At Fayetteville Technical Community College, the instructors of History, Humanities, Philosophy, and Religion endeavor to provide context for the modern world, foster critical thinking and analysis, encourage creativity and empathy, develop writing and communication skills, and hone students’ ability to research. By gaining these skills, students of the Humanities will go on to help create the foundation for a better world.
Meet the staff
Faculty
Julian Beltran
Philosophy Instructor
beltranj@faytechcc.edu/910-678-8302
Office Hours: M 10-11, TTh 1-2, and W 9-11
Education:
M.A. Teachers College, Columbia University (Philosophy and Education)
B.A. Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Philosophy)
Courses taught at FTCC:
HUM115 – Critical Thinking
PHI215 – Philosophical Issues
PHI240 – Introduction to Ethics
Research and Teaching Interests:
Moral theory
Early modern philosophy (especially epistemology)
Philosophy of education
Biography:
Julian Zapata Beltran teaches Philosophy, Ethics, and Critical thinking. He has worked for FTCC since 2014. He worked for 2 years as an adjunct instructor and became full time instructor in 2016. He was born in Bogota, Colombia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a master’s degree in Philosophy and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has volunteered for many years as a judge for the Regional and National High School Ethics Bowl at UNC Chapel Hill. He is a member of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers and the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum. He enjoys class dialog and exploring ways for students to engage in civil discourse about difficult contemporary topics. Outside of the classroom, he enjoys movies and sightseeing with his wife Paola.
Dr. Gaylyn Eddy
Religion and Philosophy Instructor
eddyg@faytechcc.edu/910-678-9811
HOS 616b
Office hours: MWF 9-10 and TTh 1-2
Education:
M.A. Wheaton Graduate School
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University
Biography:
Dr. Eddy began her teaching career as an adjunct at FTCC and has since taught at the University and community college level. She is currently the Program Coordinator for the department. Dr. Eddy began her academic career at Wheaton College and graduate school. She earned a Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University and has further completed graduate work in Philosophy and World Religions. She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion. In her spare time Dr. Eddy enjoys gardening and yard work, home improvement projects and can often be found at The Climbing Place.
Courses taught at FTCC:
REL 110 Intro to World Religion
REL 211 Intro to Old Testament
REL 212 Intro to New Testament
PHI 240 Intro to Ethics
Jessie Kiker
History Instructor
kikerj@faytechcc.edu/910-678-1060
HOS 616-J
Office Hours: MTW 8-9 and F 9-11
Education:
B.A. Appalachian State University
M.A. University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Research and Teaching Interests:
Atlantic World History (Colonial America to Revolutionary War)
Environmental History
Reconstruction Era
North Carolina History
Biography:
Professor Kiker was born and raised in the great state of North Carolina in the Charlotte area, and began teaching history at FTCC in the Fall of 2015. He attended Appalachian State University as an undergraduate and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as a graduate student. He enjoys being outside as much as possible and the Fayetteville area provides many great opportunities for that. He also is a big Carolina Panthers fan (for better or for worse!) and a huge sci fi nerd, so he’s always up for a chat about that!
Courses Taught at FTCC:
HIS 131 American History I
HIS 132 American History II
HIS 236 North Carolina History
HIS 221 African American History
Dr. Melinda Pash
History and Humanities Instructor
pashm@faytechcc.edu/910-678-9803
HOS 616-K
Office Hours: TTh 11-12:30 and MW 2-3
Education:
B.A. and M.A. University of Tulsa (History/English and History)
Ph.D. University of Tennessee, Knoxville (American History)
Research and Teaching Interests:
Ancient World (Rome and Greece)
Korean War
Veteran’s Studies
Select Publications:
In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation: The Americans Who Fought the Korean War. (New York: New York University Press, 2012).
“The Korean War G.I. Bill of Rights” in Stephen R. Ortiz, ed., The Politics of Social Policy. Tallahassee: University Press of Florida, 2012.
“Moving the Color Line One Recruit at a Time: The Korean War Military and Racial Attitudes” in Will Crafton and Kelly Chaves, editors, War, Society and the Ingenious Arts: Essays in Honor of Thomas H. Buckley. Tulsa, OK: University of Tulsa Press, 2009.
“Self-Interested Benevolence: The Populists and Foreign Policy.” The Best Century: A Journal of the Nineteenth Century 1:1 (February 2006) (Cantadora Press).
Biography:
Originally from Oklahoma, Professor Pash earned her B.A. (1991) and M.A. (1995) in History from the University of Tulsa and her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee (2008). In 2012, NYU Press published her work on Korean War veterans, In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation. However, since graduate school, Dr. Pash primarily has taught Western Civilization I, World Civilization I and II, and Ancient History and has found that she loves the ancient world.
From 2010-2011, Dr. Pash’s husband, Sidney (the other Dr. Pash) had a Fulbright Scholar Award in Tokyo, Japan and so the whole family lived right in the heart of Tokyo for a year. They became refugees in China for a short time in March and April 2011 after the earthquake and subsequent meltdown of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After living in Japan, Dr. Pash started teaching HUM 120, Japanese Culture. On the way back to the States in July 2011, Dr. Pash and her youngest son, Sam (then age 8) toured Italy and Turkey for several weeks and she finally got to see some of ancient Rome.
