Paul Otto (historian)
Encyclopedia
Paul Otto is an American professor of history at George Fox University
, and a noted researcher in the area of Dutch-Native American relations and wampum
.
, his MA (1990) from Western Washington University
, and his PhD (1995) in early American and Native American history at Indiana University
. Otto has taught at Calvin College
and Dordt College and currently teaches at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon
, where he has been since 2002. He has served as the chair of their History & Political Science Department since 2005. He teaches courses on American history, Latin America, Southern Africa, Colonial America, and the Making of the American Republic. In 2010, Otto received a faculty achievement award for research as an undergraduate professor from George Fox University. In addition, Otto is currently on the Journal of Early American Historys editorial board and on Providence Christian College
's board of trustees in Ontario, California.
Otto is currently researching wampum
in the colonial northeast, and has delivered lectures on the subject at forums such as SUNY New Paltz's Henry Hudson Symposium.
He has received an Andrew Mellon Fellowship at the Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino, California), an Earhart Research Grant, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend.. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Early American History.
George Fox University
George Fox University is a Christian university of the liberal arts and sciences, and professional studies located in Newberg, Oregon, United States. Founded as a school for Quakers in 1885, the private school has more than 3,400 students combined between its main campus in Newberg and its centers...
, and a noted researcher in the area of Dutch-Native American relations and wampum
Wampum
Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
.
Education and career
Otto received his BA (1987) from Dordt CollegeDordt College
Dordt College is a private, Christian, liberal arts college located in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church. The college name is a reference to the Synod of Dort....
, his MA (1990) from Western Washington University
Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
, and his PhD (1995) in early American and Native American history at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. Otto has taught at Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
and Dordt College and currently teaches at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon
Newberg, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,064 people, 6,099 households, and 4,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,599.4 people per square mile . There were 6,435 housing units at an average density of 1,282.2 per square mile...
, where he has been since 2002. He has served as the chair of their History & Political Science Department since 2005. He teaches courses on American history, Latin America, Southern Africa, Colonial America, and the Making of the American Republic. In 2010, Otto received a faculty achievement award for research as an undergraduate professor from George Fox University. In addition, Otto is currently on the Journal of Early American Historys editorial board and on Providence Christian College
Providence Christian College
Providence Christian College is a four-year liberal arts college in Pasadena, California. Founded in 2005, it is an independent, confessionally Reformed college with no formal denominational ties....
's board of trustees in Ontario, California.
Scholarship
Otto's scholarship has focused on the relations between the Dutch and Native Americans in colonial New York. Otto was recognized as a Fulbright scholar in the Netherlands in 1993-1994. His scholarship and first book, The Dutch-Munsee Encounter in America: The Struggle for Sovereignty in the Hudson Valley, published by Berghahn Press, led him to receive the Hendricks Award in 1998. Further, Otto has been recognized as a fellow of the New Netherland Institute and the Holland Society of New York. His work has also been cited in history textbooks covering the period, such as Eric Nellis's Empire of Regions, and Alan Gallay's Colonial & Revolutionary America, and in journal articles such as one by Nancy Hagedorn, who cited Otto's work as exemplifying a trend in American historical scholarship towards a "more intricate and subtle, but also more representative, vision of early America".Otto is currently researching wampum
Wampum
Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
in the colonial northeast, and has delivered lectures on the subject at forums such as SUNY New Paltz's Henry Hudson Symposium.
He has received an Andrew Mellon Fellowship at the Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino, California), an Earhart Research Grant, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend.. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Early American History.
Publications
- The Dutch-Munsee Encounter in America: The Struggle for Sovereignty in the Hudson Valley. New York: Berghahn Press, 2006.
- "Wampum: The Transfer and Creation of Rituals on the Early American Frontier." In Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual, vol 5, Transfer and Spaces, ed. Gita Dharampal-Frick, Robert Langer, and Niles Holger Petersen, 171-188.Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Books, 2010.
- "Intercultural Relations between Natives and Europeans in New Netherland." In Four Centuries of Dutch-American Relations, 1609-2009, ed. Cornelis A. van Minnen, Hans Krabbendam, and Giles Scott-Smith, 178-191. Albany: SUNY Press, 2009.
- "'Gotta Serve Somebody': The Challenge of Christian Scholarship." Intégrité: A Faith and Learning Journal 5, no. 2 (Fall 2006): 28-44.
- “The Origins of New Netherland: Interpreting Native American Responses to Henry Hudson's Visit.” Itinerario (European Journal of Overseas History) 18, no. 2 (1994): 22-39.
- “Reassessing American Frontier Theory: Culture, Cultural Relativism, and the Middle Ground.” In Frontiers and Boundaries in United States History, ed. Cornelis A. van Minnen & Sylvia Hinton, 27-38. Amsterdam: VU University Press, 2004.