History and Political Science Faculty

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." -- 2 Corinthians 4:18

Dr. Fisher is an associate professor of history and began teaching at Harding as a full-time faculty member in 2010. He earned his doctorate at the University of Memphis in 2013. He was the recipient of the Ruth and Harry Woodbury Fellowship in Southern History and the Major L. Wilson Graduate Paper Prize, as well as the inaugural prize for best dissertation prospectus in 2010. He has spoken at conferences in England and Ireland, at the Society for Military History's national conference, at the annual Conference of Tennessee Historians, and at the annual conference of the Association of Arkansas College History Teachers. He was also the keynote speaker at the 41st annual conference of the Arkansas Political Science Association. The Arkansas Historical Association awarded him the 2013 James L. Foster and Billy W. Beason Award for his dissertation on the Little Rock Central High Crisis entitled "The Battle of Little Rock." He served as chair of the Arkansas WWI Centennial Commemoration Committee from 2016 to 2018, and in 2020 was appointed by the Governor of Arkansas to a seven-year term on the Arkansas History Commission. Dr. Fisher recently published a chapter in The War at Home: Perspectives on the Arkansas Experience in WWI (University of Arkansas Press, 2020). He and his family attend the Cloverdale church of Christ.

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" -- Mark 8:36-37

Steven Breezeel is a 1994 alumnus of Harding University with undergraduate majors in Political Science and History. He returned to Harding in 2001 as a faculty member in Political Science and served as Chair of the History & Political Science Dept. from 2016 to 2021. His areas of specialization include: American political institutions, American political behavior, constitutional law, international relations, quantitative research methods, state and local politics, and comparative politics. He has directed the preprofessional program in prelaw since 2006 and sponsors the Barristers prelaw organization.

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." -- 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Julie E. Harris, Professor of History, started at Harding in the Fall of 2000. Dr. Harris earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Abilene Christian University and her doctorate from the University of Arkansas, with specialty in Great Britain. She currently teaches courses on British History, the Classical World, Early Modern Europe, and Women’s History, and has also taught on Latin America, Asia, and Geography. Dr. Harris’ current research is on Sussex County in Southern England, and the British Monarchy, and she has presented at the Southern Conference on British Studies. Dr. Harris is the founder and Director of the Colloquium on the Liberal Arts, which fosters an interdisciplinary understanding of a topic through both faculty and student presentations, which went digital on HU TV16 in Fall 2020. She was critical in the creation of our student historical journal, Tenor of Our Times, and serves as the faculty advisor for the journal, which has won the NASH journal award seven times. She has served as the advisor for the Eta Phi Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the historical honor society, since 2003. The chapter has successfully won the Best Chapter award eleven times under her leadership. She and her husband Damon have been married for 21 years and have two children, James & Charlotte. They are active members of the West Side Church of Christ. They often host a Home Bible Study on Wednesday nights, and are involved in the children’s ministry at West Side.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." -- Hebrews 12:1-2

Kevin Klein is an American Historian who specializes in Southern History and American Political Thought. He received his BA in History from Harding University (1986), and his MA (1993) and PhD (1995) in American and Southern History from Florida State University. He joined the department of History and Social Sciences at Harding in 1994 and served as Chair from 2003 to 2016. He has twice received Harding’s Distinguished Teacher Award, and Alpha Chi’s Distinguished Scholar Award. He served as the Clifton L. Ganus Jr. Endowed Distinguished Chair of History and Political Science at Harding University from 2018-2022.

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." -- Ecclesiastes 9:10

Dr. David Adams was born and raised amidst the deep green prairies of northeastern Oklahoma. In 1996 he enrolled at the University of Tulsa, earning one of the department’s highest honors and graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in European History in 2000. An avowed Anglophile who spent a semester at the University of Westminster in London, Dr. Adams realized his dream of studying British History at the University of Kansas, nestled in the rolling hills between Topeka and Kansas City. Dr. Adams joined the faculty of Harding’s History and Political Science Department in 2007 and earned his Ph.D. in British History in 2008. His dissertation was titled “Putting Pandemics in Perspective: England and the Flu, 1889-1919.” His specializations include the History of Medicine, European History, and African History. He has served on the University’s Diversity Committee since its inception, and is the National History Day Arkansas Region 8 Coordinator.

John Richard Duke joined the Department of History and Political Science at Harding University in the fall of 2014. Prior to joining Harding, JR taught in the American Studies Department of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He earned his M.A. in 2002 and his Ph.D. in 2008, both in History, from the University of Mississippi. Duke’s research focuses on issues of race, religion, and education in the modern United States and on topics related to sports, health, and cultural history. He graduated from Harding in 1998 with a degree in history, winning the department’s Outstanding History Student Award and the Berryhill Award given to the University’s outstanding athlete. Involved in several areas on campus, he hosts international students each summer for study trips in the United States and takes Harding students on study trips abroad. In August of 2021, Harding named Duke as the new Executive Director of its American Studies Institute. A native Arkansan, he grew up in an extended family of educators, family business owners, and military veterans. An avid sportsman, Duke has been involved in sports clubs in El Salvador and in Germany. He enjoys the opportunities for study and recreation that the Natural State provides.

"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." -- Micah 6:8

"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him." -- Psalm 62:1

M. Liann Gallagher is an associate professor of political science and has been with the university since 2016. Her research and teaching focuses on topics related to international relations, comparative politics, statistics, and geography. Dr. Gallagher serves as a sponsor for Pi Sigma Alpha (political science honor society), and Quiz Bowl. Dr. Gallagher attends Downtown Church of Christ.

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'" -- Isaiah 6:8

Kim Laing has a Master's Degree in Medieval Studies and is working on a doctorate in humanities from Faulkner University. She came to the History Department from the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency where she worked on educational grants and teacher training. Kim works closely with the education department to help Social Science Licensure majors have the best possible experience at Harding. She oversees the department reading colloquium each semester and also handles department assessment. Kim is the point person for Talking Shop, History Explorers, and the Social Science Symposium. In 2022, she was named the Clifton L. Ganus Jr. Distinguished Chair of History and Political Science.