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K-State Today

November 10, 2022

History students publish in Riley County Genealogical Society's 'Kansas Kin'

Submitted by Melissa Janulis

Two students were recently published in "Kansas Kin," a publication of the Riley County Genealogical Society.

One article is co-authored by doctoral student Melanie Highsmith, page 44, and the other is authored by K-State graduate Haley Dulniawka, page 48, as part of a course on Death and Dying in History in fall 2021. 

View a PDF of the publication. 

Highsmith is a doctoral candidate in the department of history who studies 19th-century conceptions of health, wellness and the construction of asylums in Kansas. Highsmith is the curator for education and design at the Riley County Historical Museum. Previous degrees include two master's degrees from Texas Tech University in history, 2018, and physical anthropology, 2015, as well as a bachelor's degree in history, 2012, from Angelo State University.

Dulniawka is a 2021 K-State graduate who studied medical biochemistry and history. Her interests are in the history of medicine and associated topics. She currently works as a surgical technician at Ascension Via Christi Hospital. She plans to attend medical school in the upcoming future. This article was written for the class, Death and Dying in History, taught by Heather McCrea in 2021.

Death and Dying in History is normally offered in the fall semesters and aims to familiarize students with attitudes and practices about death and dying in various geographical locations and historical periods and to undertake study of selected topics, such as epidemics and pandemics, death rituals, the business and planning of death, "good" and "bad" death, mourning and grief.