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History Students Participate in and Win at URCA Conference

Several history majors recently participated in the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) Conference on campus. Emily Adams presented “Ethical Espionage: The Role of Covert Operations in a Democratic Government,” a project she has completed with Dr. Caroline McClure in the Geography Department. This research explores whether ethically-ambiguous covert action operations have a place within the foreign policy of a democratic government by analyzing the United States’ covert operations in Cuba during the Cold War. By combining research in political […]

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History Undergraduates Score Outstanding Research Award

Two of our History majors – Molly Buffington and Margaret Lawson – recently received the prestigious Randall Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award, which recognizes undergraduate students who are involved in innovative research around campus. Margaret was recognized for her project “History of Us: Empowering High School Students to Confront the Legacy of Lynching.” Under the guidance of Dr. John Giggie, she worked to integrate new research on lynching in the American South into high school history curriculum. Molly Buffington was also […]

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A Triumph of American Technology: Remembering the 1969 Apollo Moon Landing on its Fiftieth Anniversary

Faculty and students met on April 10 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. “A Triumph of American Technology: Remembering the 1969  Apollo  Moon  Landing on its 50th Anniversary” was hosted in Gorgas Library and had a very successful turn out. The discussed topics ranging from the dynamics of rocketry, the race to space between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, putting the first object into orbit, missile design, and the evolution of the process to achieve […]

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Summersell Center to Partner With Central High School to Teach About Lynching History

Dr. John Giggie and the Summersell Center for the Study of the South were recently recognized for their efforts to map the history of lynching victims in Alabama and develop a program for teaching about racial violence and southern history at the secondary education level. The Council on Community-Based Partnerships at The University of Alabama awarded Dr. Giggie a grant to expand the Center’s partnership with Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Specifically, the Community Engagement Graduate Fellowship covers the […]

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Honors Day 2019 Review

The Department of History Honors Day 2019 from The Department of History on Vimeo.  The Department of History recognized our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students on April 5, 2019, at ceremonies held at the Hotel Capstone Ballroom. Please join us in congratulating these deserving recipients. Colonial Dames of America Essay Award The 2019 recipient of this award: Jessica Brodt Essay: “African-American Slavery in the Cherokee Nation: Moravian and Brainerd Missionaries, 1799-1836.” Frank Lawrence Owsley Memorial Scholarship for Superior Competency in […]

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Dr. David Beito’s T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer Named Best Biography

Drs. David Beito and Linda Royster Beito’s recent work, T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer, won the 31st Annual Benjamin Franklin Award for best biography from the Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest organization of book publishers in the United States. T.R.M. Howard was selected from a field of more than one hundred entrants. It tells the remarkable story of one of the early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Howard was a respected surgeon, important black community leader, […]

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Summersell Center Students Present at National Conference

Students enrolled in Dr. John Giggie’s Invisible Histories course recently presented research posters at the Queer History South Conference, which was held in Birmingham, Alabama, from March 27 through March 29. Invisible Histories is the first course of its kind in the history department — dedicated to learning about queer history and specifically recapturing the emergence of the queer student movement at The University of Alabama and across the state. Dr. Giggie has taken groups of students to three conferences […]

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Undergraduates Launch Crimson Historical Review

History majors have launched the Crimson Historical Review (CHR), an undergraduate research journal. The idea for the journal started in Dr. Margaret Peacock’s undergraduate research seminar. Her students were reviewing one of the few undergraduate historical research journals in the United States and concluded that they could do it better. Peacock and students Jodi Vadinsky and Warren Martin formed an editorial review board, creating the CHR, the second undergraduate research journal in the SEC. The CHR offers undergraduate authors the […]

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A Triumph of American Technology: Remembering the 1969 Apollo Moon Landing on its 50th Anniversary

The Department of History is hosting a colloquium on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on Wednesday, April 10, at 5:15 p.m. in 205 Gorgas. It will include talks by Dr. Richard Branam, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, titled “How We Got There: the Technology of Rocketry and Space Flight,” Dr. Margaret Peacock, Associate Professor of History, titled “The Space Race: Beating the Ruskies to the Moon,” and Dr. Harold Selesky, Associate Professor of History, titled “Climbing […]

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Doctoral Student Ashley Odebiyi Wins Medieval Essay Contest

Ashley Odebiyi, second year Ph.D. student, recently placed an article with an upcoming volume of the online peer-reviewed Medieval Feminist Forum published through the University of Iowa. Odebiyi studies medieval women’s spirituality, especially semi-religious women, who did not take traditional religious vows yet practiced a spiritual way of life, such as adherence to apostolic poverty. Odebiyi placed a revised version of her seminar paper from Spring 2018. “The paper discusses the writings of three beguine mystics, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Hadewijch […]

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Emily Adams Wins John Fraser Ramsey Award

The Department of History is proud to announce that one of our undergraduate students, Emily Adams, was recently named the winner of the 2019 John Fraser Ramsey Award! The award, one of The University of Alabama’s Premier Awards, is given in the memory of long-time history professor John F. Ramsey and honors students who embody the goals of a liberal education. Awardees receive a $7,000 cash prize and a trip to Europe, with an itinerary designed by the student to […]

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Dr. Catherine Clinton to Discuss Mental Illness During & After the Civil War

On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, at 12:00 pm, Dr. Catherine Clinton, Denman Chair of American History at the University of Texas at San Antonio, will discuss her past and present academic work, including her new project on Union soldiers and mental illness during and after the Civil War. Previously, Dr. Clinton has served as President of the Southern Historical Association, and she remains on the advisory boards for Civil War History, Civil War Times, The President’s Cottage and Soldier’s Home, and […]

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Department Hosts Prospective Graduate Students

The University of Alabama Department of History hosted a visit day for prospective graduate students on Friday, March 1. The students began the day with a warm welcome from Dr. Daniel Riches, Director of Graduate Students, and then met with faculty during their open office hours. They were able to talk one-on-one with faculty members, socialize during a catered lunch, and meet with current graduate students. As the day went on, the prospective students went on tours of the campus, […]

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Department Hosted Alum Richard Dennis for Careers in History Session on Feb. 1

On Friday, Feb. 1, Richard Dennis, the superintendent of education for Elmore County, came to UA to talk to history students who are interested in turning their history degree into a career in education administration or politics. Dennis, a UA graduate, believes that his academic background in both History and English helped him hone the skills that enabled him to become an effective teacher and administrator. He always enjoyed studying history and encourages students to take what they love, develop […]

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