Dr. Dorothy Potter

Experience/ Background

July 2008 - June 2009: Chair, History Department, Lynchburg College
May 2006-present: Associate Professor of History, Lynchburg College
1984-May 2006: Assistant Professor of History, Lynchburg College
1998-2000: Programs Coordinator, the Center for History and Culture of Central Virginia, Lynchburg College
1983, 1998: Adjunct, History, Randolph-Macon Woman's College (now Randolph College)
1985-1986: Adjunct, History, Central Virginia Community College

Degrees and Certifications

• B.A. in History 1964 Lynchburg College
• M.A. in History 1966 University of Virginia
• Further graduate study 1980-1981
  Lincoln College, Oxford University
• Ph.D. in History 2000 University of Virginia

Information on Courses Taught

During more than two decades I have taught a variety of history courses at Lynchburg College and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Those at LC include courses in the Westover Honors Program and American history and research and writing in the History Department.

World Civilizations:

Each member of Lynchburg College's History Department teaches at least one section of World Civilizations. Required for graduation, this course facilitates students' abilities to make connections among many cultures---both ancient and modern---and our own. Current events in Afghanistan and Iraq are but two examples of why we must understand the political, cultural, ethical, and religious systems of others. The often-quoted phrase, "Those who have not learned the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them," is more relevant now than ever before. My world civilization courses, for example, emphasize art, music, literature, and the lives of everyday people as well as politics, religion, and economics.

America to 1877:

This course includes accounts of various Native American nations, the founding of colonies on the eastern seaboard by Europeans, the contributions of African peoples, the growth and eventual revolt of the colonies from English dominance, and the creation of the republic. Subsequent topics include Federalism, Jacksonian democracy, slavery, sectionalism, the Civil War and Reconstruction.

America since 1877:

This course examines changes that have redefined American life since the 1870s. Attention is given to the impact of industrialism and urban development and the emergence of the United States as a world power. Issues of gender, race, class, and family are explored, as well as local aspects of historical developments such as war, politics, and social change. Both 255 and 256 are required for a major in history at Lynchburg College.

American Social History:

This course examines the diversity of America's cultural landscape from the colonial period to the present, with particular emphases on work and leisure, family, faith, and the arts.

The Atlantic World in the Seventeenth Century:

This course explores both major events in British history during this turbulent century and the growth of North America's colonies. This so-called "New World" was seen by France, Spain, and Britain as a land of wonders to be explored and exploited, but within these imperialist ventures lay seeds of conflict.

The Atlantic World in the Eighteenth Century:

Revolutions do not "just happen" nor are they inevitable. This course continues the study of North America's colonies during the eighteenth century to approximately 1815. Why did triumphant British imperialism turn sour after the French and Indian War? Had France been eliminated as a major player in American affairs? This "century of revolutions" offers useful lessons for the present.

Professional/Research Interests

The Central Virginia area has fascinated me ever since I came to LC as a student. In 1976 my husband Clifton and I wrote a local history, Lynchburg "...the Most Interesting Spot" (a quote from Thomas Jefferson), used as a text in the public schools and which came out in a revised edition in 1985. Our play, "Another Journey Through the Years," depicting the history of Lynchburg College, was presented during Lynchburg College's Centennial in 2003. Our most recent books are Lynchburg 1757-2007 and Lynchburg, a City Set on Seven Hills. Books were published in 2007 and 2004, respectively.

I am also interested in the roles of women in history and have written articles about the Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut, singer Jenny Lind, Virginia-born British politician Nancy Astor, and local author and early civil rights activist, Orra Grey Langhorne. My edited edition of the diary of an 18th century lady, Mary Freman Caesar, was published in 2002 by Mellen Press.

The relation of the arts to a specific time and place is a subject that has consumed most of my research for fifteen years. My dissertation, "The Cultural Influences of Mozart's Music in Philadelphia: 1786-1861," explores a time in American history when music was not divided into the tidy categories of "popular" and "classical," and the new nation was deciding who its cultural heroes would be. Many of the images in the play and film, "Amadeus," for example, date from pre-Civil War romantic biographies. It is currently being revised for publication.

Recent Publications

" Marseilles to Stockholm: Bonaparte to Bernadotte: The Unique Life of Desiree Clary." Women Against Napoleon: Historical and Fictional Responses. Campus, Frankfurt (Germany), 2007.

Lynchburg 1757-2007. Arcadia Press, 2007. Co-author Clifton Potter.

"Music by the 'Celebrated Mozart:' A Philadelphia Publishing Tradition, 1794-1861," Music and History: Bridging the Disciplines. eds. Jeffrey H. Jackson & Stanley C. Pelkey, University Press of Mississippi, 2005.

"Catherine of Braganza" and "Prince Rupert," Great Lives from History: the Seventeenth Century, 1601-1700. Salem Press, 2005.

"1697-1698: Peter the Great Travels Incognito," Great Events from History: the Seventeenth Century, 1601-1700. Salem Press, 2005.

Lynchburg: A City Set on Seven Hills. Arcadia Press, 2004. Co-author Clifton Potter.

"Another Journey Through the Years." Play performed 10-12 October 2003, for Lynchburg College's centennial. Co-author Clifton Potter.

Professional Associations

Carolina Symposium on British Studies
Mozart Society of America
Omicron Delta Kappa
Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Kappa Phi
The Society for Women and the Civil War

Personal Information

My husband and I met at LC during my freshman week, and life has been an adventure for us ever since. Our son Edmund Potter received his Ph.D. in the history and technology of Virginia from Auburn University and is currently teaching at Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, Virginia. Our daughter-in-law Rachel received her Ph.D. at the University of Virginia and is currently Principal of the Juvenile Detention Facility in Charlottesville, Virginia. They have two sons, Eric and Landon.