Publication:The Compass;

Date:Mar 4, 2007;

Section:Compass;

Page Number:1

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By Lia Russell The Virginian-Pilot

Professor’s first book spans politics, journalism, history

    Some of Dan Margolies’ eclectic interests create quite a buzz on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan College.

    But a fondness for beekeeping isn’t this professor’s only passion. From Southern politics to Appalachian music, Margolies loves to immerse himself in whatever project he undertakes.

He’s an author

    The Batten Associate Professor of History recently published his first book, “Henry Watterson and the New South: The Politics of Empire, Free Trade and Globalization.” Margolies, who has been at VWC since 2000, said he wrote it as an interdisciplinary book that covers topics in journalism, history and political science.

    “It’s designed for academic use, but it’s very readable,” said Margolies.

    Though born in Illinois, Margolies’ family roots are planted in Louisville, Ky., spurring his interest in Watterson, editor of that city’s newspaper, The Courier-Journal, from the 1860s through World War I.

    Watterson was a complex man – a Southerner who served in the Confederate Army, but also a staunch Unionist who opposed secession. And while he was an outspoken expansionist early in his career, he later espoused isolationism.

    He eventually quit his job over a disagreement with the newspaper’s owner concerning the League of Nations, which he did not support.

    Margolies, 37, said he enjoyed researching the journalistic icon because of Watterson’s impact on U.S. foreign policy and his dichotomous, unpredictable behavior.

    Predictability is not an attribute Margolies values.

    “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” quoted Margolies from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

    “There’s an internal consistency to (Watterson’s) beliefs that looks like he’s kind of erratic,” he said. “After World War I, he wrote a lot of things just to be inflammatory.”

    The publication of the Watterson book coincided with Margolies receiving the coveted Batten professorship title, an honor for excellence in teaching and scholarship, community contributions, and inspiring excellence in others. The title is carried for three years and offers access to faculty development funds.

He’s a musician

    Margolies, who lives in Estabrook with his wife Skye, a former “60 Minutes” associate producer, plays banjo and fiddle, writes about music history and explores Southern culture. He recently noticed an influx of Mexicans in Virginia and North Carolina’s mountainous regions. He wondered how their native Hispanic music meshed with traditional Southern music.

    Not one to merely wonder, Margolies assembled a team of academic experts to study the influence Southern music and culture have had on their Hispanic counterparts. The project teams an ethnomusicologist, an anthropologist specializing in diasporate communities and their music, and Margolies as historian.

    “The idea is to record people and make a Web page that has their recordings on it – just document music,” said Margolies, who has a passion for Mexican regional music.

He’s an apiarist (aka, beekeeper)

    In 2002, Margolies found another way to incorporate his interests into his work. An avid beekeeper for several years, Margolies thought VWC students would enjoy the study and keeping of the flying honey-combers.

    He received approval to offer a one-credit hour course in beekeeping and founded the Wesleyan Beekeepers Association. The class includes the opportunity to install and care for hives, produce honey, and best of all, wear the fashionable beekeeper outfit, complete with white coveralls, gloves, hat and veil.

    But it’s not all about fashion. VWC apiarists are serious about their work. VWC honey won sixth-place for light extracted honey in the 2006 Virginia State Fair.

    Margolies also keeps 15 hives on friends’ proper- ties throughout Hampton Roads.

    He wants people to understand the environmental importance of bees.

    “Beekeeping is essential to American agriculture for pollination,” he said. “There’s currently a shortage, primarily because of mites which are damaging honeybee populations around the country.”

He’s busy as a . . .

    Undeterred by stings (of which he admits to many) Margolies emulates his winged friends’ voracity for work. He directs VWC’s winter session, and he’s already involved with a new project which will culminate in a book – the study of early 20th century foreign affairs law dealing with globalization through the application of American laws on international business.

    With his wife, he also is completing “Saturday Night at Wayne’s,” a documentary film of Portsmouth bluegrass and gospel musicians.

    Film. Music. Southern culture. Wife.

    “I like to merge all the different things I’m interested in,” he said.

Visit Dan Margolies’ Web site at http: //facultystaff.vwc.edu/~dmargolies/

Lia Russell, 222-5829, lia.russell@pilotonline.com

Dan Margolies, an associate professor of history at Virginia Wesleyan College, recently published his first book, “Henry Watterson and the New South: The Politics of Empire, Free Trade and Globalization.”