Faculty/Staff
Arts and Humanities

Dr. Don Buerk,
Associate Professor of History

Office: 2 Dana Hall

• Adviser, Alpha Chi
• Member, Hench Autism Council
• Member, International and Global Studies Advisory Board

Bio
Professor Buerk retains a keen interest in comparative history, primarily of Western Europe from the end of the Middle Ages to the present and of North America. Especially interested in the variety of ways that nations have organized themselves in order to address their social, political, and economic problems, he also studies how historical investigation has developed during the last several centuries. Comparing modern nation-states and how accounts of their past have been recorded is of value in no less than three ways. First, by identifying historical similarities among nations students can begin to develop generalizations about what those nations have in common and what their people can learn from one another. Second, recognizing historical differences among nations allows us to appreciate the uniqueness of each human society to a greater extent than might otherwise be the case. Finally, learning the history of others is an enjoyable and worthwhile endeavor in its own right because it reminds us that ours has been neither the only way, nor necessarily the best way.

Scholarship
For the past several years Prof. Buerk has accompanied Fellows and Scholars of the McMaster School to Cambodia.  There he participates in student projects that are associated with schools, hospitals, and women’s clinics.  Summarizations of his work have been published in the McMaster Journal.  His activity also includes the Hench Autism Studies Program both on the Defiance College campus and elsewhere.  He continues to lecture frequently as part of the Town and Gown series that introduces historical subjects of local interest to the Defiance Community.  He has appeared on WGTE’s program Deadline Now with students as well as with other professional speakers.

Teaching

• First-Year Seminar
• 20th century World History
• Global Civilization
• International and Global Studies
• World Geography
• Colonial America

Education

• Ph.D., University of Toledo
• B.S., Bowling Green State University

Contact
Phone:419-783-2454
e-mail: dbuerk@defiance.edu