We are excited to unveil a new page on our website, the History of the History Department! Our illustrious history stretches back to the mid-19th century when the State of Wisconsin and its flagship university were founded. This section highlights benchmarks in the department’s institutional history and key changes in its curriculum, faculty, and students, …
Last week Professor Brenda Gayle Plummer was featured on a new episode of Deep Dish, a podcast from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The episode, titled “How Racial Injustice Shapes U.S. Foreign Policy,” delves into how the murder of George Floyd and the U.S. government’s reaction to national protests on racial injustice have raised …
On Saturday, June 13th, Professor Judd Kinzley published an op-ed in The Cap Times on the subject of new federal proposals that would limit the number of Chinese graduate students and researchers coming to Wisconsin and UW–Madison. A new executive order signed by President Trump and recently proposed legislation in the Senate aims to deny …
Professor Louise Young, recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, presents her research on World War II memory politics in Japan. Seventy years after Japan’s surrender, why does the conduct and interpretation of World War II remain so contested? Professor Young traces the ways in which these issues have “appeared and disappeared …
The undersigned members of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of History express their collective grief, anger, and resolve in response to the murder of George Floyd, and the killings of so many African Americans that have in recent weeks shocked the nation’s conscience, including Breonna Taylor, killed by police as she slept in her own …
The Department of History would like to congratulate this year’s undergraduate award recipients! We were fortunate to be able to award over $25,000 to undergraduates this year to support scholarships, writing prizes, research awards, and a video contest. You can find the names of our award recipients (and writing prize paper titles) listed on our …
The newest volume of ARCHIVE is here! The University of Wisconsin Undergraduate Journal of History has published their 23rd volume. Editor-in-Chief Isabelle Cook, along with editors Mingcong Bai, Madeline Brauer, Jack Hayes, Matt Kass, Alison Kukowski, Alex Moriarty, Adam Storch, and Emma Ward worked hard during this past year (despite the interruptions caused by COVID-19) …
Why have Asian Americans often been the target of xenophobic and racist attacks during disease outbreaks? The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a spike in anti-Asian, especially anti-Chinese, racism. Why have Asian Americans often been the target of xenophobic and racist attacks during past disease outbreaks? Professor Cindy I-Fen Cheng puts the past and …
Professor Emerita Florence Bernault’s recent book, Colonial Transactions: Imaginaries, Bodies, and Histories in Gabon (Duke University Press, 2019), has been selected as a Choice Magazine 2019 Outstanding Academic Title! According to the reviewer, “this should be a key text for African studies and certainly for any collection centered on West and Central Africa.” Publisher’s website: …
Grad student Jennifer Stitt has published a personal essay on COVID-19 in Guernica, an online magazine dedicated to global arts and politics. The article is titled “Will COVID-19 Strengthen our Bonds?: Living with Chronic Illness in the Midst of a Pandemic Requires a New Map.” A thoughtful, personal piece about Stitt’s journey through life, a …