The Disciples of Christ Historical Society is pleased to welcome Tristan Spangler-Dunning this summer as part of the Cannon-Benoit Student Internship. This internship, made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Weldon G. Cannon and Ms. Patty Benoit, is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student to provide short-term training in archival work and research. Several recipients of this internship have gone on to careers as archivists, including our current Associate Archivist, Abby Ayers.
Tristan Spangler-Dunning is a lifelong Disciple from Iowa. A multi-generational Disciple, Tristan has been deeply shaped by his parents Bill and Amy Spangler-Dunning, ordained clergy who instilled in him a love for the church and what it could offer people. Tristan earned his BA from Chapman University in Orange, California, where he wrote his thesis on the history of the Stone-Campbell movement and its relationship to slavery. He earned an MA from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, focusing his master’s thesis on the Stone-Campbell tradition as a form of historical resistance to Christian Nationalism. Tristan is currently working on an MDiv at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He currently resides at the Disciples Divinity House where he is collaborating with other Disciple scholars to work out ways in which to better serve Disciples communities in the modern age. Tristan believes that the history of the Stone-Campbell movement can help us do that very thing.
When reflecting on his upcoming internship with the Society Tristan shared, “I am looking
forward to doing research for my own work while also being a part of the important project that is the Disciples of Christ Historical Society.”