Faculty Profile for Dr. Tom Alter II

profile photo for Dr. Tom Alter II
Dr. Tom Alter II
Assistant Professor — History
TMH 221
phone: (512) 245-2142
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Born: January 16, 1974 Fort Wayne, IN

B.A., History, Indiana University–Bloomington, 1996
M.A., History, Texas State University, 2008
Ph. D., History, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2016

Teaching Interests

 Labor History, Populism, Socialism, Transnational U.S. History, Race, Social Movements

Research Interests

 Labor History, Populism, Socialism, Transnational U.S. History, Race

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Alter, T. E. (2023, December). Review of William C. Pratt’s After Populism: The Agrarian Left on the Northern Plains, 1900-1960. Journal of Arizona History.
  • Alter, T. E. (n.d.). Review of Greg Hall’s The Anarchist Life and Times of Jay Fox. New Mexico Historical Review.
  • Alter, T. E. (2023, May). Review of Megan Birk’s The Fundamental Institution: Poverty, Social Welfare, and Agriculture in American Poor Farms. The Journal of Southern History.
  • Alter, T. E. (2022). The Role of Independent Working-Class Political Action. LABORonline. Retrieved from https://www.lawcha.org/2022/09/26/working-class-political-action/
  • Alter, T. E. (2022, August). TFA: Know Your Rights. Advocate. Retrieved from https://www.tsta.org/news_center/advocate-magazine/

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Labor and Working-Class History Association Travel Grant. 2015 - 2017
  • Award / Honor Recipient: University of Illinois at Chicago’s Graduate College Outstanding Dissertation Award, University of Illinois at Chicago. 2016
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Dean’s Scholar Award, University of Illinois at Chicago. 2015 - 2016
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Travel Grant, Grad College, University of Illinois at Chicago. 2009 - 2015
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Graduate Student Council Travel Award. 2013

Selected Service Activities

Member
Labor and Working-Class History Association/Program Committee for 2025 conference
2024-Present
Other
History Club
August 2024-Present
Member
Curriculum Committee, Department of History
August 2024-Present
Treasurer
Southern Labor Studies Association
January 2023-Present
Faculty Advisor
Young Democratic Socialists of America
2020-Present