History

Anne Rubin, an associate professor of history and author of Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014), recently published an article in the New York Times “Disunion” blog, which follows the Civil War as it unfolded 150 years ago. Titled “Towns Made for Burning,” the article describes Union General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea in South Carolina: “Sherman did not explicitly order his men to treat South Carolina’s Confederate civilians cruelly, but he did little to dissuade them,” Rubin wrote. Rubin further described the general’s thought process behind the march, including exploiting fear among Southern whites as… Continue Reading Anne Rubin, History, in the New York Times, on C-SPAN

History Professor James Grubb has been selected to serve as one of three trustees of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, a philanthropic foundation headquartered in New York.  According to its website, the The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation “promotes the advancement and perpetuation of humanistic inquiry and artistic creativity by encouraging excellence in scholarship and in the performing arts, and by supporting research libraries and other institutions which transmit our cultural heritage.” The Foundation sponsors projects in four areas in which the founder was keenly interested: libraries, humanities, artistic performance in New York, and Venetian studies.  The annual budget is about… Continue Reading James Grubb, History, Named Trustee of Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation

George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, associate professor of history, was quoted in a February 26 article in the Washington Post that examined Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s role in ushering in the legalization of marijuana in the city. Musgrove commented on the relationship between Bowser and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over D.C. legislative matters, and noted that Bowser contacted Chaffetz in advance of a press conference this week about marijuana legalization. “Her press conference was impressive. Not only was she firm . . . standing up for the wishes of 7 in 10 voters, but she was shrewd, making… Continue Reading George Derek Musgrove, History, in the Washington Post

From TV to film, Vikings have been storming screens around the world. But what about the real Vikings? On Friday, February 6, from 9 AM-1 PM in Commons Rm. 331, Dr. Lila Kopár, Director of the Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies at Catholic University, will present a workshop entitled, “The World of the Vikings Through Ten Objects.” It will offer an introduction to the material culture, history, literature, language, and religion of early medieval Scandinavia, concluding with a report on recent excavations at Bamburgh Castle in the UK. Then, don’t miss the MEMS Annual Colloquium on Thursday, February 26, featuring Dr. Anders Winroth of Yale… Continue Reading Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program Presents: The Vikings are Coming (2/6 and 2/26)

History Professor Kate Brown has been awarded an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Collaborative Research Fellowship to study the long-term effects of low doses of radiation on human health in the context of the Chernobyl disaster nearly three decades ago. Brown will be working with Timothy Mousseau, an evolutionary biologist at the University of South Carolina. The two scholars, with Brown providing the humanist perspective and Mousseau the scientist perspective, will collaborate to explore how knowledge and ignorance of the impact of the disaster has been produced over the last thirty years. The project will aim to historically analyze… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Awarded ACLS Collaborative Research Fellowship, Publishes Op-ed in Time

The Journal of American History (JAH) produces a monthly podcast interview with an author of a JAH article or author of a book on a historical topic. Anne Rubin, an associate professor of history and author of Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014), was the guest on JAH’s November podcast. She was interviewed about her book and discussed how she first became interested in researching Sherman’s March in graduate school. “The endurance of it is the power of Sherman’s March as a metaphor,” Rubin said. “In the South, people feel it very viscerally obviously in Georgia… Continue Reading Anne Rubin, History, on Journal of American History Podcast

History Professor Kate Brown has been named to the Physics World 2014 Books of the Year list for her book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford University Press, 2013). Physics World is a publication issued by the United Kingdom’s Institute of Physics. Below is an excerpt describing the process for selecting the ten best books of the year: “As in previous years, the entries on our ‘Book of the Year’ shortlist are all well written, novel and scientifically interesting for a physics audience. They represent the best of the 57 books that Physics World reviewed in 2014, being highly commended by external… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Named to Physics World 2014 Books of the Year List

On Thursday, November 20, History Associate Professor Anne Rubin appeared on WYPR’s Humanities Connection to discuss her research and digital humanities project, “Mapping Memory: Digitizing Sherman’s March to the Sea.” The project uses digital storytelling to explore Sherman’s historic 1864 March to the Sea during the Civil War. On December 2, Rubin will further discuss her research with Visual Arts Associate Professor Kelley Bell at the Humanities Forum at UMBC. Earlier this year, Rubin published, Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014). In the book, Rubin analyzes stories and myths about Sherman’s March, one of the most symbolically… Continue Reading Anne Rubin, History, on WYPR’s Humanities Connection, Receives Wall Street Journal Book Review

While on sabbatical this semester, Asian Studies Program Director and History Professor Constantine Vaporis recently presented a lecture at Leiden University in the Netherlands on the Samurai in Japanese and world history. A description of the event can be found below: “It would be difficult to find any aspect of Japanese culture that has had as long and strong a hold on the popular imagination, both in Japan and abroad, than the samurai and the code of ethics and conventions associated with them, known asbushidô. Using literary works, print images, museum exhibitions, film and other elements of popular culture as sources, this lecture… Continue Reading Constantine Vaporis, Asian Studies, Presents Lecture on the Samurai in Japanese and World History

Anne Rubin, an associate professor of history, has been presenting a series of talks throughout the fall while on sabbatical. She has been discussing her new book, Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory (UNC Press 2014). In the book, Rubin analyzes stories and myths about Sherman’s March, one of the most symbolically potent events of the Civil War, as a lens for examining how Americans’ ways of thinking about the Civil War have changed over time. Rubin is scheduled to appear on WYPR’s Humanities Connection on November 27 to discuss her interactive online storytelling project, “Mapping Memory: Digitizing Sherman’s March… Continue Reading Anne Rubin, History, Publishes Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory