A historian whose latest book traces the origins and development of the Anabaptist and Mennonite movements from their beginnings in Europe through their spread across the globe will present at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ’s annual Albert N. Keim Lecture Series this week.

Troy Osborne is dean and associate professor of history and theological studies at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where he teaches courses on the Reformation and Mennonite history.

His lecture, titled “Beyond Radicals, Reformers & Martyrs: The Possibilities and Perils of a Usable Past,” will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Suter Science Center 106. The lecture is free to attend and open to the public. It will be livestreamed on the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ YouTube page.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. in the upper level of the Suter Science Center will precede the lecture.

Mark Metzler Sawin, professor of history at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ and director of its history and political science program, grew up with Osborne in Hesston, Kansas, and remarked on his dry wit. “Troy is a funny guy, and that sense of humor will certainly come through in his lecture,” he said. “He is a much-loved lecturer at Conrad Grebel.”

Osborne is the author of Radicals & Reformers: A Survey of Global Anabaptist History (Herald Press, 2024), which serves as a “new authoritative introduction to Anabaptist history,” according to a description from the publisher, and reflects on the ways that Anabaptists have defined their identity in new settings and in response to new theological, intellectual, geographic, and political contexts. The text provides an overview of how Mennonites “from Zurich to Zimbabwe” have adapted to or resisted the world around them.

“We haven’t had this sort of major book on Mennonite or Anabaptist history in probably 30 years,” Sawin said. “This has become the new Anabaptist history text.”

“The Anabaptist community is very much a global community, and histories before were really just focused on European and American Mennonites,” Sawin added. “Troy’s book does a great job of addressing the global Anabaptist history, providing a much more accurate view of the worldwide scope of Anabaptism.”

Osborne has a PhD from the University of Minnesota and degrees from Goshen College and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. His articles have appeared in Mennonite Quarterly Review, Archive for Reformation History, and Church History and Religious Culture. He and his wife Emma have two daughters. He is a member of Waterloo North Mennonite Church. 

In addition to the history lecture, Osborne will share his perspective on what can be learned from the Anabaptist story during Campus Worship at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Martin Chapel (Seminary Building). 

More on the Keim Lecture Series

The annual Keim Lecture Series is presented by the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ history and political science program. It honors the memory of Professor Albert N. Keim, who taught as a history professor at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ for 35 years and served as the academic dean from 1977 to 1984. The inaugural lecture in 2013 featured leading historian Peter N. Stearns of George Mason University. 

Learn more about past presenters below:

• 2025: Public historian and bestselling author Elizabeth Catte presented on “Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia.”
• 2024: Kristina Hook, State Department policy advisor for mass atrocity prevention, presented on “Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine: Atrocity Crimes, Accountability, and Pursuing a Just Peace.” 
• 2023: Clayton Koppes, professor emeritus of Oberlin College, presented on “Sex, Drugs and Human Rights: The Contested History of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.” 
• 2022: Professor Kimberly Schmidt presented on“Marketing Mennonites, Posing Cheyennes: Photography, Gender, and Indigenous Agency on the Mission Field (1880-1920).”
• 2021: Historian, author, and investigative reporter Rick Shenkman, founder of History News Network, spoke on “Why is Democracy so @#$&! Hard?” 
• 2020: Professor Ernesto Verdeja, of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, was the speaker. 
• 2019: Federal public defender, immigrant rights attorney, and playwright Kara Hartzler ’94 spoke on “Borders, Jails, and Long Drives in the Desert: 25 Years of Immigration Law in the Southwest.”
• 2017: Dongping Han, professor at Warren-Wilson College and a native of rural China, addressed “The Cultural Revolution: A Reinterpretation from Today’s China.”
• 2016: Artist/activist provided a lecture titled “Performing Statistics: Connecting incarcerated youth, artists, and leading policy experts to challenge Virginia’s juvenile justice system.”
• 2015: , political scientist in the University of Kansas’s School of Public Affairs and Administration, presented “The Police and Racial Discrimination in America.”
• 2014: , a pastor, activist and history professor who helped EMC professors initiate social change in Harrisonburg during the early 1960s, presented “Is America Possible?”

So, when Dr. Kristina Hook, a former State Department policy adviser for mass atrocity prevention, visited 91¶ĚĘÓƵ last week to present on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dwyer jumped at the chance to see her speak.

