News & Events

2022

• Professor Louise Young Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

  This past fall, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences inducted Professor Louise Young. An honorary society and policy organization founded in 1780, the Academy elects exceptionally accomplished individuals and engages them in advancing the public good. Young signed the Book of Members …

• Jim Sweet Gives His Presidential Address at the American Historical Association Conference in January

  Jim Sweet ends his term as the 2022 President of the American Historical Association with a presidential address at the annual American Historical Association Conference. The address, entitled “Slave Trading as a Corporate Criminal Conspiracy, …

• Professor Judd Kinzley Recorded an Interview with University of the Air

  Professor Judd Kinzley recorded an interview on the history of US-China relations for University of the Air on Wisconsin Public Radio. University of the Air invites distinguished faculty guests from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to …

• Ph.D. Alum Catherine Burns Received 2022 James Phinney Baxter Award

  Catherine M. Burns (PhD 2011) is the recipient of the 2022 James Phinney Baxter Award for best article in the scholarly journal Maine History. “ ‘It May Be Questionable’: Granger v. Avery and the Redaction …

• PhD Candidate Tyler A. Lehrer Publishes New Article in Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions

  Tyler A. Lehrer (he/him), PhD Candidate in Southeast and South Asian History, has recently published an article in Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions titled “Dangerous Friendships in Eighteenth-Century Buddhist Laṅkā and Siam.” The article …

• Samuel Freedman Visits History 136

  On Tuesday, November 15th Professor Ashley Brown hosted Samuel G. Freedman as a guest speaker in History 136: Sport, Recreation, & Society in the United States. Freedman’s appearance was coordinated as part of his visit to …

• Go Big Read Author Meets with History Undergraduate and Graduate Students

  This year’s Go Big Read book is How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith. On November 2nd, 2022, Clint Smith spoke with History undergraduates and …

• Professor Monica Kim Named 2022 MacArthur Fellow

  Professor Monica Kim has recently been named a MacArthur Fellow. This “genius grant” fellowship provides an $800,000 stipend for the fellows to use as they see fit. The criteria that are used to select the …

• Kacie Lucchini Butcher Publishes New Article in The Oral History Review

  Kacie Lucchini Butcher, the Director of the Public History Project, recently published an article in The Oral History Review titled Challenging the Badger Brand: The Ethics of Conducting Oral History Interviews with College-Athletes. This article …

• Welcome New Faculty

  The Department of History is excited to welcome three new faculty members – Khaled Esseissah, Michael Martoccio, and Jorell Meléndez-Badillo! Khaled Esseissah joins us as a historian of Islam, colonialism, slavery, race, and gender, with …

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2021

• In Memoriam: Alumnus R. Richard “Dick” Wagner

  In Memoriam: Alumnus R. Richard “Dick” Wagner The Department of History is sad to share the news that one of our alums, R. Richard “Dick” Wagner (PhD, 1971) passed away unexpectedly on December 12, 2021 …

• In Memoriam: Alumnus Tyler Stovall

  The Department of History is saddened to note the passing of alumnus Tyler Stovall (PhD, 1984). Dr. Stovall studied with Harvey Goldberg at UW-Madison and became a distinguished historian of modern France with a particular …

• Professor Judd Kinzley Publishes Article in Wisconsin Magazine of History

  Congratulations to Professor Judd Kinzley, who has a new article published in the most recent issue of the Wisconsin Magazine of History. “The Ghosts of Science Hall: The Chinese Geologists of the University of Wisconsin” …

• Professor Gloria Whiting Wins Prize for Best Article in American Legal History

  Professor Gloria Whiting has received the Cromwell Prize from the American Society for Legal History for her article, “Race, Slavery, and the Problem of Numbers in Early New England: A View from Probate Court.” This …

• Professor Alfred McCoy Publishes New Book

  Congratulations to Professor Alfred McCoy on the publication of his new book, To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change, out this month from Haymarket Books. From the publisher’s website: “In a tempestuous narrative …

