Patrick J Furlong, Ph.D.
Professor of History
Joined Alma College Faculty in 1993
SAC 354
(989) 463-7254
Office Hours: MWF: 10:30-11:45 am, W 1:15-2:15 p.m.,TH 10:00-11:00 am
Educated at Christian Brothers' College- Cape Town, the University of Cape Town, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Patrick Furlong was born and raised in South Africa, moving to the United States in 1983.
He taught at Presbyterian College (South Carolina) and Bethany College (Kansas), coming to Alma in 1993. At Alma he has taught courses in modern European, imperial, African, and South African history, including a seminar on Comparative Fascism and a Winter-Spring seminar culminating in three weeks of intensive research on World War II topics in the British National Archives in Kew, London. Participants have developed numerous senior honors theses from this research, resulting in presentations at Alma's Honors Day, the Michigan Academy, and many award-winning papers at the Michigan annual conference of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honorary Society. In 2001 he received an Alma College Posey Award for for his scholarship and work in undergraduate research.
He has published two monographs, including "Between Crown and Swastika" (1991), nominated for South Africa's Alan Paton non-fiction prize and one of four books in African history published that year to be named an "Outstanding Academic Book" by the American Library Association's "Choice" magazine. He has published research articles in the "Journal of Theology for Southern Africa," "Ufahamu," "African Affairs," "New Contree," and the "South African Historical Journal" and is the author of over thirty academic book reviews and review articles. He has presented numerous papers at conferences such as the meetings of the African Studies Association and the South African Historical Society, the Great Lakes History Conference, and the Michigan Conference of Political Scientists. He serves on the editorial board of "New Contree" and the "South African Historical Journal," journal of the South African Historical Society. Most recently he co-authored with Alma College physiologist Dr. Karen Ball a chapter on AIDS and the state in South Africa in an anthology on the African state and the AIDS crisis. He also recently published an article on British intelligence organizations in South Africa during the Second World War.
Education
- B.A., University of Cape Town (1981)
- B.A. (Honors), University of Cape Town (1982)
- M.A., University of Cape Town (1985)
- Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara (1987)
Research Interests
20th century South Africa (especially Afrikaner nationalism, World War II, politics of science and AIDS, African National Congress), comparative fascism
Recent Courses Taught
Selected Articles
- Patrick J Furlong. "Allies at War? Britain and the `Southern African Front' in World War II." South African Historical Journal. 2005. Vol. 54 . pp.16-29. August 2006.
Selected Reviews
- Review of "The Unsettled Land: State-Making and the Politics of Land in Zimbabwe, 1893-2003", by Jocelyn Alexander. American Historical Review. 2008 Vol. 113. No.1. pp.292-293
- Review of "Ordinary Springboks: White Servicemen and Social Justice in South Africa, 1939-1961", by Neil Roos. International Journal of African Historical Studies. 2006 Vol.39. No.2. pp.364-365. 2006.
Recent Presentations
- "After the Fall: Reassessing Afrikaner Nationalism in South Africa." African Studies Association. Chicago, Illinois. 14 November 2008.
- "An Ambiguous Colonial Legacy: `Constitutionalist' `Christian' Nationalism in Ireland and South Africa in the 1930s and 1940s." Great Lakes History Conference. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 27 October 2007.
- "Afrikaner Nationalism and the European Right." American Historical Association. Atlanta, Georgia. 7 January 2007.
- "Liberation Struggles and Post-Revolutionary Politics in South Africa: The National Party and the African National Congress Compared." Great Lakes History Conference. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 20 October 2006.
- Patrick J. Furlong (with Karen L. Ball). "The Nevirapine Crisis, the Revival of Denialism, and the Continued Politicization of AIDS in South Africa." African Studies Association Annual Meeting. Washington DC. November 2005.
- "Allies at War? Britain and the `Southern African Front' in World War II." South African Historical Society Biennial Conference. Cape Town, South Africa. June 2005.
