Alumni

Historians Mahoney and Horrocks on American Girl Dolls

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History Ph.D.’s Mary Mahoney ’18 and Allison Horrocks ’16 explore American Girl dolls through Allison Horrocks, 2016 History Ph.Dlenses of history and pop culture in their podcast “The Dolls of Our Lives,” and their recent book, The Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can’t Quit American Girl.

Their work has garnered significant attention and interest.  It has been featured in UConn Today, “In New BooMary Margaret Mahoney, History Department, UConnk, History Ph.D.s Explore ‘Why We Can’t Quit American Girl,’” where they discuss their podcast, their book, and weigh-in on which American Girl’s they think would earn history Ph.D.’s.

Contingent Magazine Founder Erin Bartram on Doing History

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Erin Bartram, 2016 History Ph.DUConn History PhD ’15  Erin Bartram founded Contingent Magazine with this vision: to broaden who does history, how they do it, and where they do it.  Bartram, who is a historian of the 19th century United States and currently works as  the School Programs Coordinator at The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, CT, is an example of how to do history outside of tenure-track positions. As a part of  Contingent Magazine’s “Doing History” series, Erin Bartram reveals what energizes her about her work, from the variety of programming to K-12 curriculum design. Bartram describes that through her work in public history, she is able to use her research in gender and family histories of New England to tell richer stories about the past. In the article, Bartram affirms that:

“Not only was UConn really the best place for me, I was fortunate enough to have an adviser who was endlessly curious and didn’t mind me roaming far afield. In a department with Dick Brown, Bob Gross, Chris Clark, Nina Dayton, Nancy Shoemaker, and Altina Waller–plus some Early America stars in other departments at the university–I could have only taken 18th and 19th century courses if I’d really wanted to. But I took all kinds of courses, and got really into histories and theories of colonialism. Oddly it was that stuff that led me into the topic I ended up researching.”

For more on Erin Bartram’s work, please read “How Erin Bartram Does History,”

Allison Horrocks Featured in Contingent Magazine

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Allison Horrocks AG BlogAfter graduating from UConn in 2016 as a newly minted PhD,  Allison Horrocks pursued a career in public history. Her path after UConn led to a job at the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, which spans across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Contingent Magazine profiled Allison Horrocks career, asking her about the whys and hows of her history journey as a part of their series on how historians within and beyond the academy “do history.” Founded by another UConn Ph.D. alum Erin Bartram, Contingent Magazine is dedicated to broadening the scope of what constitutes historical learning, storytelling, and careers.

In the article “How Allison Horrocks Does History,” Allison Horrocks shares tidbits from her past that informed her pathway to public history. It is a fantastic read that inspires us all to think big about the work that we do. A job well done!

Stefon Danczuk ’16 Named New Circuit Rider for Preservation CT

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Preservation CT has welcomed Stefon Danczuk (’16) as a field service consultant for the Circuit Rider Program. He will provide on-site archaeological services that provide technical support and promote the importance of archaeological preservation.  While working at Preservation CT, Danczuk is also pursuing a Master’s in Public History at Central Connecticut State University. All the details about Danczuk’s new and exciting role are profiled in this article, New Preservation CT Staff. A job well done!

February 4: New Exhibit on Slavery in Stonington

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Venture Smith ImageFrom February 4 – February 27, the Stonington Historical Society will debut new and permanent  exhibition on slavery. Thanks to the dedicated research of two members of the UConn History community, Professor Nancy Steenburg and former graduate student Liz Kading, the story of Venture Smith will shed light on the multifaceted landscapes of slavery and freedom in 18th century New England. The exhibition, entitled, “My Freedom is a Privilege that Nothing Else Can Equal,” will mark the re-opening of the Lighthouse Museum. Admission will be free throughout the month.  For more information:

Undergraduate Alumni Spotlight: Sulema DePeyster in the Field

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Sulema DePeyster, UConn History, EPOCH InternWe are thrilled to announce that UConn History ’21 graduate Sulema DePeyster has decided to continue her work in community-based historical engagement. She has joined the Windsor Historical Society as the first  Community History Specialist. In this newly created position, DePeyster will design oral history projects that engage the Windsor community. During her time at UConn, DePeyster worked with History Professor Fiona Vernal on several oral history projects that made the untold stories of Windsor residents more visible and accessible. DePeyster’s commendable work garnered awards including the Undergraduate History Excellence Award and the Sandra Rux Fellowship.  Read more about Sulema DePeyster in this article from the Windsor Historical Society. Congratulations! We look forward to this next chapter.

