William Smith graduated with a bachelor of arts in letters from the University of Oklahoma in 2007.  He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in history and is specializing in American religious history.  As an undergraduate, Smith was a member of the Ronald E. McNair scholarship program and is presently a recipient of the McNair Graduate Fellowship.  Smith’s thesis project, under the guidance of his major advisor Dr. Paul Gilje, will explore themes of anti-Catholic sentiment and rhetoric in eighteenth-century American earthquake sermons.  A number of article entries authored by Smith will appear in an encyclopedia of Revolutionary America edited by Professor Gilje, to be released in the spring of 2009.