Courses Taught at FTCC:
HIS 111 World Civilizations I
HIS 112 World Civilizations II
HIS 211Ancient History
HUM 120 Japanese Culture
HIS 132 American History II
Hattie Presnell
History and Geography Instructor
presnelh@faytechcc.edu/910-678-9765
Office hours: M 9-10 and 11-12, TTh 10-11, and W 11-12
Education:
B.A. High Point University (History)
PGDip. Durham University (Early Modern History)
M.A. University of York (Renaissance and Early Modern Studies)
Research and Teaching Interests:
Tudor Court Life
16th-17th Century Material Culture (including English Portraiture, Funerary Art, Food, Fashion, and Paleography)
Biography:
Professor Presnell has been a History Instructor at FTCC since Spring 2019. Previously she taught at Guilford Technical Community College and High Point University, both of which she also attended as a student. Ms. Presnell began her academic journey as community college student and always wanted to come back as a way to give back to the community that set her on the path to success. Outside of teaching, Ms. Presnell enjoys cooking, traveling, and enjoying all things sci-fi. She is always happy to chat about history and has been known to be a little exuberant!
Courses Taught at FTCC:
HIS 132 American History II
GEO 111 World Regional Geography
HIS 112 World Civilizations II
Dr. Daniel Stewart
Humanities Instructor
stewartd@faytechcc.edu/910.678.9800
HOS 616-G
Office Hours:
Education:
B.S. Wayland Baptist University
M.A. California State University, Dominguez Hills
Ed.D. Northcentral University
Research and Teaching Interests:
Civil War
Medieval History
Mythology
Technology and Society
Biography:
Daniel P. Stewart is a native of Brewer, Maine, where he graduated from Brewer High School as president of his senior class in 1983. He went on to serve 21 years in the United States Army, serving with such prestigious units as the Berlin Brigade, the 82d Airborne Division, and the 18th Airborne Corps. He retired from military service in 2005. During his years in the Army, he earned a B.S. in Occupational Education and an M.A. in Humanities. Dr. Stewart’s master’s thesis, “General Sherman in Fayetteville NC: Impact on a Community,” won all-campus thesis of the year at CSUDH in 2004. Upon retirement from the Army, Dr. Stewart accepted a position as an adjunct professor of history and humanities at Fayetteville Technical Community College in Fayetteville, NC. Dr. Stewart became at full time Humanities instructor at FTCC in the Fall 2009 semester. Dr. Stewart was accepted into the Northcentral University Doctor of Education program, graduating with an Ed.D with a concentration in Curriculum and Teaching in May, 2013. Dr. Stewart and his wife Tammy reside in rural Harnett County where he enjoys gardening, hunting, fishing, and exploring local history.
Courses Taught at FTCC:
HUM 115 Critical Thinking
HUM 130 Myth in Human Culture
HUM 110 Technology and Society
HIS 212 Medieval History
HIS 226 The Civil War
HIS 131 American History I
HIS 275 History of Terrorism
Dr. Christopher Thrasher
History and Political Science Instructor
Director of the Voices from the Sandhills Oral History Project
thrashec@faytechcc.edu/910-678-9801
Office Hours: M-Th 10:30-12
Education:
B.S. University of North Alabama (History and Political Science)
M.A. Middle Tennessee State University (History)
Graduate Certificate University of Western New Mexico (Political Science)
Ph.D. Texas Tech University (History)
Research and Teaching Interests:
Southern History
Political History
Public History
Select Publications:
2023 Miserable Little Conglomeration: A Social History of the Port Hudson Campaign.
2022 The Murder of Oscar Chitwood, The History Press.
2021 Suffering in the Army of Tennessee: A Social History of the Confederate Army of the Heartland from the Battles for Atlanta to the Retreat from Nashville. University of Tennessee Press.
2020 “Paint How a Straight Line Feels: Stories from the Artist in Residence Program at Hot Springs National Park,” The Record, Garland County Historical Society.
2016 “Ragged Rebels Sure Enough: The Army of Tennessee in September 1864,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly.
2016 “Dear Bettie: Letters from a Homesick Alabamian in the Army of Tennessee,” Alabama Heritage.
2015 Fight Sports and American Masculinity: Salvation in Violence from 1607 to the Present. McFarland Press.
Biography:
After a number of years as a welder, construction worker, and retail store manager, Dr. Thrasher felt the need for a more meaningful life and decided to become a teacher like his mother and father before him. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech University and eventually joined the faculty of Fayetteville Technical Community College. On the first day of every class, Professor Thrasher always asks students for their suggestions. With their ideas in mind, he builds classes that are flexible, unconventional, and constantly evolving. Every class is different and every day is an adventure.
Courses Taught at FTCC:
HIS 131 American History I
HIS 132 American History II
HIS 226 The Civil War
POL 120 American Government
POL 130 State and Local Government
HUM 122 Southern Culture
