Lauren K. Gilstrap
gilstrlk@uwec.edu
“For our purpose, the main thing to learn is not the art of accumulating material, but the
sublime art of investigating it, of discerning truth from falsehood and certainty from doubt.”
Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
This first cousin, twelve times removed, of Captain Henry John Morgan–yes, the one on
the rum bottles—set out to verify a family legend. My grandmother had always affirmed this
connection, but no one listened until I came along and made it my particular business to provide
the hard and true evidence that Sir Henry Morgan, privateer, raised to the rank of admiral of the
British Royal Navy, knighted by King Charles II, and named Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica,
was indeed my ancestor. Having affirmed the relationship to Sir Henry Morgan, I learned that
some of my ancestors, the Welsh Morgan-Tredegars, served in Parliament, as viscounts in the
House of Lords. Others lived in castles that still stand today.
This answered one question but led me to ask a thousand more. I recalled stories my
father had told me about his grandfather, an Irish immigrant who bravely served and survived his
time as a machine-gunner in The Great War. I often wondered what he had experienced in the
war. Did he ever go back to Ireland? How did he get his Purple Heart medals? Did he meet my
great-grandmother after the war or before? The answers came later on in life, but I loved most
the thrill that the path to the answers provided. I wanted to know more about these distant
relatives, their culture, religion, and lifestyle. Who made up the people of England, Ireland,
Wales, and Scotland? I wanted to know everything about them. Studying European history
provided one way of finding answers, and soon I realized that that path held the answer to
another one of my questions—what did I want to do for my profession?
This realization led me to focus my research more specifically: to Early Modern
European history. In that area, I have conducted research with Dr. Charlene Burns of the
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (RELS) on how the Councils of Trent escalated
Europe’s division and prompted religious civil war by further eroding the already poor
relationship between Catholics and Protestants during the 16th and 17th centuries. With Dr.
Steven Fink (RELS) I explored how music in the Irish Christian church liturgy has changed over
time since the Middle Ages--typically in response to the most popular musical trends of the
present era. Next, with Dr. Jonathan Paradise (RELS) I researched how the ever-changing
social, economic, and political stages of English history affected Jewish literature in England.
My growing interest in intellectual history led me to a research project with Dr. Scott Lowe
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Lauren K. Gilstrap
gilstrlk@uwec.edu
(RELS) on how religious scholar Bede Griffiths came to serve as a spokesperson for the
blending of Hinduism and Christianity, and how he sought and experienced the divine through
contemplation, experiences of the mystical via nature, meditation, and prayer. With Dr. Paulis
Lazda (HIST) I explored how early 20th century “dissidents” in Russia shared their unease and
disagreement with Communist policies and actions through essays and novels. Again with Dr.
Scott Lowe (RELS) I focused on how meditation, prayer techniques, temple characteristics,
monastic lifestyle, and religious beliefs of the Ch’an school of Buddhism developed over time.
At present my research agenda has brought me to work with Dr. Jane Pederson (HIST) on the
1914 trial of the Italian immigrant, Carmello Musso for the murder of her husband in Progressive
Era Milwaukee, WI. I explore whether gender and ethnic identity shaped courtroom discourse,
and colored the nature of justice for women and specific ethnic groups in Milwaukee. With Dr.
Patricia Turner (HIST) I analyzed David Leeson’s and Tom Bowden’s take on the controversial
interpretations of the Irish War of Independence, the Black and Tans, and I.R.A. military groups.
My own interpretation agrees with Leeson’s and Bowden’s attempts to balance previous
portrayals of these groups. Finally, with Dr. Andrew Sturtevant (HIST) I explored 16th century
European colonists’ views of Native American societies as “primitive” and “uncivilized.” My
analysis, on the other hand, demonstrated that Native North American societies in the pre- and
contact eras simply conducted life differently from Europeans and held different values and
social norms; hence, the differences generated the misconceptions rather than an unbiased set of
standards.
As a researcher I have also developed particular specialized skills. For example, as a
Student Assistant and Social Media Marketing Assistant for the UWEC McIntyre Library
Special Collections & Archives, I assist the Head and Assistant Archivists with cataloging
projects, creating new finding aids, and managing the Special Collections and Archives social
media networks. This latter involves choosing materials (manuscripts, artifacts, rare books,
photographs) to display weekly on the Special Collections and Archives’ Facebook page. I have
also served as an Archives Researcher in which I digitized the Jeanette Gaffney Miller
Collection, created and curated a digital exhibit that highlighted this resource about an early
alumna of the university, designed and created a physical exhibit, and wrote an article for
McIntyre’s “Off the Shelf” newsletter regarding the benefits of digitization in the archival world.
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Lauren K. Gilstrap
gilstrlk@uwec.edu
My instructional experience includes working as a teaching assistant for Dr. Scott Lowe
(RELS), for whom I lead review sessions for Introduction to World Religions and assisted
students with questions on course content. I have also worked as co-editor of Nova Religio:
Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. In this position I assisted Dr. Lowe in reviewing
and editing submitted papers and reviews for this publication. Nova Religio addresses new
religions, new movements within established religious traditions, neo-indigenous, neopolytheistic and revival movements, ancient wisdom and new age groups, diasporic religious
movements, and marginalized and stigmatized religions.
Historians know the great pleasure of understanding the stories of the past, of interpreting
what these stories meant in the past, what they mean in the present, and what they could mean
for the future. They also take pleasure in presenting the collective narrative to the world as we
know it. But, historians recognize too, that a responsibility accompanies this presentation of
inquiry and facts. One must represent history in the purest way, with no bias, which means
taking into consideration all parties involved. As I come to think about my future as an historian,
I fully understand and am willing to commit fully to this responsibility. My particular research
interest lies with Early Modern Irish history (early 16th-1920), and more specifically how the
Penal Laws and the priest hunters affected Catholic faith, doctrine, and practice in Ireland, and
how this change in Irish religious identity had an impact on Irish nationality, political structure,
and culture. This task involves analyzing, without bias, both Protestants and Catholics in
Ireland. A background built from majors in both history and religious studies assists me in this
task, giving me tools to understand religious doctrine, faith, and way of life, as well as a
methodological approach to interpreting historical sources, both primary and secondary.
Competency in German and Spanish, collaborative and independent research, and service as a
teaching assistant have also prepared me for this momentous task by constantly testing my ability
to portray historical events in a non-prejudiced way. This research would assist in religious and
cultural understanding, especially in areas of the world that currently face changing religious
identities, or labor under extreme laws based on religious dogma.
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