MOMENTS IN HISTORY
NEWSLETTER
April 2024
Faculty Moments
18
15
IN THIS ISSUE
07
09
Media Moments
Current Students
Random Moments Future
03
Photos: University of Maryland; History Undergraduate Association unless otherwise noted
Alumni Moments
History Has Its Eyes On You
12
Photo courtesy of AHA
The Soldier's Opinion Wins AHA Film Award The Soldier’s Opinion, a documentary film which grew out of Shay Hazkani’s book, Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War (Stanford University Press, 2021), has been awarded the American Historical Association's (AHA) John E. O'Connor Film Award. The AHA website says: “The film is a cultural and psychological history of the inner lives of Israeli soldiers and the censors ordered to document their morale in letters home across five decades of war and occupation. We are privy to surprising responses to violence and to outbursts of racism as the soldiers (and their censors) struggle with difference, moral doubt, and feelings of shame. The film offers insights into Israeli society, Zionism, war, military cultures, and settler cultures.” The Soldier’s Opinion: A Film by Assaf Banitt and Shay Hazkani Assaf Banitt, director and producer; Shahar Ben-Hur, producer; Shay Hazkani, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, writer (JMT Films, 2022)
history has its eyes on you
Holly Brewer, Burke Chair of American Cultural and Intellectual History in the Department of History, is part of a new, eighteen-member historians' Council on the Constitution for the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law. The Council will be writing US Supreme Court amicus briefs to help counter claims about particular original interpretations of the US Constitution. Holly has now written and/or helped with and co-signed five amicus briefs and three expert witness reports.
Jeremy Simmons will be honored at the Maryland Research Excellence Celebration on Monday, April 15, 2024. This event is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost to honor notable accomplishments in research at UMD. It offers an opportunity to recognize high-impact outcomes of research and scholarship conducted at UMD. Faculty are nominated by the Dean of their college for having produced research findings that are widely cited and transformative in their field; research achievements which demonstrably impact policies; recognition of their work by a national or international group; and publishing in a renowned scholarly forum, among other criteria.
Photo courtesy of CSPAN
TEACHING
SCHOLARSHIP
Julie Greene Delivers Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture On April 3, 2024 Julie Greene delivered a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture titled “The Wages of Empire: U.S. Workers and the Making of History.” The Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Program, established in 1978, honors a small number of faculty members each year who have demonstrated notable success in both scholarship and teaching. This prestigious award helps reaffirm the University of Maryland's commitment to excellence in teaching and scholarship. The Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Program is sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs and administered by the Associate Provost for Faculty. Affairs.
COMMITMENT
UMD Division of Research has offered the Independent Scholarly, Research, and Creativity Awards (IRCSA) since 2020 to support faculty engaged in scholarly and creative pursuits that use historical, humanistic, interpretive, or ethnographic approaches; explore aesthetic, ethical and/or cultural values and their roles in society; conduct critical or rhetorical analyses; engage in archival and/or field research; or develop/produce creative works. College of the Arts and Humanities (ARHU) faculty have received 54% of all these awards since 2020. Congratulations to Department of History faculty members. Patrick Chung Zachary Dorner ARHU provides support annually for faculty members in four areas: Advancement Grants, Subvention Funding, Conference Hosting Support, and Journal Editing Support. Four Department of History faculty members received awards in the 2024 Faculty Funds Competition: Richard Bell, Advancement Grant Sarah Cameron, Subvention Funds Saverio Giovacchini, Subvention Funds o .
History has its eyes on you
media moments
Sarah Cameron and colleagues had a short letter to the editor published in the December 19, 2023 New York Times. Read the letter HERE. Sarah was also quoted in an Associated Press news story from February 7, 2024 about the disappearance of Central Asia's Aral Sea. Read the article HERE. For Black History Month, Karin Rosemblatt published an opinion piece on "The Black History Higher Ed Needs Now "in Inside Higher Education. Read the article HERE. Michael Ross's lectures on the Scopes Monkey Trial aired on C-SPAN's Lectures in American History, Part 1 on November 7, 2023 and Part 2 on February 3. Watch Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE The December 14, 2023 edition of National Public Radio's "Here and Now" included an interview with Leslie Rowland about removing the Confederate Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery by the end of 2023. Here the broadcast HERE. David Sartorius was appointed to Wiki Education's inaugural Humanities and Social Justice Board. This Mellon-funded initiative promotes knowledge equity through incorporating Wikipedia editing into graduate and undergraduate education. Julie Taddeo commented on the revelation that Kate, Princess of Wales, has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy on WTOP News. Hear the comment HERE. Julie's reflective essay on "Rape in the Poldark book and TV series" was featured as blog posts in both Women’s Film and Television History Network UK/Ireland and Critical Studies in Television Online December 1, 2023. Read the essay HERE.
