Janda’s newest work offered in two formats, including free open-access history textbook

Cameron University history professor Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda has co-authored Oklahoma Reconsidered: A History with Dr. Patricia Loughlin, a history professor at the University of Central Oklahoma. Former Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Jari Askins authored the foreword.

Oklahoma Reconsidered provides a concise and conversational history of Oklahoma from the 1700s and into the 21st century and shows how the state has been shaped by wars, epidemics, civil rights movements and unified efforts to heal after devastating terrorist attacks.

Described as a "sweeping yet detailed narrative," the book captures "the essence of what makes Oklahoma a complex and thriving home to millions."

While other Oklahoma history books often linger in the 19th century, Oklahoma Reconsidered places the central focus on 1907-2025 - including the rise in the Latinx population in the state, the success of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball team as a unifying force, and the significance of the McGirt court decision in 2020. The decision granted tribal jurisdiction over much of eastern Oklahoma as Indian Country, offering a glimpse into the tensions between state and tribal authority.

Oklahoma Reconsidered, released in September, is published by the University of Nebraska Press and is available for purchase from that company, as well as a range of online retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Making Oklahoma: A History is the free open-access version of the book. It can be accessed at makingoklahoma.org. This expanded version is designed specifically for teachers and ninth grade Oklahoma history students. It includes more than 250 photographs and maps, as well as ancillary materials for teachers that were created by Dr. Kim Pennington at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Web-based open-access Making Oklahoma was designed by ghost, an Oklahoma City marketing and design company. Funding from Cameron, UCO, the Oklahoma Historical Society, Kirkpatrick Foundation, and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Program for the Great Plains region made the project possible.

Library of Congress TPS grant funding also helped Janda, Loughlin and Pennington to organize multiple teacher workshops, including one at UCO in September and another one that will take place at Cameron on Oct. 10.

"Both Oklahoma Reconsidered and Making Oklahoma are currently under review by the state textbook adoption committee," Janda said. "Because Making Oklahoma is available easily and at no cost on any type of electronic device, dozens of teachers from across the state have already told us they are using it."

"Patti, Kim and I are grateful for the support we have received from our institutions and to have the opportunity to give something back to our communities in our home state," she added.

Janda is the author of Prairie Power: Student Activism, Counterculture and Backlash in Oklahoma, 1962-1972; Pride of the Wichitas: A History of Cameron University; and Beloved Women: The Political Lives of LaDonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller. Loughlin is the author of Angie Debo: Daughter of the Prairie, with Excerpts from Her Childhood Diary. Together, Janda and Laughlin edited This Land Is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma from the 1870s to the 2010s.

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