• Professor Lucas Richert Publishes New Book on the Global History of Cannabis

  Lucas Richert, Associate Professor and George Urdang Chair in the History of Pharmacy and History Department faculty affiliate, has published a new book titled Cannabis: Global Histories (MIT Press, 2021). The book, co-edited by Lucas Richert …

• Professor Sasha Suarez Speaks to Local News about Indigenous Activism

  November is Native American Heritage Month, and to help bring awareness to Wisconsinites about some of the issues the Native American community have been facing, both past and present, Professor Sasha Suarez spoke with local Milwaukee news …

• Paige Glotzer Receives Best Book in North American Urban History Award

  Congratulations to Professor Paige Glotzer on receiving the 2021 Kenneth Jackson Award from the Urban History Association for How the Suburbs Were Segregated: Developers and the Business of Exclusionary Housing, 1890-1960 (Columbia University Press, 2020)! This …

• Professor Emeritus Thomas Spear Receives AHA Prize for Best Reference Work

  Congratulations to Professor Emeritus Thomas Spear for winning the American Historical Association’s Waldo G. Leland Prize for the best reference work published over the last five years! The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources …

• UW History Alumni & Emeritus Receive WHA Awards

  Congratulations to our graduate program alumni, Jennifer Holland (PhD, 2013) and Cori Simon (PhD, 2020), on their awards from the Western Historical Association! At the WHA meeting last week, Jennifer Holland was presented with two …

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2020

• Alumnus Mark Solovey Publishes New Book

  Congratulations to alumnus Mark Solovey (PhD, 1996) on the publication of his newest book, Social Science for What? Battles Over Public Funding for the “Other Sciences” at the National Science Foundation (MIT Press, 2020). “In …

• History Department 2020 Newsletter – “The Past in the Present”

  History Newsletter 2020-21 (pdf) History Newsletter 2020-21: Mobile-Friendly Version (pdf) Chair’s Welcome History Welcomes New Members Interpreting 2020 The Joy of Learning New Club and Podcast Faculty/Staff/Emeritus News and more… This issue and past copies …

• Stanley Schultz (1938-2020)

  Stanley Kenton “Stan” Schultz, age 82, passed away at his home in Middleton, Wis., on Dec. 8, 2020. Stan was born on July 12, 1938, in Los Angeles, Calif., to Kenton Schultz and Virginia Pyle …

• Alumnus Paul Grant Publishes Book

  Alumnus Paul Grant (Ph.D. 2017) has published his first book, Healing and Power in Ghana: Early Indigenous Expressions of Christianity (Baylor University Press, 2020). According to the publisher’s website: “Focusing on the southeastern Gold Coast …

• Students of Professor Banerjee’s History 200 Say “Thank You”

  Professor Mou Banerjee got a surprise on Tuesday when students from her History 200 course on Gandhi, King, Mandela: Non-Violence in the World performed a coordinated thank you to Professor Banerjee over Zoom. Students turned …

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2019

• Professor Emeritus David Sorkin Publishes New Book

  David Sorkin, a historian of Jewish and European history, has published a new book titled Jewish Emancipation: A History Across Five Centuries (Princeton University Press, 2019). Sorkin is a Professor Emeritus of our department and …

• Professor Lapina Interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio

  This past Sunday, December 8th, Professor Elizabeth Lapina was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio for a segment titled “Knightly Culture and the Crusades.” The host was Norman Gilliland, who co-produces the weekly WPR program  “University …

• History Major Takes a Horticulture Class with Grandparents Who Audit

  Danielle Wendricks, a History major also studying Community and Nonprofit Leadership and Educational Policy at UW-Madison, took Horticulture 120 this semester with her grandparents, who audited the class as part of UW’s Senior Guest Auditor …

• Gloria Whiting publishes article in Slavery & Abolition

  Professor Gloria Whiting recently published an article in Slavery & Abolition titled “Emancipation without the courts or constitution: the case of Revolutionary Massachusetts.” The essay rethinks the process by which freedom was inaugurated in Massachusetts, …

