Thomas J. Arnold

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Dr. Arnold has been interested in military history and environmental issues since visiting National Parks with his family in his childhood. During the long car trips he devoured books on World War II. He also has a long-standing fascination with European (especially German) history. As an exchange student in Göttingen, Germany in 1989, he witnessed first-hand the momentous events surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since that time, Dr. Arnold has visited Germany many times, and chose Munich, his favorite German city, as the subject of his dissertation.

Dr. Arnold's research broadly concerns the impacts of warfare on the relationship between humans and nature, and focuses on how war changes the character of cities and their connections to natural resources. He is especially interested in how nature and the environment function as both enemies and allies in warfare.

After receiving his Ph.D. in History from the University of Kansas in May 2012, Dr. Arnold taught at colleges in Texas, Southern and Central California, Utah, and South Dakota before coming to Norwich in 2022. In the summer of 2024, he lead a Maymester program in Berlin, Germany, focusing on military history. He enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, and pop culture, especially science fiction and fantasy.

Ph.D. History, University of Kansas
M.A. German & European Studies, Georgetown University  
B.A. International Relations, University of California-Davis 

HI 107 History of Civilization 1
HI 108 History of Civilization 2
HI 122 American History Survey II
HI 235 Military History I
HI 261 Topics Germany Military History
HI 355A Colloquium World War 2
HI 361A Topics: Germany, Russia and Modern Eastern Europe
HI 361A Topics: 20th Century Eastern Europe

Arnold, Thomas, “Gaining Strength from Nature? Surviving WW2 in Munich” in Simo Laakkonen, John McNeill, Richard Tucker and Timo Vuorisalo, eds., The Resilient City in World War II - Urban Environmental Histories, Springer International, 2019