Soren Steven Miller
co-founder | archivist-in-chief
Soren Miller is a public historian and archivist based in Chicago. He is a researcher in residence at DePaul University where he is doing work in the area of archival documentary filmmaking at the School of Cinematic Arts.
Prior to DePaul, Soren pursued a PhD in history at the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, focusing on the social movements and political transformations of the 1960s and 1970s. His research examined how demonstrations and protest movements of the Vietnam War era altered public consciousness and ultimately culminated in the political crises surrounding the Nixon administration and Watergate.
During his doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, Soren taught a freshman-level history course on 1960s United States social and political history. After transferring to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he held a fellowship in the UW–Madison archives, where he worked extensively with primary sources and contributed to collection development and access initiatives. Beyond academia, he has engaged professionally with nonprofit and institutional archives, focusing on organizational memory, preservation strategy, and the long-term stewardship of historical records.
Soren serves as a higher education liaison for Chicago Public Schools and as Historian-in-Residence for several organizations in Illinois and Wisconsin. Outside of academia, he enjoys skateboarding, hiking, fountain pens, studying Gregg shorthand, and visiting historical sites. He is a United States Army veteran.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2020 - 2024 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
Department of History
Integrated Bachelor of Arts / Doctor of Philosophy in History
2022 Florida International University, Miami, FL
Department of History
Undergraduate coursework in History
Residencies & Fellowships
2025 - present DePaul University, Chicago, IL, School of Cinematic Arts, Resident
2024 - 2025 University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives, Resident
Courses Taught
2023 - 2024 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
HIST 1811 / The Sixties: History and Memories
Courses Taught
HIST 1811 THE SIXTIES: HISTORY AND MEMORIES
This course traces the development of the 1960s and the first four years of the 1970s in United States politics and society. With a focus on civil rights, presidential politics, the Vietnam War, and a special focus on the Nixon Administration and Watergate, students in this course will learn about emerging themes of the period which culminate in the Watergate Scandal and the downfall of the Nixon Administration.
This 3 credit course was taught by Soren Miller at University of Minnesota in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024.
STUDENT REFLECTIONS
Very passionate and engaging lecturer. Was able to tell moments in history like stories rather than reading off of slides, which made this class very interesting. -S.F., 2023
Soren has been a very great lecturer for this class. He made the course more interesting than it had been before, by explaining the history with more than just reading off notes, but by talking about the events with passion making you feel as if you were at the events he was talking about. As someone who is not very familiar with history, his method of lecturing has been the most beneficial for me when it comes to understanding the material that he is teaching as he makes it both informative and very interesting to listen to. His lecturing makes me actually interested in a class that I wasn’t overall very interested in prior to the class. Overall, very great lecture. -M.R., 2023
His passion for the material shows and he makes us think critically about how different events may have impacted one another in a very creative and experimental way that gets everyone very engaged and involved. -B.L., 2023
Soren presented the material in a way that kept me engaged and I felt like I left with a good understanding of the topics we discussed. He interacted with the class and asked our opinions which I felt not only kept us engaged but helped us comprehend the material in a way that made sense as opposed to just taking in information. -K.K., 2023
I enjoyed his passion about the information and energy in prompting students to engage with it. The assignments were interesting and the grading was lenient as long as you put in effort. Overall a great experience. -S.T., 2023
