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Research Areas
Biography
Andrew Thomas is a professional drummer, songwriter, and author. Before returning to school for his PhD, Thomas toured globally with Chicago Blues bands, regularly appeared in the house band on ABC's Windy City Live, and won a Blues Music Award in 2018 for "Band of the Year." Thomas authored You Got the Gig, Here's How to Keep It: A Working Musician's Model for Success. Thomas applies his experiences as a professional musician to his teaching pedagogy.
Research Interests
The history of Chicago Blues, The Great Migration, African Diaspora music, and Black institution building. Illinois African American History.
Research Description
Andrew Thomas conducts oral histories in many of his works as a preferred methodology.
Education
MA-History-Illinois State University
Awards and Honors
Fall 2024 Teacher's Ranked as Excellent List
Fall 2023 Recipient of the Oscar Waddell Research Fellowship Award from the McLean County Museum of History
Spring 2023 Helen Cavanagh History Award for Best Master's Thesis at Illinois State University
Courses Taught
Hist 104-The History of Black Music
Hist 172- U.S. History Since 1877
Andrew Thomas is the Bloomington-Normal Black History Project (BNBHP) chairperson. Thomas conducts oral histories of the elderly African American population in Central Illinois. The interviews are stored in the McLean County Museum of History's BNBHP archives.