Holly Brewer published a chapter in the three-volume set, The Cambridge History of the Age of Atlantic Revolutions. Her article titled "The Myth of 'Salutory Neglect': Empire and Revolution in the Long Eighteenth Century" appears in Volume 1 The Enlightenment and the British Colonies, Wim Klooster, gen. ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Zach Dorner's chapter, "The Transatlantic Business of Medicine," was published in March 2024 in Early Modern Medicine: An Introduction to Source Analysis (Routledge). A roundtable Zach organized on the topic of "Entanglements of Coerced Labor and Colonial Science in the Atlantic World and Beyond" was published in Labor: Studies in Working-Class History 21 (March 2024). The official publication date for Jeffrey Herf's Three Faces of Antisemitism: Right, Left, and Islamist was December 22, 2023 from Routledge/Taylor and Francis. Jeffrey wrote the essays in this collection over the past 40 years. A few are old, most are revised and some are new. The publication of this collection was greatly anticipated by scholars of anti-semitism around the globe. Link to the publishers page HERE. Yujie Li published an article "Fixing the Huai River: Technology of Labor Formation in Maoist China, 1950–53," in Technology and Culture 65.1 (2024): 177-209. Kate Keane with Jessica Weiss (BA 2005); Lauren Cain (PhD Candidate Advisor Robyn Muncy); Clare Lyons, and Robyn Muncy co-authored an article entitled "This Women’s History Month, learn about pioneers whose stories aren’t often told." in the ARHU monthly newsletter Rhyme & Reason as part of observance of Women's History Month. The article appeared in the March 12, 2024 edition. Read the article HERE. Piotr Kosicki has a newly published article in the Journal of the History of Ideas 85.1 (2024): 87-120 titled "Channeling Erasmus in Communist Poland: Leszek Kołakowski, Vatican II, and the Reinvention of 'Counter-Reformation.'" Read the article HERE. Marsha Rozenblit published an article, "Jews and German Politics: The Case of Habsburg Moravia, 1848-1918" in Austrian History Yearbook.
PUBLISHING
faculty moments
On December 23, 2023 Rick Bell presented a lecture "Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party" at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond, VA as part of their America250 celebration. Rick's lecture explored the local and global context for this event that enflamed revolutionary passions, accompanied by a taste of historic Bohea tea. Deokhyo Choi presented a paper titled "Cold War Racial Liberalism and the US Occupation of Japan" at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) annual conference in Seattle, WA on March 15, 2024. On April 4, 2024 Patrick Chung presented as part of a program co-sponsored by the Center for Global Migration Studies. The program, "Ending the Korean War: Political Education and Permanent War," was held on the UMD campus and co-sponsored by the Asian American Studies Program, Center for East Asian Studies, Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and American Studies. The event was organized by the Korean War Teaching Collective (EKW) using the Korean War to interrogate the legacies of US empire and militarism. Shay Hazkani was the kick-off speaker for The Spring 2024 Palestine Teach-in Series at University of Maryland College Park. He spoke on "Nakba 101: Zionism, 1948, and the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine." Learn more about the Series HERE. Jeffrey Herf curated a series of three webinars on "The Origins and Ideology of Hamas." The first two programs ran on February 26 and March 25, 2024. The March 15 seminar featured Jeffrey and Benny Morris. The last webinar will be April 16, 2024 and is titled "Responses to October 7th." It is at 1:00 pm EDT on Zoom. Jeffrey will lead a panel featuring Meir Litvak, Norman Goda, Karin Stögner, and David Hirsh. Jayson Maurice Porter (Post-Doctoral Associate) discussed his work on "Environmental History Beyond Academia: Cotton, Storytelling, and Environmental Justice" at a program for The Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies on March 26, 2024. Sarah Cameron also spoke about her work on Central Asia’s Aral Sea in the same session. Thomas Zeller moderated the session. Julie Taddeo presented a paper, “’Child, you are not me’: Representing the Older Woman in British Period Drama,” for the Historical Fictions Research Network, Reparative Histories Workshop in December 2023. Julie also gave multiple public history lectures between December 2023 and March 2024 on such topics as Charles Dickens and the world of the Victorians; World War II and the British Home Front; and British Royals and Scandal since the 18th Century.
