History

In an Al Jazeera America op-ed titled “Two decades later, ex-Soviet republics reject absolute independence,” history associate professor Kate Brown writes that a combination of self-governance and economic integration is essential for former Soviet states in a global economy. In the column, Brown cites the example of ongoing protests in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, against the Ukrainian president’s refusal to sign European Union agreements that would facilitate trade. “The anxiety over economic well-being is not limited to Ukraine. Citizens in almost all the ex–Soviet republics are registering displeasure with their states’ autonomy at a rate that just about matches the indebtedness of those… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Writes Op-Ed for Al Jazeera America

Kate Brown, Associate Professor of History, presented the Social Sciences Forum “Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters,” to a large audience Wednesday afternoon in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Brown spoke about the plutonium disasters of the United States and Soviet Union, telling the stories of Richland, Washington and Ozersk, Russia. They are the first two cities in the world to produce plutonium. She described how American and Soviet leaders created plutopias, which are communities of nuclear families living in highly-subsidized atomic cities. For many, living in these cities was like “winning the… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Presents Social Sciences Forum on “Plutopia”

Catonsville resident Gus Russo, a documentary filmmaker and author, has written a book and filmed a documentary chronicling the stories of American citizens and where they were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The 50th anniversary of the assassination is November 22nd. History Assistant Professor George Derek Musgrove was interviewed for an article in The Baltimore Sun about Russo’s documentary and the impact of Kennedy’s assassination on the American people. He said television played a significant role. “Large numbers of Americans saw the motorcade and the fatal shot, his wife scrambling out of the car and much of his funeral… Continue Reading George Derek Musgrove, History, in The Baltimore Sun

Associate Professor of History Michelle Scott has been appointed to the National Professional Development Planning Committee for the Social Science Research Council/Mellon Mays Graduate Initiatives Program. The Graduate Initiatives Program is funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation. It “aims to transform the academy by eradicating racial disparities on the faculties of colleges and universities in the United States and South Africa. To that end, the program provides support for scholars from all backgrounds with a demonstrated commitment to this goal through a predoctoral research grant opportunity and an integrated cycle of capacity-building activities intended to enhance the success of Mellon… Continue Reading Michelle Scott, History, Named to Committee for Mellon Mays Graduate Initiatives Program

History professor Kate Brown’s recent discussion of Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore, Md., Sept. 18) is now available online through C-SPAN BookTV. In Plutopia, Brown writes about the “atomic cities” of Richland, Washington and Ozersk, Russia, where plutonium was first produced. To uphold secrecy during the nuclear arms race and compensate for the hazards of working in and around nuclear production facilities, the U.S. and Soviet governments offered generous salaries, educational and health care benefits in these “plutopias.” Brown argues that contamination to the cities and their surrounding environments occurred… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Book Talk on C-SPAN BookTV

The Center for Digital History and Education (CDHE) and the New Media Studio have developed an iPad app based on their recent project, “Children’s Lives at Colonial London Town: The Stories of Three Families.”  The app is now available for free in the Apple App Store here. “Children’s Lives at Colonial London Town: The Stories of Three Families” is an interactive exploration into the lives of children who actually lived in colonial America. The navigation and enhanced content enliven the stories of three families in London Town, Maryland from before the Revolutionary War. The app features include interactive timelines, historical and thematic… Continue Reading Center for Digital History and Education and New Media Studio Develop iPad App

The history of the creation of the 35th state, West Virginia, was the topic of conversation at a Lunch with Books Program presentation at the Ohio County Public Library, held on Tues., June 19. According to David Zimring, history instructor at UMBC, it was described as “Secession in favor of the Constitution.” Zimring recounted the series of events that led to western Virginia seceding from Virginia at a time when the nation was becoming increasingly divided about the constitutionality of slavery. “West Virginia’s leaders needed to convince the federal government that West Virginia statehood was a legal and necessary measure that… Continue Reading David Zimring, History Instructor, in The Intelligencer

A segment of associate professor of history Kate Brown’s recent book, “Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters,” was reprinted on April 18 in the online magazine “Slate” under the headline “Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland.” “In pop culture, irradiated wastelands are fascinating… Part of the fantasy is surviving alone in an abandoned place no longer fit for the living, but the sad fact is that there are irradiated zones that are fully inhabited, and have been since the first years of the nuclear arms race,” Brown writes.  “No one has lived longer… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, on Slate