Mitch Kachun

Photo of Mitch Kachun
Mitch Kachun
Professor Emeritus
Mailing address: 
Department of History
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5334 USA
Education: 
  • Ph.D., History, Cornell University, 1997
  • M.A., History, Cornell University, 1993
  • M.S., History, Illinois State University, 1990
  • B.A., Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 1979
Research interests: 
  • African American history
  • History and Memory
  • African American newspapers, historical writing, and print culture
Bio: 

Dr. Mitch Kachun is a professor of African American history in the Department of History at Western Michigan University. Courses he teaches include:

  • HIST 2100: American History to 1877
  • HIST 2900: The Historian’s Craft
  • HIST 3100: The American Civil Rights Movement
  • HIST 3280: African American History and Culture
  • HIST 3285: African Americans in Michigan
  • HIST 6980: College Teaching and Professional Activity

He also teaches topical graduate readings courses and research seminars in African American history and history and memory.

Kachun’s research concentrates on how African Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries used historical writing and public commemorations to work for equal rights, construct a sense of collective identity, and claim control over their status and destiny in American society. He is currently researching the life, travels, and writings of Charles Stewart, a prominent yet understudied African American journalist from the early twentieth century.

In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, his books include: