Rate My Professor Bryan McGovern

Bryan McGovern is Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy and Professor of History and History Education at Kennesaw State University in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He joined the university in 2007, following his tenure as Assistant Professor of History at Quincy University. McGovern served as Program Coordinator of History Education for eight years at Kennesaw State and four years at Quincy University. He was appointed interim chair of the department before assuming the permanent role effective July 1, 2022. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of Missouri in 2003 and his M.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati. His academic career emphasizes teaching and research in history, with a focus on preparing students for careers in education and historical analysis.

McGovern's research specializes in 19th-century Irish and Irish-American history, particularly Irish American nationalism, diaspora studies, immigration, and sectarianism. Key publications include his monograph John Mitchel: Irish Nationalist, Southern Secessionist (University of Tennessee Press, 2009); co-authored book The Fenians: Irish Rebellion in the North Atlantic World, 1858-1876 with Patrick Steward (University of Tennessee Press, 2013); “Richard O'Gorman and Young Ireland on Race, Class, and Culture in Nineteenth Century Irish America” (New Hibernia Review, Summer 2022); “Andrew Jackson and the Protestant Irish of Philadelphia: Early Nineteenth Century Sectarianism” (Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Spring 2020); “Young Ireland and Southern Nationalism” (Irish Studies South, 2016); “Kerby Miller and Irish Immigration to America” in The Making of Modern Immigration: An Encyclopedia of People and Ideas (2012); and “John Mitchel: Ecumenical Nationalist in the Old South” (New Hibernia Review, Summer 2001). He has contributed public-facing articles, such as “How the color of St. Patrick’s Day went from Blue to Green” (The Conversation, March 2025), and is currently working on a book about the Irish in Georgia. McGovern teaches courses in Irish history, American history, and history education, supporting programs like the B.A. in History and B.S. in History Education. He participates in university governance through roles in the Chairs' and Directors' Assembly and the Human Resources Advisory Council.