James Thomas Ford, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer, CLI

Contact

Office Address

318 Commons
Rochester, MN 55902
United States

Titles

Senior Lecturer, CLI

Education

B.A., History, University of California Santa Cruz

M.A., History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ph.D., History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Academic Interests

History

Biography

Expand all

Biography

Teaching at UMR

I teach history and civic engagement at the Center for Learning Innovation at the University of Minnesota Rochester. My work includes publishing scholarly articles on early modern Germany, leading global seminars in Germany and Türkiye, and facilitating community-based projects with undergraduate students. I’ve also contributed to Internationalizing the Curriculum initiatives at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. My current research focuses on using memoirs as primary historical sources in the study of genocide and conducting a prosopographical analysis of patient records from the former Rochester State Hospital.

Honors and Recognition

  • Instructor of the Month, UM Learning Abroad Center (April 2015, December 2017)
  • Recognition of outstanding commitment to internationalizing teaching and learning, Global Programs and Strategy Alliance and Office of Academic Affairs (April 2015)
  • Civic Engagement Steward Award, Minnesota Campus Compact President’s Awards for Public Engagement (2014)
  • Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award, School of Adult Learning, Viterbo University (2009)

Media Appearances

  • Political pundit, election night coverage, KIMT News 3, Rochester (Nov. 3, 2020)
  • Pundit and interviewee, “One Rochester History Professor Breaks Down Why Students Need to Learn About 9/11 in School,” KIMT News 3 (September 2021)

Professional Memberships

  • Board member, Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA), a nonprofit focused on immigrants, refugees and health services
  • Member, History Center of Olmsted County
  • Member, European Association for the History of Medicine and Health (EAHMH)
  • Participant, UM Internationalizing Teaching and Learning Cohort Program (2012–2024)
  • Retired at rank of major (O-4) after 20 years of service in the U.S. Army Reserve (April 2025)

Languages

  • German
  • French
  • Latin

Research

Research Focus Area

  • History of mental health care and treatment in U.S. state hospitals
  • Use of historical memoirs as a teaching tool to support global perspective and historical methodology

Publications

Book Chapter

  • “Developing a Global Perspective Through Historical Memoirs,” in Power of One: Theories, Strategies, and Case Studies in Internationalizing the Student Experience, edited by Katy E. Chapman and David E. Beard, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2025.

Selected Articles

  • “Preaching in the Reformed Tradition,” in Preacher and Audience: The Social History of Preaching in the Reformation and Early Modern Period, edited by Larissa J. Taylor, pp. 65–88, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 2001.
  • “Wolfgang Musculus on the Office of the Christian Magistrate,” Archiv für Reformationsgeschichte, vol. 91, 2000, pp. 149–167.
  • “Unter dem schein der concordien und confession: Wolfgang Musculus and the Confessional Identity of Augsburg, 1531–1548,” in Wolfgang Musculus (1497–1563) und die oberdeutsche Reformation, edited by Rudolf Dellsperger et al., pp. 111–129, Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1997.

Presentations

Selected Presentations

  • “American Critique of European Models of Mental Health Care in the Late 19th Century,” conference paper, European Association for the History of Medicine and Health (EAHMH), Berlin, Germany, Aug. 29, 2025
  • “Practical Classroom Applications of the International, Intercultural, Global (IIG) Learning Model,” workshop, Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference, University of Minnesota, March 22, 2024
  • “The Power of One: A Panel Discussion of Papers by the Editors and Contributors to the Power of One Anthology,” panelist, Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference, University of Minnesota, March 22, 2024
  • “Application of the International, Intercultural, Global (IIG) Learning Model to an Interdisciplinary History Course on Pandemics,” poster presentation, Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus Conference, University of Minnesota, March 22, 2024
  • “All the Things: Multidisciplinary and Team-Teaching Strategies With Active, Flipped, Problem-Based Learning Experiences,” presentation, Symposium for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Expeditions in SoTL, Mount Royal University, Canmore, Canada, Nov. 2023
  • “Nontraditional Teaching Methods to Internationalize Your Courses: Comics and Memoirs,” presenter, ICC Virtual Lunch & Learn Monthly Event, Internationalizing the Curriculum and Campus, Dec. 8, 2021