PRESENTING
Shawn Callahan (PhD, 2023, Advisor: Jon Sumida) has been appointed as Director of the US Marine Corps History Division. Shawn will be responsible for all aspects of the Marine Corps history program including the Marine Corps Archives, an oral history program, a military reserve unit focused on the collection of operational records, a team that writes the Marine Corps’ official historical publications, and an information branch answering the needs of the public, veterans, Congress, and the executive branch. Shawn will also be the primary advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps on historical matters. Most of these activities are housed at the Simmons Center for Marine Corps History in Quantico, VA. Bea Hardy (PhD, 1993, Advisor Ronald Hoffman), formerly Dean of Libraries at Salisbury University, is moving into a new job in June 2024 as the Associate Vice President for the Library and Learning Commons at Goucher College, Towson, MD where she was an undergraduate. Marie D'Aguanno Ito (BA, 1977) has published Orsanmichele: A Medieval Grain Market and Confraternity (Brill, 2024). See the publisher's website HERE. Clare Goldstene (PhD, 2009, Advisor: Gary Gerstle) is co-editor with Eric Fure-Slocum of a new book, Contingent Faculty and the Remaking of Higher Education: A Labor History (University of Illinois Press, January 2024). Clare is also the author of a chapter in the book "How the Isolation of Contingency Undermines the Public Good of Education." There is a 30% discount from the publisher until June 30, 2025 with promo code F23UIP. Thanayi M. Jackson (PhD, 2016, Advisor: Leslie Rowland) has published an essay on popular culture "Dismantling the Master's House with the Master's Tools" in Black Panther and Philosophy: What Can Wakanda Offer the World?, Edwardo Perez and Timothy Brown, eds. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2022). Another essay "Demarginalizing Aunty Entity and Dismantling Thunderdome," co-authored with Edwardo Perez, will be published in Mad Max and Philosophy: Thinking Through the Wasteland, Matt Meyer and David Koepsell, eds. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2024). She used her time during the pandemic lockdown to write these essays. Thayani is an assistant professor in the Department of History at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA. Rachael Kirschenmann (HiLS, 2021, Advisor: Thomas Zeller) has published a book chapter based on her HiLS MA thesis: "Oranges and Rockets: The People and Technology of Cape Canaveral," in NASA and the American South, Brian C. Odom and Stephen P. Waring, eds. (University Press of Florida, 2023), pp. 113-137. See the article HERE. She also recently started a new job in Digitization Services at the National Archives. Katie Labor (PhD, 2023, Advisor: Holly Brewer) and her research into the hidden histories of historic Baltimore houses and buildings were featured in the January 16, 2024 Baltimore Banner. See the complete article HERE. Sarah Walsh (PhD, 2013, Advisor: Karin Rosemblatt) has been appointed Lecturer in History at the University of Melbourne in Australia. UMD History PhD and acclaimed Lincoln scholar Jonathan White (PhD, 2008 Advisor: Herman Belz) gave a book talk at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC on February 2, 2024. Also on the program was historian Edna Greene Medford (PhD, 1987, Advisor: Ira Berlin). The program was titled "Written Then, Spoken Now: African American Letters to Lincoln," a celebration of Jon's books To Address You As My Friend: African American Letters to Abraham Lincoln (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) and A House Built By Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). Also in February, Jon published his 17th book, a kids book about Abraham Lincoln. See the publishers website HERE. Jonathan White has also been awarded the UMD Alumni Excellence Award in Research. See the announcement HERE.