“It was fascinating and interesting to see someone in the field talk about what they’re passionate about,” Dwyer said. “It was cool, especially to hear not necessarily what you get on the news.”

is an assistant professor of conflict management at Kennesaw State University specializing in comparative genocide studies. Supported by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright and USAID fellowships, she has conducted fieldwork in Ukraine since 2015.

She was selected as this year’s speaker for the annual Albert N. Keim Lecture Series, presented by the 91¶ĚĘÓƵ History and Political Science programs. In addition to her lecture, she met with faculty and students such as Dwyer for lunch, where she talked about her career progression and path through higher education.

Lys Nolt, a senior from Harrisonburg, also attended the lunch talk with Hook as well as the afternoon lecture. Nolt is taking a human rights and dignity course this semester, and was strongly encouraged to attend the presentation. 

The peacebuilding major is interested in working with nongovernmental organizations after graduation, and appreciated hearing Hook speak about generational trauma. 

“Something I’ve been learning more and more in peacebuilding is the importance of hearing the community and hearing what people have to say,” Nolt said. “The amount of care she has for both the Russian and Ukrainian peoples and for their state of living and their well-being during events of mass atrocities … I was really impressed by the way she approached it.”

Hook’s lecture on Thursday, Jan. 25, titled “Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine: Atrocity Crimes, Accountability, and Pursuing a Just Peace” included:

• Legal definitions of “atrocity crimes” and how they differ from “war crimes”
• A historical context to Russia’s aggression against Ukrainians
• Descriptions of the horrors that Ukraine is enduring
• Reactions from Ukrainians to the war

According to a slide from her presentation, 14,000 Ukranians were killed and 1.5 million internally displaced in the first seven years of the Russia-Ukraine War, from 2014 to 2021. During that span, 30,000 war crimes were committed on Ukrainians, and “jokes and slurs began to open conversations about Russian imperialism within Ukraine.”

In early 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became the largest attack on a European country since World War II, the violence ratcheted up. Ninety-thousand war crimes were recorded in 365 days. Genocidal language was regularly aired on Russian state TV. Torture and disappearances were a regular occurrence. And, for more than 700 days, daily nationwide missile attacks struck hospitals, churches, museums and art galleries.

91¶ĚĘÓƵ 60 people filled the Strite Conference Room in the Campus Center to watch her presentation.

Hook received her joint Ph.D. in anthropology and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s .

Her forthcoming book analyzes the legacy of the Holodomor, a genocide in Ukraine under Joseph Stalin, including how this historical memory is driving Ukraine’s strong resistance to Russia today.

More on the Keim Lecture Series

The Albert N. Keim Lecture Series honors the memory of Professor Albert N. Keim, who served as a history professor at 91¶ĚĘÓƵ for 35 years and was the academic dean from 1977 to 1984. The inaugural lecture in 2013 featured leading historian Peter N. Stearns, of George Mason University.

Learn more about past presenters, in this sampling:

2023: Clayton Koppes, professor emeritus of Oberlin College, presented on “Sex, Drugs and Human Rights: The Contested History of HIV/AIDS in the U.S.” 

2022: Professor Kimberly Schmidt presented on“Marketing Mennonites, Posing Cheyennes: Photography, Gender, and Indigenous Agency on the Mission Field (1880-1920).”

2021:  Historian, author, and investigative reporter Rick Shenkman, founder of History News Network, spoke on “Why is Democracy so @#$&! Hard?” 

2020: Professor Ernesto Verdeja, of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at University of Notre Dame, was the speaker. 

2019: Federal public defender, immigrant rights attorney and playwright Kara Hartzler ’94 spoke on “Borders, Jails, and Long Drives in the Desert: 25 Years of Immigration Law in the Southwest.”

2017: Dongping Han, professor at Warren-Wilson College and a native of rural China, addressed “The Cultural Revolution: A Reinterpretation from Today’s China.”

2016: Artist/activist  provided a lecture titled â€śPerforming Statistics: Connecting incarcerated youth, artists, and leading policy experts to challenge Virginia’s juvenile justice system.”

2015: , political scientist in the University of Kansas’s School of Public Affairs and Administration, presented “The Police and Racial Discrimination in America.”

2014: , a pastor, activist and history professor who helped EMC professors initiate social change in Harrisonburg during the early 1960s, presented “Is America Possible?”