2022-2023 Award-Winning Graduate Students

Frank Lawrence Owsley Memorial Scholarship for Superior Competency in American History Tagen Haga Albert Burton Moore Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in European, Latin American, or Asian History Stephen Boutwell Gary B. Mills Endowed Dissertation Support Fund Jessica Brodt Christopher G. Swindle Teaching Award Luke Voyles Masters Student Teaching Award Katherine Friday Fulbright U.S. Student Scholar – Czech Republic Andrew Deaton Return to the Historically Speaking Homepage.

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From the Chair

I hope that everyone has had a peaceful and productive beginning to the 2023 calendar year. Welcome to the Spring 2023 newsletter from the Department of History. As usual, it has been a busy semester in which time has flown by. Nearly all classes in the Department this semester were once again full, and with the University still anticipating ongoing growth in its incoming classes we expect healthy enrollments even as changes to the core curriculum will start getting implemented […]

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Senior Olivia Ricche Wins 2023 Alumni Student Award

Congratulations to Olivia Ricche, who has been named the winner of the 2023 Alumni Student Award. Each year, The University of Alabama National Alumni Association recognizes just two students from the entire graduating class who have demonstrated exceptional achievement and personal character and whose contributions to the University exemplify the spirit of the UA tradition. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee native is a Randall Research Scholar triple-majoring in history, mathematics, and Spanish. She interned at the American Historical Association and used […]

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New Internship Program for Both Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Though internships are traditionally associated with degree programs outside of the humanities, they are increasingly crucial for students of all backgrounds, including History. To help our students succeed in the world beyond ten Hoor, our faculty are hard at work establishing a new internship program for our department. Several students have already taken advantage of the initiative: PhD candidate David Ferrara traveled to archives in Florida and Mississippi, gathered records related to the history of the Gulf Islands National Seashore […]

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Undergraduate Historical Society Holds Fourth Annual Conference

Student research opens new doors for exploration and understanding, with fascinating results. On Saturday, April 15, nearly twenty of our students presented their original research at the Fourth Annual Capstone Conference of the Undergraduate Historical Society. From papers on the Cold War to the early American presidency to the language patterns of the Philippines, the work offered new insight into our world. Two excellent panels, one from the Summersell Center and one from departmental research assistants, explored what it means […]

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History Majors Figure Prominently in Phi Beta Kappa Inductions

On Friday, April 14, the Alpha of Alabama chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was pleased to induct 76 new members as a part of its 2023 cohort, among them 13 History majors and four History minors. Dean Joseph Messina of the College of Arts and Sciences was also inducted as an honorary member, and have a brief address to the students. UA History alumna Martha Griffith, currently Director of Special Projects for University President Stuart Bell, introduced the inductees to […]

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Department of History Celebrates Honors Day

The Department of History recognized our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students on Friday, April 7, 2023 at ten Hoor Hall. Friends and family joined to show their support for their students, and the event showed the strong community formed within the department, as well as the exemplary accomplishments and dedication from our students. The following awards and recognitions were bestowed by the department and university. The Frank Lawrence Owsley Memorial Scholarship Established in 1960 by friends, colleagues, and students of […]

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Violent History: A Southern Conversation

“Southern Conversations” offers an opportunity for students and professors to discuss broad questions and themes in U.S. Southern History. This semester’s conversation will focus on the topic of violence and how it has informed the historical scholarship and historians of the South. Drs. Lesley Gordon, John Giggie, and Joshua Rothman will serve as faculty participants. All are welcome to attend. This semester’s conversation will take place in the Summersell Room (room 251), ten Hoor Hall, at 5:30 PM, on April […]

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Dr. Gordon’s Civil War Class Tours Vicksburg NMP

On Friday March 3rd, Dr. Lesley Gordon’s Civil War class and UA graduate students visited Vicksburg National Military Park alongside Dr. Susannah Ural of the University of Southern Mississippi, USM graduate students, and UA and USM ROTC Cadets. During the tour, students heard presentations from Dr. Gordon and Dr. Ural as well as graduate students and NPS rangers. Students were able to engage firsthand with the history of the battlefield, the experiences of soldiers in a Civil War campaign, and […]

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603 Entertains at First Tuscaloosa Alumni Happy Hour

Get back, Paul McCartney: there’s a new band in town! On March 1, the Department of History held its first (but not last) Alumni Happy Hour. Alums from across generations took over the back patio at Loosa Brews to see old friends and make new ones—all while enjoying the fabulous music of the department’s new band, 603. Led by Dr. Jimmy Mixson on keyboard, and named after his legendary graduate reading seminar, 603 pulled together the musical talents of Dr. […]

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Professor Gert Melville Returns to Speak on March 21

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday March 21 in the Camellia Room of Gorgas Library, Professor Gert Melville, Senior Professor of History at the Dresden University, will deliver a lecture entitled “Desire and Perseverance. Observations on the Anthropology of Monks and Nuns in the Middle Ages.”   The talk is open to the public. Professor Melville has taught at Dresden since 1994 and is the author of more than four decades’ worth of scholarship on religious life, religious orders, and the broader religious and cultural […]

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Grad Students Participate in Night at the Museum Event

Saturday, March 4, 2023, was the 12th annual Family Night at the Museum community event hosted by The University of Alabama Graduate School and the Alabama Museum of Natural History. Each academic department sent graduate students to host interactive stations catering to young people from the Tuscaloosa area. The Department of History was able to send six volunteers: Brianna Meyer, Brian Martin, Genesis Ranel, Filipe Robles, Joey Dykes, and Milum Richardson. This year’s theme, “Around the World,” provided a great opportunity to get […]

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UA Hosts 15th Annual Southeastern German Studies Conference

On February 23-24, The University of Alabama and the Department of History hosted the 15th annual Southeastern German Studies Conference. The event, held in cooperation with The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Alabama at Huntsville, and Spring Hill College, brought together scholars and students from across the Southeast in all disciplines who share interest in the language, literature, history, culture, music, film, and political structures of the German-speaking lands. The workshop focused on three large themes: “The […]

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Slow Art Day 2023: Of Canals, AfroFuturism & Empire

Join Dr. Sharony Green and students from her HY 103, 104, and 306 courses for Slow Art Day 2023 at the Gorgas House Museum. This year’s exhibit is entitled, “Of Canals, AfroFuturism & Empire.” º Slow Art Day pop-up installation 1-3 PM, April 14, 2023 º Visual Component online April 15, 2023 Slowly digest images of William Crawford Gorgas visiting the Panama Canal; a digital mash up of the 1927 motion picture Metropolis (the first sci-fi film); a Janelle Monae […]

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Tuscaloosa-area Alumni Happy Hour Set for March 1

The Department of History is pleased to announce our first-ever Tuscaloosa-area alumni happy hour, which will be held on March 1, from 5-7 at Loosa Brews, 412 20th Avenue, across University Boulevard from the Federal Courthouse in downtown Tuscaloosa. We hope to see as many of our alumni as possible and learn of all you’ve accomplished since graduation. Feel free to spread the word of this event to your fellow alums! This will be the first of many exciting new […]

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