Philip C. Van Vleck, Ph.D. 1993
Senior Lecturer, North Carolina State University, Dept. of History - Raleigh NC
1993 Ph.D., History (Early-Modern European History and Europe in the Middle Ages)
How has being a History graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?
"The graduate education I received at Duke was outstanding. It opened the door to my teaching career with NCSU. My experience in Duke's history program enriched my life in many ways, as well as providing me with a greater sophistication both as a scholar and as a person coping with our strange, screwed-up modern world."
What advice would you give students in Duke's History programs?
"Follow your passions. Take advantage of everything the Duke History faculty has to offer by way of learning. History is a great major field because, seriously, everything's history. There's pretty much no limit to the avenues of exploration history provides, especially if you have an agile mind. In my Middle Ages classes at NCSU I do lectures on medieval agriculture, food and cooking, costume, religion and architecture. It's all history."
