WHEN DR. MARK Cheathem arrived at Cumberland University in 1992 as an undergraduate student, he was an English major planning to become a high school English teacher. When he realized high school education was not his calling, he double-majored in English and history. This pivot allowed him to find passion in his field, a passion he credits to his history professor, Monty Pope.
“He made history come alive in ways that no one else had,” Cheathem said.
Looking back, he said this field made sense. He grew up visiting Red Clay State Park, where the Cherokee council discussed Andrew Jackson’s removal treaty in the 1830s, and found that he preferred historical biographies over literary classics.
After earning his doctorate from Mississippi State University, he began teaching history at Southern New Hampshire University. Afterwards, Cheathem returned to his alma mater, Cumberland University, as a professor.
“Some of my former professors had a hard time not seeing me as the nerdy kid who sat in their classes asking annoying questions,” he said.
He didn’t let that deter him, because he had a unique advantage as a former student.
“I have sat in their seats — literally, in some cases — and I know what it is like to be a Cumberland student,” Cheathem said.
He said his teaching style encompasses wisdom from quite a few mentors at Cumberland, including Monty Pope, Jim Dressler, Bill McKee, Tim Farris, and John Markert.
“I think I took something from each of them to create my own teaching philosophy and style,” he said.
According to Cheathem, these professors valued relationships and maintained high expectations, which he adopted into his own teaching. Years of teaching helped him find a better balance of the two.
“I used to be more hard-nosed and inflexible, but as I have gotten older, I think I have mellowed a bit,” Cheathem said. “Now, I value the classroom experience as being about more than just the historical content we need to cover.”
In his two-year course rotation, Cheathem teaches The American Presidency, Civil War America, Conspiracy Theories in American History, and Jacksonian America. He said students often engage in class discussions enthusiastically.
“All of these courses have increasingly become more relevant the longer I have taught them, and my sense is that the students who enroll in them want to understand the historical context of modern-day arguments and controversies,” Cheathem said.
Drawing from Immanuel Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment?” Cheathem challenges his students with the quote: “Dare to know! Have courage to use your own intelligence!”
“I want them to think critically about the world and not just accept that things have to be the way they are. Just like our ancestors changed the world, so can they,” Cheathem said.
He encourages students to develop broader perspectives beyond their own. He hopes to inspire lifelong curiosity in his students.
“Few things are sadder to me than people who are not curious about where we came from and how we got to this point in our society,” Cheathem said.
He has also served as project director of the Papers of Martin Van Buren for the last decade. This project gives undergraduate students exciting opportunities to engage in impactful historical research and preservation.
“Giving students the opportunity to contribute to expanding historical knowledge is a priority for us,” Cheathem said. “Not many people are able to make this kind of contribution.”
Students learn to read 19th-century cursive handwriting, transcribe documents, and study the complex process of making history accessible.
“It helps them see the many choices that go into something as seemingly straightforward as preparing historical documents for research,” Cheathem said.
A friend once asked Cheathem an invaluable question: “Besides teaching your students about history, how are you changing their lives?” That perspective shift became vital to Cheathem’s career.
“When I feel like a failure as a professor, I try to remember that ‘teaching’ is about more than what happens in the classroom, and my role is to help students discover themselves and their path forward,” he said.
Cheathem is glad he returned to Cumberland to teach, noting that the university is an academic ecosystem that encourages growth, development, and change.
“Places like Cumberland are institutions that help communities preserve local memory and culture for future generations,” he said.
Cheathem refers to the architecture of Labry Hall in his lecture on the Great Depression, which incorporates walls from the old gymnasium built in the 1930s.
“If universities like Cumberland can help their students see the history that literally surrounds them, then I think that helps make history more interesting and not just useless trivia devoid of the human experience,” Cheathem said.
Cheathem has dedicated his life to studying Tennessee history and Southern history.
“As a nation, I think we need to make a significant investment in rebuilding the historical profession, not at the Ivies but at colleges and universities like Cumberland,” he said.
Through his teaching, he brings stories of the past to life, helping students navigate connections between the past and present. He promotes critical thinking, curiosity, and learning from history in order to shape a brighter future. GN
