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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Department of History

Andrew Thomas

Graduate Teaching Assistant

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.

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Department of History

309 Gregory Hall, MC-466

810 S Wright St

Urbana, IL 61801

(217) 333-1155

Email: history@illinois.edu

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