Andrew Thomas

Dr. Andrew Thomas came to Salem in 2007. He was born in Oregon, but raised in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. When Dr. Thomas was a graduate student, he taught first-year German and a few history courses at Purdue University. The students and the historical ambiance of the college attracted Dr. Thomas to Salem College. He took a visiting professor position in European history, which eventually turned in to a regular position. Besides teaching upper division courses in European history, he also teaches the world history survey courses.
 
In addition to teaching, Dr. Thomas serves as a faculty adviser for the History Honor Society (Phi Alpha Theta) and the Mortar Board Honor Society.
When Dr. Thomas is not at Salem, he spends a lot of time with his family. His wife, Sarah Ann, is from Utah as well. Together they have three children and a Golden Retriever. His family enjoys traveling, camping, cross-country skiing, back packing, sailing and bird watching. 

Advice to prospective history students: “I have never regretted choosing history; I am living my passion and my dream. If history is your passion, pursue it!”

Research Interests
•    late medieval piety, Renaissance Humanism, Protestant and Catholic Reformations, Baroque Absolutism and early Enlightenment with a particular emphasis on Central Europe.
 
Publications
•    Book: A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c. 1550-1650. Studies in Medieval and Reformation Traditions, no. 1150. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2010.
•    Book chapter: co-author with Charles Ingrao. "Piety and Power: The Empresses-Consort of the High Baroque." In Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort, ed. Clarissa Campbell Orr, 107-130. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
•     Article: co-author with Charles Ingrao. "Piety and Patronage: The Empresses-Consort of the High Baroque." German History 20 (2002): 20-43.

Favorite Books
•    Plato's Republic
•    Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's Nathan the Wise

Favorite Movies
•    Awakenings
•    Enchanted April

Favorite Quotation:  “Carpe Diem!”