Assistant Professor of History
Contact Information
Office Location: 3062 Nazareth Hall
Office Phone: 651-286-7669
Email: mlmiller@nwc.edu

Background
Dr. Miller joined the Northwestern College faculty after teaching for several years in Moscow. A specialist in the history of imperial and Soviet Russia, he studies the development of religion, education and philanthropy. His research and writing explores the interaction of Russian and Greek Orthodox Christianity with the modern world. Matt and his wife Terri are active members of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, where they volunteer in teaching ministries. Their twin daughters Claire and Amelia keep life full of energy and surprises.

Education
Ph.D. University of Minnesota
M.A. Wheaton College
B.A. Miami University
Russian language program, Moscow State University

Specialty Areas
History of Russia
History of Modern Europe
History of Christianity

To learn more about Matt Miller’s scholarly work, visit his professional accomplishments page.

Courses Taught
At Northwestern College:
History of Russia
History of Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Europe
History of Twentieth-Century Europe
History of Western Civilization
Russian Language and Culture
Introduction to Political Science
US National Government

At Other Institutions:
History of Christianity in Russia
History of Christianity
Christianity and Education
Survey of the Old Testament
Survey of the New Testament

The parts of the discipline of history that most intrigue and fascinate me are...
Connections among people of different cultures and relationships among Christians of different confessions.

One of the things I enjoy most in the classroom is...
Helping students understand complex issues from a variety of perspectives.

Currently, I am working on...
Writing a book on the history of the American YMCA’s service among Russians during the first half of the twentieth century.

Some interesting things I have done in the past include...
In 1990 and 1991 I lived in Leningrad for ten months and experienced the last days of the Soviet Union. From 1997 to 2008 I worked along with my family in Moscow; we served with the Russian-American Christian University and the Evangelical Free Church. In 2003 I studied for a month in Greece and Cyprus and visited a number of sites connected with classical, biblical and modern history.

Books which have shaped who I am as an historian:
Theofanis George Stavrou and Robert L. Nichols, eds., Russian Orthodoxy under the Old Regime

Marc Raeff, Russia Abroad: A Cultural History of the Russian Emigration, 1919-1939

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago

Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

George M. Marsden, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship

David Bebbington, Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought

Advice I would give to college students:
Read widely. Travel off the beaten path. Develop friendships with people whose opinions and backgrounds stretch you!

Memberships:
American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
Association for the Study of Eastern Christian History and Culture
Conference on Faith and History