• Professor Hennessy Longlisted for 2020 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

  Professor Elizabeth Hennessy, whose book On the Backs of Tortoises: Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden (Yale University Press) was published this year, is on the longlist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson …

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2018

• Walter Stern receives 2018 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History

  Walter Stern, Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies and affiliated faculty member of the History Department, has received the 2018 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History. This prize is awarded annually by the …

• L&S Newsletter Publishes Article on Professors Cindy I-Fen Cheng and Leonora Neville

  Sift & Winnow, the online L&S newsletter, has an article on the “Lessons of History” that features our own Cindy I-Fen Cheng and Leonora Neville, along with Christy Clark-Pujara, who teaches in the Department of …

• Commissioner Emeritus of Major League Baseball Bud Selig (B.A. 1956) Delivers Winter Commencement Speech

  On Sunday, December 16th, the winter graduates of 2018 and 6,700 guests packed the seats of the Kohl Center and listened to Alan H, “Bud” Selig, Commissioner Emeritus of Major League Baseball and class of …

• Alumnus David Gilbert Nominated for Grammy Award

  History alumnus David Gilbert (Ph.D. 2011) is up for a Grammy Award! He is nominated in the category of Best Album Notes for The Product of Our Souls: The Sound and Sway of James Reese …

• Publication from Goldberg Center Book Series Awarded Prize from the American Historical Association

  The book, Understanding and Teaching American Slavery, published as part of The Harvey Goldberg Series for Understanding and Teaching History with University of Wisconsin Press has just received the James Harvey Robinson Prize from the …

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2017

• History Department 2017 Newsletter – “The Past in the Present”

  History Newsletter 2017-18 – “The Past in the Present” Chair’s Welcome Twenty Years of ARCHIVE Drunk History Nature’s Metropolis Turns 25 Wisconsin 101 Progress Report Faculty/Emeriti News News Professorships Graduate Student/Alumni Notes Undergraduate/Graduate Awards and …

• African Studies celebrates the contributions of Florence Bernault

  The African Studies Program congratulates and bids a fond farewell to longtime colleague Florence Bernault, who will be returning to her home country of France for a senior professorship in African History at the Institut …

• Making Tracks: Gregg Mitman

  A recent autobiographical essay on how Gregg Mitman became an environmental historian, commissioned by the Rachel Carson Center. Read the essay on their blog, Seeing the Woods.

• History of Science Brown Bag – Marie Hicks

  “Searching for Genderqueerness in the Archive” Marie Hicks UW-Madison, Department of History Upcoming History of Science brown bag: December 8th with Lynn Nyhart – Town Hall

• Lecture: Evan Laksmana

  “Reshuffling the Deck?: Organizational Evolution, Officer Promotion, and Military Reform in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia” Evan Laksmana Doctoral Candidate Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracuse University Senior Researcher Center of Strategic and International Studies Jakarta …

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2016

• Prof. Lederer named UNC Distinguished Visiting Professor

  January 2016 Susan E. Lederer, Robert Turell Professor of Medical History and Bioethics and department chair, will spend Spring 2016 in North Carolina. She will be the Nannerl O. Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professor at the …

• Gómez receives UW IRH residential fellowship

  January 2016 Assistant Professor Pablo Gómez has been awarded a UW Institute for Research in the Humanities (IRH) residential fellowship for the coming Fall semester. Pablo will be working on his second book project during …

• All History of Science Department Events for Spring 2016

  January 22 (Friday) at Noon Brown Bag Welcome to Spring Semester! BB organization and scheduling. Location: 204 Bradley Memorial January 29 (Friday) at Noon Brown Bag: Mitra Sharafi, Law School, UW-Madison “Blood Testing and Fear …

• All History of Science Department Events for Fall 2016

  September 9 (Friday) at Noon Brown Bag Welcome, introductions, and planning for the semester. For the remainder of the hour, we’ll have an informal discussion about current problems with academic publishing, which seems increasingly dysfunctional. …

