presentations and panel discussions covering a wide variety of topics. In addition, Dr. Angela M. Zombek, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Civil War Era at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington will present the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Lecture further enhancing the Symposium experience.
Hazel Dicken-Garcia Lecturer Announced for Thirty-Third Annual Conference
Dr. Angela Zombek, 2025 Hazel Dicken-Garcia Lecturer
The Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press is pleased to announce that Dr. Angela M. Zombek, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Civil War Era at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will deliver the event’s signature Hazel Dicken-Garcia address November 14, 2025, at Augusta University’s Jaguar Student Activities Center.
The link to the PDF of the complete release would be:
Please visit the latest news release on Dr. Zombek’s lecture in the Symposium.
Symposium to be renamed in honor of Dr. David Sachsman
The Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression will be renamed in honor of its founder and tireless advocate, the late Dr. David Sachsman, the Society of Nineteenth Century Historians announced Nov. 8, 2024.
Beginning in 2025, the conference shall be known as the Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press, a fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar and mentor.
2024 Symposium Highlights
Papers and Panels
The conference attracted contributions from coast to coast and as far away as Canada. Presenters and panelists joined in the hybrid format for a full three-day schedule that featured more than a dozen papers and six panels from scholars contributing in person and via Zoom.
Recognition for Excellence
One of the highlights of every conference is the opportunity to recognize excellence in scholarship and research brought to the conference by journalism historians and those qualifying for the Sachsman Family Award for Student Achievement.
Inaugural Hazel Dicken-Garcia Distinguished Lecture
This year’s program was fortunate to include renowned historians Vernon Burton and Harold Holzer presenting their unique and insightful perspectives on topics ranging from Reconstruction to Civil War Reputation.
Tour of Historic Augusta University Campus
Conference attendees were treated to a tour of the many points of interest including the Guard House Museum led by Museum Director, Stacey Thompson.
Podcast Episodes
Want to learn more about the Sachsman Symposium on the Nineteenth Century Press and its scholarship and activities? Listen to a series of informative and interesting podcasts featured in Augusta University’s Research Report.
On this edition of the Research Report, Jim Ogden, the historian at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Parks, talks about doing history for the National Park Service. He discusses his own education and work at these two key Civil War battle sites with host David Bulla. Ogden participated in the 32nd Annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press. The comments and opinions of the guest and host are purely their own, and not necessarily the views of Augusta University. This podcast is produced by Jaxon Garner, and Jasmine Garcia is the director of the TVC Lab on the Summerville Campus of AU.
On this edition of The Research Report, Lincoln scholars Orville Vernon Burton of Clemson University and Greg Borchard of UNLV talk about research on Abraham Lincoln. Burton is the author of The Age of Lincoln, and Borchard is the author of Lincoln Mediated and Abraham Lincoln and Horace Greeley. They discuss with host David Bulla what upcoming Lincoln research they are working on–and what is still needed in Lincoln studies. Burton and Borchard were in Augusta as participants in the 32nd annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press. The comments and opinions of the guests and host are purely their own, and not necessarily the views of Augusta University. This podcast is produced by Jaxon Garner, and Jasmine Garcia is the director of the TVC Lab on the Summerville Campus of AU. The Research Report will soon have another episode with researchers at the Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press:
On this edition of The Research Report, Katrina Quinn, professor at Slippery Rock University, talks with David Bulla about her book The Civil War Soldier and the Press. Quinn wrote the book with the late David Sachsman and Dea Lisica. It is the latest in a series of books from the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression. It is published by Routledge:
Dianne Bragg, Hub Burton, and Jennifer Moore join David Bulla for a discussion about the history of the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, which was started in the early 1990s by Dr. David Sachsman at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Sachsman was the West Chair of Excellence in the Department of Communication at UTC, and he ran the conference for three decades. A generation of mass communication historians cut their teeth at the conference, and the panelists discuss its impact on their careers. Bragg is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Alabama; Burton is a retired administrator from the University of Maine, and Moore is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. The Research Report is produced by Jasmine Garcia and Ethan Balducci. It is recorded in the TVC Lab at Augusta
University. It is a production of the AU Department of Communication, for which Bulla serves as chair: