Dr. William Katerberg

Curator of Heritage Hall | Director of the Mellema Program in Western American Studies | Professor of History

Departments:

Biography

Over the years, to get away and relax, I’ve traveled far afield, to places like Peru and India, and tempted fate by climbing the occasional mountain and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. My current hobbies are a little more sedate and safe—mountain biking and road biking, brewing beer, and photography. You can see some of my photography at my photography blog on WordPress or on my photography portfolio.

Education

Redeemer University College, Canada
B.A., Calvin College, MI
M.A., University of Notre Dame, IN
M.A., Ph.D., Queen’s University, Canada

Professional Experience

I am the curator of Heritage Hall, the archives for Calvin University, Calvin Theological Seminary, and the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

I am also the director of the Mellema Program in Western American Studies.

You can also find me in my office in the Historical Studies department in Hiemenga 472.

Academic Interests

The North American West
Native American history
Dutch North American history
Immigration Policy
Digital Humanities and Re-photography (e.g., of Calvin's Madison campus from the 1890s to the 1910s)

I am editor of Origins, the magazine published by Heritage Hall, and Origins Online, the blog of Heritage Hall. I write regularly about the history of Dutch Reformed people in North America. Much of this can be found in Origins magazine or Origins Online.

The immigration of Dutch people to Canada and the United States and the development of Dutch ethnic communities in North America.
Reformed Christianity in North America, particularly the history of the Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary and the Christian Reformed Church.
The history of interactions between Navajo people and Christian Reformed missionaries.

Finally, with Carol Higham at UNCC, I am working on a book on Senator Henry L. Dawes and his daughter Anna Laurens Dawes, both of whom were influential in promoting reform movements and legislation that promoted the assimilation of Native Americans to modern American life and values.