• Post-Soviet Lustration and Contemporary Hierarchical Relations with Russia

  Professor Yuval Weber National Research University — Higher School of Economics (Moscow) Thursday, December 8, 2016 4:00 PM 206 Ingraham Hall A key challenge for post-authoritarian governments is to consolidate political authority; one of the …

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2015

• Professor Marla Ramirez Won the Oral History Association’s Article Award

  Professor Marla Ramirez won the Oral History Association’s Article Award for her essay titled, “Gendered banishment: Rewriting Mexican repatriation through a transgenerational oral history methodology.” This award was created to recognize an article or essay …

• Alum Tamara Feinstein Publishes New Book

  Alum Tamara Feinstein (Ph.D., 2013) recently published a new book titled, The Fate of Peruvian Democracy: Political Violence, Human Rights, and the Legal Left. Description: Tamara Feinstein investigates the bloody Shining Path conflict’s effect on …

• Ashley Brown Interviewed on the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast

  Professor Ashley Brown was recently interviewed on the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast to discuss her book Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson. During her segment, Brown discusses what first inspired her to dive …

• Alumnus Thomas McStay Adams Publishes New Book

  Alumnus Thomas McStay Adams (Ph.D. 1972) published his two-volume work Europe’s Welfare Traditions Since 1500: Reform Without End in February of this year. Description: Tracing the interwoven traditions of modern welfare states in Europe over …

• Alum Sinae Hyun Publishes New Book

  Former Ph.D. student Sinae Hyun recently published a new book titled Indigenizing the Cold War: The Border Patrol Police and Nation-Building in Thailand (University of Hawaii Press, 2023). Description The Border Patrol Police (BPP) of …

2014

• Professor Marla Ramirez Won the Oral History Association’s Article Award

  Professor Marla Ramirez won the Oral History Association’s Article Award for her essay titled, “Gendered banishment: Rewriting Mexican repatriation through a transgenerational oral history methodology.” This award was created to recognize an article or essay …

• Alum Tamara Feinstein Publishes New Book

  Alum Tamara Feinstein (Ph.D., 2013) recently published a new book titled, The Fate of Peruvian Democracy: Political Violence, Human Rights, and the Legal Left. Description: Tamara Feinstein investigates the bloody Shining Path conflict’s effect on …

• Ashley Brown Interviewed on the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast

  Professor Ashley Brown was recently interviewed on the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast to discuss her book Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson. During her segment, Brown discusses what first inspired her to dive …

• Alumnus Thomas McStay Adams Publishes New Book

  Alumnus Thomas McStay Adams (Ph.D. 1972) published his two-volume work Europe’s Welfare Traditions Since 1500: Reform Without End in February of this year. Description: Tracing the interwoven traditions of modern welfare states in Europe over …

• Alum Sinae Hyun Publishes New Book

  Former Ph.D. student Sinae Hyun recently published a new book titled Indigenizing the Cold War: The Border Patrol Police and Nation-Building in Thailand (University of Hawaii Press, 2023). Description The Border Patrol Police (BPP) of …

2013

• Honored Instructors Melissa Charenko and Toshihiro Higuchi

  December 2013 History of Science graduate student Melissa Charenko and Associate Lecturer and Postdoctoral Fellow Toshihiro Higuchi have been named Honored Instructors for their contributions to UW students and their education. This fall, as course …

• All History of Science Department Events for Fall 2013

  September 6 (Friday) at Noon Brown Bag Introductions and Planning Location: 204 Bradley Memorial September 13 (Friday) at Noon Richard Hirsh, Virginia Tech “History of Science & Technology and Public Policy: Reflections on an Academic’s …

• Emily Callaci won First Book Award for junior faculty

• Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen won the AHA’s biennial Dunning Prize for Best Book in US History

• Graduate Student Jesse Gant has co-authored a book about Wisconsin bicycling history

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