Josh Markowitz

Elon University professor Charles Irons looks to answer historys critical questions
Charles Irons is a student of history. Always has been, always will be. And it is the big
questions that fascinate him. Race, religion, slavery: all divisive issues that have a dark and
complex past in American history. This is what holds Dr. Irons interest. And interest in these
topics do not come without reason. I am an intellectual in that I believe that ideas matter, not
necessarily in the speed of my thought, he said.
Forged in Childhood:
Dr. Irons interest in history developed in his youth in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I
wanted to understand the way things were, he said. Because of this, he turned to reading
everything he could. He was voracious in his pursuit of knowledge. Items that corresponded to
real events happened to grab his attention.
His focus soon drew to United States history, and the history of his native South in
particular. The region has such a cruel past with many intricate subplots and conflicting
narratives that create a fascinating field of study for him.
For Irons, the importance he places on Southern history comes from one particular place.
Most earnest white children from the South at some point ask themselves how can a deeply
Christian area have participated in the systemic discrimination of people of color, he said.
The social problems evident in the Souths past are what attracted him to the subject. As
with most history that is deeply political in nature, the history of the South is filled with power
struggles and Irons wanted to understand those struggles. However, the conflicts of race, both
before and after the Civil War, have such an importance behind them that they came to dominate
his study.
Committed Researcher:
As a professional, Irons research has focused on the things that got him hooked on
history as a kid, but he has also expanded his field of study as his knowledge has evolved.
Southern religious history is what he has focused the vast majority of his research on because it
combines many of the topics he cares deeply about.
For Irons, studying religion helps him understand the perspectives of both white and
black southerners for whom church was an integral part of their lives, as well as those who were
non-believers. Religious history has ironically done a better job thinking about secularism, he
said.
The effort and focus Irons has put into researching the topic has earned him plaudits from
the historical community as well. People who are in his field do respect his work quite a bit,
said Dr. Brian Digre.
Another one of Irons colleagues, Dr. Nancy Midgette, echoed this statement. He is a
very sound scholar, he doesnt cut corners. Hes a good writer, so you dont have to be a trained
historian to get anything out of it. He asks interesting questions of the past, she said.
While Irons has interest in both the antebellum and postbellum South, his research has
primarily focused on the pre-war period. He has a particular interest in Evangelical churches and

since the movement did not exist before the mid-18th century, his research only goes back that far.
Though Irons has mostly focused on older Southern history throughout his career, his
study of the South, as well as other research, is getting more modern. I am doing more
postbellum stuff than I ever have before, he said.
He is unsure of where more modern research will take him, but he is ready for the
challenge. He says people care more about contemporary work and that enthuses him. My
people are always in the 19th century and I still have a foot there, but stretching to the present is
an exciting challenge, he said.
His current work focuses on how African-Americans withdrew from white controlled
churches after the Civil War ended. Most accounts say African-Americans were searching for
independence and left these churches as quickly as possible, but he says about 1/3 did not and
that makes the work fascinating for him. It is also work that his colleague Dr. Nancy Midgette
highly respects. It takes a lot of effort to do that research because records are not what we
would like them to be, she said.
The effort Dr. Irons puts into his research also comes through in other things he does. Dr.
Midgette recalls the build up to an alumni reception at homecoming this year where Aramark
was planning on charging the department 50 percent more for the same amount of food as the
year before. Dr. Irons was like a bulldog going around and around to try and find answers, she
said. As a result of his persistence, the department put on a better reception than previous years
for a more reasonable price.
Passionate Teacher:
While Dr. Irons brings commitment to his research, he is also undeniably invested in
teaching. Over the 12 years he has taught at Elon he has impacted hundreds of students through
courses like Americas Civil War, US History to 1865 and North American Slavery. And there is
one thing in particular he loves about being in the classroom. I love working with primary
documents and students, he said.
Teaching students to become better readers of history is intensely rewarding for him. He
loves seeing his students ability to understand history develop and finds the process fun. I love
when they become confident in the sources and surprise me, he said.
Every class period he features some form of primary source interpretation. He said he
wants his students to be able to contextualize the documents they read for better understanding.
For him, it is all about questioning the document. The more we are able to get beyond the
literal reading of documents and can analyze them, the better we will be as a Democracy, he
said.
His colleagues and his students believe the focus he places on these documents make him
a high quality teacher. Dr. Brian Digre praised Irons ability to teach students the historians
craft by making them analyze these sources and interpret them in their own way instead of
teaching a set interpretation of a subject.
Junior history major Grace Rubinger credited Irons with helping her understand the
importance of these firsthand historical accounts. She added that his teaching methods help
students immerse themselves with the material. He makes every discussion interesting and
engaging and tries to involve everyone in the conversation.
For Irons though, the passion and energy he puts into teaching history comes because he
enjoys the diversity of the subject. In one 10 minute span in class he can cover material that is
tragic, profound and funny and it all works within context. History is fun because there is a vast

pot of the human experience to discuss, he said.