Tom Isern, University Distinguished Professor of history, has written a chapter for the new book, “A Companion to American Agricultural History” edited by R. Douglas Hurt of Purdue University.

The book is published by John Wiley and Sons, which publishes works for scholarly and education reference.

The book’s chapters were commissioned by the editor from scholars in the respective subjects. Isern’s chapter is titled “The Great Plains,” and recounts the history and agriculture literature of our region.

“The chapter is 8,000 words, fairly dense, covering the history and historical literature of agriculture on the Great Plains,” Isern said. “I teach and direct graduate work in two fields here for NDSU – the history of the Great Plains, and the history of agriculture. So, this new reference will see use in my undergraduate and graduate courses on those subjects. Moreover, the editor's intent is that each chapter should synthesize the state of knowledge in the subject, meaning graduate students across the country will be reading this for a solid condensation of work on the subject.”

Isern earned his bachelor’s degree at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas; master’s degree at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; and doctorate at Oklahoma State University.

His areas of expertise include the history and folklore of the North American plains; and the history of agriculture, Australia and New Zealand.

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