Joshua Althoff
Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Meet Professor Althoff
he, him, his
Years at Knox: 2025 to present
I am a historian of the Indigenous Midwest. I received my BA from Knox and later a PhD from the University of Minnesota for research, which investigated the dual trajectories of Myaamia (Miami) and settler memory making practices in contemporary Indiana. As a settler scholar, I am committed to collaborative research and am excited to teach students about historical ethics and methods. When not in the archive or classroom, I enjoy playing D&D and reading genre fiction.
Education
Ph.D., History, 2025, University of Minnesota Twin-Cities.
B.A., History and Creative Writing, 2019, Knox College.
Teaching Interests
Native History, Early American History, 19th Century History, Public History, Memory Studies.
Full Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Honors/Grants
Kerr Prize Finalist, Business History Conference, 2024
Louis Pelzer Memorial Award, Organization of American Historians, 2023.
Publications
“Managing Settlers, Managing Neighbors: Renarrating Johnson v. McIntosh Through the History of Piankashaw Community Building.” Journal of American History. 110 no. 4 (March 2024).
“Resisting the Lonely Historian,” Process: A Blog for American History. 2024
Presentations
Native American and Indigenous Studies Association “Indigenous Vincennes and the ‘Midwestern’ Identity Crisis,” 2025.
Business History Conference, “Fiscal Sovereignty: Myaamia Public Interest At the Fort Wayne Indian Agency, 1818-1838,” 2024
Newberry Library Consortium on American Indian Studies (NCAIS), Graduate Student Conference, “Celebrity, Humor, and Showmanship: Contesting Settler History through Miami Performances,” 2024.
Western Historical Association, “Miami Homelands or the First West? Constructing and Challenging Historical Memory in Indiana,” 2023.
Newberry Library Consortium on American Indian Studies (NCAIS), Graduate Student Conference, “Reading Gender and Intent: Piankashaw Land Conveyances in the Francis Vigo Papers,” 2022.
Campus & Community Involvement
- University of Minnesota American Indian & Indigenous Studies Workshop, 2019-2025
- Co-Chair, Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
- University of Minnesota History Graduate Association, 2019-2025
- Officer, Fall 2023 - Spring 2024