About Us
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians will host the 33rd annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press Nov. 13-15, 2025, in partnership with the Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Augusta University.
Our Mission
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians promotes historical research and publication in nineteenth century media studies through networking and collaborative endeavors. Since 2022, we’ve proudly sponsored the annual Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press, continuing a tradition that began in 1993.
Meet the Board
Greg Borchard, President
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Katrina Quinn, Vice President
Slippery Rock University
Simon Vodrey, Secretary
Carleton University
Brian Gabrial, Treasurer
Concordia University (emeritus)
Matthew Arendt, Board Member
Tarleton State University
Jack Breslin, Board Member
Iona University (emeritus)
David Bulla, Board Member
Augusta University
Sandy Davidson, Board Member
University of Missouri
Debra van Tuyll, Board Member
Augusta University (emeritus) and The Augusta Press
Our History
In November 1993, a steering committee of journalism historians met at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to develop a sustainable forum in which media history scholarship could be fostered and shared. The group incorporated a public history component in its meeting with a visit to Chattanooga’s iconic Lookout Mountain, led by Jim Ogden of the National Park Service, thus setting a template for decades of future conferences.
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians was founded in 2022 to continue the mission of sharing and developing scholarship on 19th century media and specifically to maintain the conference. The symposium was renamed as the Sachsman Symposium on the 19th Century Press in 2025 to commemorate the legacy of founder Dr. David Sachsman.
Photo Caption: Those scholars included (from the left on the back row) David Mindich, New York University; Dwight Teeter, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Ed Caudill, UT Knoxville; David Sachsman, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Lloyd Chaisson, Nichols State University; Don Reynolds, East Texas State University; Kit Rushing, UT Chattanooga; Edd Applegate, Middle Tennessee State University; Gene Wiggins, University of Southern Mississippi; Bob Dardenne, University of South Florida; Jim Ogden, United States Park Service; Joe Trahan, UT Chattanooga. (Not pictured: Barbara Straus Reed, Rutgers University, and Leonard Ray Teel, Georgia State University.)
Luminaries
Dr. David Sachsman
For 30 years, Dr. David Sachsman hosted the Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War and Free Expression at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he was the George R. West Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs.
Dr. Sachsman’s contributions to scholarship in the fields of environmental communication, environmental risk reporting, and journalism history are renowned. He published 23 books and dozens of articles covering a range of topics including journalism history, environmental communication, journalism, and mass communication. At the time of his death in 2022, Dr. Sachsman was working on his 24th book.
The symposium honors outstanding student scholars with the Sachsman Family Award for Student Excellence each year.
Hazel Dicken-Garcia
Hazel Dicken-Garcia is recognized as one of the foremost authorities in the field of journalism studies and served the University of Minnesota as a dedicated teacher and mentor for more than 30 years. Her book, Journalistic Standards in Nineteenth Century America (1989) has been widely cited and celebrated as an authoritative study of the evolution of ethics in journalism.
Dicken-Garcia was deeply involved in the annual Symposium on the 19th Century Press, the Civil War, and Free Expression, for which she served as president of the steering committee for more than a decade. The symposium honors a journalism historian each year with the Hazel Dicken-Garcia Award for Distinguished Scholarship.
Wally Eberhard
Wallace B. “Wally” Eberhard was “a giant in the field of journalism history whose influence spanned across multiple journals and academic organizations,” according to Erika Pribanic-Smith. A prolific scholar, Eberhard was considered a specialist in Southern journalism and military and war reporting, who inspired generations of students and scholars with his infectious love for history.
SNCH News and Events
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…
Announcement of 2025 Elections for the Board of the Society of Nineteenth Century Historians
According to the Society of Nineteenth Century Historians’ Constitution, elections for the Board will take place in the following manner: The election of new officers will be announced 60 days before the annual Sachsman Symposium on the Nineteenth Century Press opens through an email…
Symposium 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…
Hazel Dicken-Garcia Lecturer Announced for 33rd Annual Conference
The Society of Nineteenth Century Historians 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 Hazel Dicken-Garcia annual address at the 33rd annual Sachsman Symposium…
Send Us A Message
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.