Congratulations to Dr. David Beito and Dr. Linda Royster Beito, who were recently awarded the prize for best biography at the 2020 American Book Fest! Their book, T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer, brilliantly examines the life and accomplishments of this civil rights leader, including his work in the civil rights movement and in building vital Black community organizations. What a spectacular way to cap Dr. David Beito’s many years here at Alabama!
Category: News
Montgomery Wins College’s Outstanding Teaching by a Doctoral Student Award
Doctoral Candidate Margaret Montgomery has been awarded the 2020 College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teaching by a Doctoral Student Award. The award is bestowed by a college-wide committee charged with considering recommendations by students and faculty and it includes a monetary prize. Montgomery’s name will be forwarded to the university-wide competition. Montgomery is advised by Drs. Andrew Huebner and Holly Grout. Her dissertation, ““Trading Silk for Khaki: The Last Years of the Women’s Army Corps and the Contest Over […]
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History, Art, and Social Science Professors Join Forces to Promote Discussion About Climate Change in Alabama
Dr. Teresa Cribelli is part of a team that has been awarded a Joint Pilot for Arts Research Grant from the Collaborative Arts Research Initiative, along with Professor Allison Grant of the Department of Art and Art History and Dr. Joan Barth of UA’s Institute for Social Science Research. Their joint project “Dangerous Landscapes: Legacies of Nineteenth Century Progress in the Age of Climate Change,” examines the legacy of nineteenth-century industrialization on the U.S. landscape. Pairing the environmental photography of […]
SCSS Works with Partners to Elect Vivian Malone Jones to AWHoF
The Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame recently announced that Ms. Vivian Malone Jones will be inducted into the Hall’s upcoming 2021 class. Malone Jones was one of two students who integrated The University of Alabama on June 11, 1963. Two years later, she was the first African-American to earn a degree from UA. After graduation, Malone Jones worked for the US Department of Justice and later the Environmental Protections Agency. In 1996, former Alabama Governor George Wallace, who had stood […]
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SCSS Director Visits Civil Rights Landmark with Task Force
Dr. John Giggie and officials from the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights Task Force visited with family members of Rev. T. W. Linton, who passed away last May, at Linton’s former barbershop. Linton was one of the organizers of the 1963 “Bloody Tuesday” march from First African Baptist Church to the newly-opened Tuscaloosa County Courthouse to protest the buildings segregated drinking fountains. The Tuscaloosa Civil Rights Task Force is exploring the purchase of Rev. Linton’s barbershop, which played a key role in […]
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Giggie & Stovall Partner with Local Churches to Create Civil Rights Guide to State’s AMEZ Churches
Dr. John Giggie and Ms. Liz Stovall, a Ph.D student focusing on Black migration in the antebellum US, have joined with Rev. Thaddeus Steele, Pastor of Hunter Chapel AMEZ Church in Tuscaloosa, to complete a civil rights guide of African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churches in Alabama. They will work with members from individual congregations to research and write their churches histories and integrate them into a larger state-wide guide, titled “The AME Zion Historical Civil Rights and Freedom Trail of […]
History of Us Curriculum Looks to Expand into Other Alabama Schools
History of Us, the ground-breaking, student-centered Black History course developed by the Frances J. Summersell Center of the Study of the South, in conjunction with Tuscaloosa’s Central High School, is being taught again this year. The success of the program has attracted attention from across the state, where other school systems are seeking to introduce the curriculum into their own classrooms. Birmingham’s WBHM explored the program’s success in a recent feature. “Eighteen-year-old Delphia McGraw of Tuscaloosa says she loves […]
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Department Laments Loss of Professor Hugh Ragsdale
The Department of History laments the loss of Professor Hugh Ragsdale, who passed away on November 7 at the age of 82. Professor Ragsdale was born in 1938 in North Carolina, received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 1964, and taught at The University of Alabama from 1964 to 1996. A specialist in Russian history, Professor Ragsdale was the author or editor of seven books, including Paul I, A Reassessment of His Life and Reign (1979), The Russian […]
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Fall Edition of Historically Speaking Available Now
The Fall 2020 edition of Historically Speaking, the Department of History’s biannual newsletter, is hot off the presses! In this semester’s issue, readers will find stories on: New Degree Concentrations Faculty Research on Current Topics Faculty Retirements New and Award-Winning Publications Student Matriculations We hope you enjoy being kept up-to-date on the department’s progress and would love to hear of your accomplishments as well.
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Dr. Juan Ponce-Vázquez Publishes Islanders and Empire
Thursday, October 29 marks the publication launch of Dr. Juan José Ponce-Vázquez’s new book, Islanders and Empire: Smuggling and Political Defiance in Hispaniola, 1580–1690, from Cambridge University Press. Ponce-Vázquez’s study examines the complex role that smuggling played in the life of the Spanish Caribbean. With a rare focus on local peoples and communities, Islanders and Empire explores the ways in which residents of Hispaniola transformed the empire for their own benefit—and how in doing so they altered forever the course of […]
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Dr. John Giggie to Join Others on Panel Discussion: What Would John Lewis Do?
On Monday, October 26 at 6 PM, Dr. John Giggie will join faculty from American Studies, Journalism, and Political Science to discuss the evolution of voting in America; how the electoral college works; and the role of media in covering elections. The panel will take questions from the audience, via Zoom. The event is free, but registration is required.
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Gordon & Brock to Participate in Roundtable on 19th Century Governor’s Papers
On Friday, October 30, Drs. Lesley Gordon and Julia Brock will join scholars from the Filson Historical Society, the Kentucky Historical Society, the University of Southern Mississippi, and George Mason University to discuss the treasure-trove found in nineteenth-century governor’s papers. The Roundtable will explore their efforts to digitize records from this era. The free webinar will be held on Friday, October 30, at 3 PM, CDT. Registration is required, however.
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Dr. Lesley Gordon Featured in Podcast on Presidency of Andrew Johnson
Dr. Lesley Gordon, the Charles G. Summersell Chair of Southern History, appeared recently in episode two of the SMU Center for Presidential History’s The Past, The Promise, The Presidency, Season One: Race and the American Legacy! podcast, along with presidential historian Jon Meacham. Andrew Johnson was the lone southern senator to remain loyal to the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln rewarded his loyalty by first appointing him military governor of Tennessee, then making Johnson his […]
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Dr. John Giggie to Address National Conference on Citizenship
Dr. John Giggie will address the National Conference on Citizenship‘s Learn, Ask, & Share Circle this Wednesday, October 14, at 1 pm CDT. Giggie will discuss his work designing and teaching History of Us, the first Black History course taught in an Alabama public school. Joining him will be Ms. Margaret Lawson, education/history graduate student and co-creator, and two alums, Ms. Delphia McGraw and Ms. Noa Jordan. Registration is free for this online event. Details are available at the National […]
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Dr. John Giggie Featured in Podcast about Race and Justice
Over the past several weeks, Dr. John Giggie has been quoted or featured in a number of news story run by Alabama Public Radio, National Public Radio, USA Today, and CNN. Most recently he was featured in a podcast titled “Broken Justice,” about lynching and the roots of mass incarceration.
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