James Scythes
- Assistant Professor of History
- Wayne 711
- 610-436-2212
- JScythes@wcupa.edu
Courses Taught
- HIS 100: Global History since 1900
HIS 101: History of Civilization I
HIS 102: History of Civilization II
HIS 150: The American Experience
HIS 151: History of the United States I
HIS 152: History of the United States II
HIS 399: Civil War and Reconstruction
HIS 410: Japan and World War II
EDS 411/412: Student Teaching
HIS 444: History of American Education
About Me
Professor Scythes earned a B.A. in history at Rowan University and holds a Master of Arts in history from Villanova University. He joined the WCU faculty in August 1999 and has taught all of the 100-level History courses, as well as a course on the American Civil War and the History of American Education. Professor Scythes also served as a supervisor of student teachers. His research interests focus on antebellum America and the American Civil War. In 2016, Lehigh University Press published his first book, This Will Make a Man of Me: The Life and Letters of a Teenage Officer in the Civil War. His second book, Letters to Lizzie: The Story of Sixteen Men in the Civil War and the One Woman Who Connected Them All, was published by Kent State University Press in 2022. He also has three book chapters published, including one on Civil War soldiers’ obituaries, which appears in the book, The Civil War Soldier and the Press. He served as the president of the Gloucester County Historical Society in Woodbury, New Jersey from 2021-2024, and was a member of its Board of Trustees from 2002-2024. Professor Scythes is currently working on a book analyzing obituaries written for soldiers who died during the American Civil War.