0 Christian Esh

Christian Esh

Christian Esh

Professor of History

Why I Teach at Houghton   

After 20 years away, I came back to teach at Houghton because I believe we are each called to love God and the world he has created with our whole heart and our whole mind. As a student at Houghton, I was profoundly shaped by professors, staff, and fellow students to be a Christian scholar-servant. Today, my primary calling is the classroom teaching of history. God has also made me curious; I enjoy the research process of discovering and expanding what scholars know about the American Constitution. I also love to broaden my own liberal education, reading philosophy, theology, ancient literature and languages, and modern politics. I’m excited to pursue this calling to be a teacher and scholar in Houghton’s distinctive Christian community.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park (2006)
  • M.S., University of Maryland, College Park (2001)
  • B.A., Houghton College (1998)

Courses Taught 

  • American History Survey
  • History of American Christianity
  • Western Intellectual Traditions II: Revolutions in Modernity
  • American Constitutional History
  • British and American Victorians
  • History of Nursing
  • U.S. Foreign Policy
  • The Civil War and Reconstruction

Professional Memberships/Associations

  • Conference on Faith and History

Professional Experience/Achievements

  • Associate Professor of History
    Houghton University – Houghton, NY (2022-present)
  • Associate Professor of History
    Houghton College – Houghton, NY (2018-2022)
  • Associate Professor of American History and Department Chair
    Northwest Nazarene University – Nampa, Idaho (2006-2018)

    • Taught more than  30 unique courses
  • Outstanding Professor of the Year (four times)
    Northwest Nazarene University – Nampa, Idaho (2008, 2011, 2012, and 2017)
  • Co-chair, Task Force on Shared Governance
    Northwest Nazarene University – Nampa, Idaho (2016-17)
  • Consulting Historian, Teaching American History Grant,
    Kuna School District –  Kuna, Idaho (2010-11)
  • Miller Fellow
    Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History – Bala Cynwyd, PA (2008)
  • Lecturer
    University of Maryland – College Park, MD (2005)
  • Bradley Fellow
    University of Maryland – College Park, MD (2004-2005, 2006)
  • Civitas Scholar
    Center for Public Justice – Washington, DC (2004)
  • Research Assistant
    National Bureau for Economic Research (2002-2005)
  • H. B. Earhart Fellow
    Earhart Foundation (2000-2004)
  • Lindley Research Grant
    Houghton College – Houghton, NY (1996)

Research Interests

  • Federalism in the American Constitution
  • Puritans (English and American)
  • Social history of medicine
  • History of Islam
  • Mapping Western U.S. history with drones

Publications/Conferences

  • “Martin Van Buren as Statesman: State Rights and the Rise of the Free Soil Party,” in Constitutionalism in the Approach and Aftermath of the Civil War. Edited by Paul Moreno and Johnathan O’Neill. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013.
  •  “The Rights of Unjust Majorities.” Review of Majority Rule v. Consensus: The Political Thought of John C. Calhoun by James H. Read. In Review of Politics, 72:2, Spring 2010. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
  • “‘The Great Primeval Compact:’ New England Conservatism, Organic Social Theory, and Liberal Constitutionalism.” American Historical Association. Atlanta, GA. January 2007.

Link to LinkedIn Profile for Further Information

Other Interests/Hobbies/Enjoyments

  • I love to read, cook, follow the Boston Red Sox, play with my three children, and sing.

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