Teaches United States history and has special interest in late 19th century
and 20th century United States history; Constitutional, political, and social
history; South Carolina history; Michigan history, and American Studies.
Professor Peters regularly teaches teaches HIST 112 “U.S. History since 1865”
(a survey course), HIST 406 “U.S. & World at War, 1917-1945,” and other undergraduate
history courses. His scholarly writings include: The Good-Roads Movement and the
Michigan State Highway Department, 1905-1917 (Ph.D. dissertation), First-Hand
Observations of the Charleston, SC, Earthquake of August 31, 1886, and Other Earthquake
Materials: Bulletin 41, SC Geological Survey, 1986, and “The Breadbox Letters:
Howard E. Merrill and the YMCA in Russia, 1917-1919” in Torch for fall 2001.
Ken also researched, wrote, and recorded 90 two-minute-long messages treating
the Constitutional Convention and the Constitution that were broadcast over
SC Educational Radio from June to September 17, 1987.
Current Activities:
I have been reading historical articles and viewing historical materials on
the television and the Internet both to enrich my own knowledge and to convey
pertinent information to my students. Following retirement in June 2006,
I intend to complete work on a book on the 1886 Charleston Earthquake and
pursue additional research on the life and times of former SC governor John Carl West.