ALUMNI MOMENTS
Photo courtesy Baltimore Banner
alumni moments
Lauren Cain (PhD Candidate Advisor Robyn Muncy), was awarded an Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year. Alexandra Kadis (HiLS, Advisor: Julie Taddeo) won the 2023 Patrick Scott Award for Best Graduate Paper from the Victorians Institute. Her paper is titled “Japanese Acrobats as Athletes on the Victorian Stage: The Victorian Reception of Japanese Acrobatic Troupes, 1867–1870.” See the announcement HERE. Jane Polcen (PhD Candidate, Advisor: Michael Ross) presented a paper at the 2024 Temple University James A. Barnes Graduate Student History Conference held March 22-23 in Philadelphia, PA titled "The Death of Nicholas Snowden: The Systemic Curse of Lynching in Maryland in 1885." Tobin Johnson (PhD Student, Advisor: Ahmet Karamustafa) presented a paper "Interfaith Friendships in Early Ottoman History" on February 23, 2024 at a conference GOSECA: Bridging East and West: Interdisciplinary Insights from East Europe and Eurasia held at the University of Pittsburgh. Caroline Angle Maguire (PhD Candidate, Advisors: Paul Landau and Peter Wien) received the Dar Ben Gacem Tunisian Research Fellowship, awarded by the American Society for Overseas Research. Jordan Sly (PhD Candidate, Advisor: Stefano Villani) will be taking on a new role as the Chair of the University Senate in May, 2024. He has recently published a review of Letters, Writing, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, ed. John Morrill, et. al. in the Journal English Studies 105.2 (2024). The book he co-edited with Steven A. Knowlton, Ellen M. Pozzi, and Emily D. Spunaugle, Libraries without Borders: New Directions in Library History (ALA Editions, 2024) was published in the US and UK/Europe (Facet Publishing, 2024). Alan Wierdak (HiLS Student, Advisor: Julie Greene) is doing a weekly segment on the Labor Heritage Power Hour on WPFW every Thursday where films from the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Division collection are discussed. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
graduate moments
Karen Jones Board Chair
john Davis
Karen Jones
John Davis Executive Director
undergraduate moments
Roshawnna Brinkley (BA 2025) has been accepted to a ten-week program, part of the US Law and Race Initiative at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE. Funded by the Mellon Foundation all expenses are paid and a stipend is provided. According to the project website: "This initiative. . . brings together large university teaching programs, immersive new forms of digital media content, and community partnership storytelling in order to begin to connect Americans to their history in ways that repair the fractures in our national understanding of race and racialization."
undergraduate Moments
Lindsay Moynihan (BA 2024) has been appointed to the Leadership Council of the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle, NC. The Leadership Council was established to help prepare a select group of students with Humanities-based leadership skills to face the challenges of the 21st century. Drawn exclusively from nominations advanced by NHC-sponsoring institutions, including the University of Maryland, students on the Council engage in a unique series of interactive experiences with leading Humanities scholars and leaders from around the country. They explore the essential importance of humanistic perspectives in addressing the concerns of contemporary society. Read more about the National Humanities Center and the Leadership Council HERE.
UNDERGRADUATE moments
History Undergraduate Association (HUA) events
RANDOM moments
Photo Washington Post
The UMD Department of History is saddened by the passing of Herman Belz on March 12, 2024 at the age of 86. Herman grew up in Haddon Heights, NJ. A rigorous scholar and athlete, he earned his BA from Princeton University in 1959 where he also played basketball and baseball. Following his undergraduate studies, Herman fulfilled his ROTC commitment as a Lieutenant in the US Navy 1960-65. He earned an MA and a PhD in History from the University of Washington in 1966. Herman accepted a faculty position at UMD where he was a professor for over 40 years. He served on numerous university committees, was Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of History, and a member of the Graduate Council. Herman authored many important and influential studies including, Abraham Lincoln, Constitutionalism and Equal Rights in the Civil War Era (1998), and Equality Transformed: A Quarter Century of Affirmative Action (1991). His articles and reviews appeared in a variety of scholarly publications. Herman was Director of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation 1996–2012 sharing his knowledge of the Constitution with future teachers at the secondary school level. In 2004, he was appointed to the National Council for the Humanities. Herman's work was recognized through numerous awards and fellowships. See The Washington Post obituary HERE.
IN MEMORIaM
Text
GIVE
University of Maryland Department of History 2115 Francis Scott Key Hall College Park, MD 20742 301-405-4265 hist-web@umd.edu © Copyright, UMD Department of History, 2023. Sabrina Alcorn Baron, Media Manager
UMD DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 2115 Francis Scott Key Hall College Park, MD 20742 301-405-4365 history-web@umd.edu