Seth Whitty

Assistant Professor 

Email: srwhitty@CougarNet.UH.EDU
Office: Teaching Unit II, #201K.

Biography

Seth Whitty received his BA from Oklahoma State University and his PhD from the University of Houston. His research focuses on American Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and nineteenth century conspiracy theories.

Teaching

Professor Whitty teaches both halves of the American Survey courses, HIST 1301 & 1302.

Research

Dr. Whitty is currently working on a manuscript based on his dissertation, “Fearocracy: Race, Slavery, and Conspiracy Theories in Nineteenth Century Tennessee.” His forthcoming work argues that the early history of the state of Tennessee was a society ruled by racial fear, a concept he defines as “Fearocracy,” and serves as a case study of the misinformation, racial fears, and conspiracy theories intrinsic to the United States. The monograph begins in the late eighteenth century and charts the influence of racial conspiracy theories during Slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and into the twentieth century.

Professor Whitty’s research has been supported by the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia and the University of Houston. Additionally, he has an upcoming article to be published in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly.

Articles

“Avengers of Blood: The Extreme Rhetoric of Newspapers During Reconstruction.” Tennessee Historical Quarterly. Expected publication Fall 2026

“The History Trapped Within ‘Try That In A Small Town’: The Legacy of Racial Fears and Conspiracies in the Early American Republic.” The Panorama: Expansive Views from the Journal of the Early Republic. Published February 4, 2025.

“A Positive Evil: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Haitian Revolution in the Tennessee State Constitutional Convention of 1834.” Age of Revolutions. Published August 29, 2022.