 

 

 

Alum Jorell Meléndez-Badillo Interviewed by The Abusable Past

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Recent UConn History PhD graduate, Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, details the intricacies of the labor movement in Puerto Rico alongside questions of race, gender, and knowledge production in an interview with the online collective, The Abusable Past.

The interview is based on his his first book, The Lettered Barriada: Workers, Archival Power, and the Politics of Knowledge in Puerto Rico (2021), which chronicles how a group of self-educated workers theorized liberation in the wake of U.S. occupation and amidst the changing conditions and terms of exploitation. This interview is an insightful foray into the cultural landscape of labor politics in Puerto Rico. Congratulations on a groundbreaking book and fantastic interview!

Interview is here:

Knowledge Produced in the Margins 

UConn PhD Stephen Rabe on Becoming a Historian

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21-10-2021-Stephen Rabe ProfileIn H-Diplo’s series on “Learning the Scholar’s Craft: Reflections of Historians and International Relations Scholars,” Stephen Rabe, a 1977 graduate of UConn History’s doctoral program, describes his path to becoming a prominent specialist in foreign relations.  Rabe discusses with candid fondness his time studying with scholars like Mary Beth Norton and his dissertation director, Thomas G. Paterson. He attributes his “learning of the scholar’s craft” to UConn’s faculty, who served as great role models who “took their jobs seriously, worked hard, and published.” Be sure to read more about Stephen Rabe’s journey to history, the academy, Storrs, and beyond in this fantastic and detailed essay.

Recent Graduate Student Achievements

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Please join us in celebrating the many recent achievements of UConn graduate students.  

New Positions

Kate Aguilar (PhD 2021) defended her dissertation, “In the Eyes of the Hurricanes: Miami Football, Race, and American Conservatism.” She began as Assistant Professor of African American History at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota in Fall 2021. 

Hilary Bogert-Winkler (PhD 2019) appointed Assistant Professor of Liturgy at the School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, TN in Fall 2021.

Nathan Braccio (PhD 2020) defended his dissertation, “Parallel Landscapes: Algonquian and English Spatial Understandings of New England, 1500-1700.” He started as Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental History at Utah State University – Uintah Basin in Fall 2021. 

Danielle Dumaine (PhD 2020) completed her dissertation, “Selling Herself: Diane di Prima, Desire, and Commodity in the Postwar United States.” She has been Visiting Assistant Professor, University of North Texas since Fall 2020. 

Kevin Finefrock (PhD 2021) defended his dissertation, “The Long Emancipation: Navigating Slavery’s End in Connecticut, 1780-1830.” He is Associate Director of Employer Engagement and Operations, Connecticut College.

Edward Guimont (PhD 2019) started as Professor of Global History at Bristol Community College, Fall Rivers, MA in Fall 2021.

Aimee Loiselle (PhD 2019) began a position as Assistant Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University in Fall 2021. 

Winifred Maloney (MA 2018) has started a new position as Associate Dean of College Counseling at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Lauren Stauffer (PhD 2021) completed her dissertation  “Beyond the North Atlantic: How NATO Developed an ‘Out-of-Area’ Perspective, 1979-1991″ and began work in a position with the US government.

Megan Streit (PhD candidate) began work this fall as Deputy Director of Operations for Capstone, Keystone, and Pinnacle Courses, National Defense University, Washington DC. 

Jessica Strom (PhD 2021) completed her dissertation “Financing Revolution: Adriano Lemmi and the Struggle for Italian Unification“ and continues to teach courses at the UConn Stamford campus.

 

Prizes, Fellowships, and Internships

 

Katie Angelica (PhD candidate) received a 2019 grant from the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium, a 2020 Short-Term Grant from the New York Public Library, a 2021 Andrew Mellon Grant from the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a 2021 Grant from the Connecticut League of Women Voters — and she has finally been able to starting putting all of them to use in an intense stretch of dissertation research this fall as archives and libraries reopen.

Alex Beckstrand (PhD candidate) was the sole winner of the 2021 Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison Naval History Scholarship, an award of $5,000 given by the Naval History and Heritage Command to an active duty commissioned officer in the US Navy or Marine Corps studying the lessons of naval history for the analysis of great power competition. He also had his article on Woodrow Wilson and civil-military relations during the 1916 military expedition into Mexico accepted by the Journal of Military History. 

Nicole Breault (PhD candidate) was Robert Middlekauff Fellow at the Huntington Library for two months in 2020-2021, as well as Draper Dissertation Fellow at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute. She was co-winner of the inaugural Sandra Rux Prize. For 2021-22, she is the David Center for the American Revolution Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. 

Orlando Deavila Pertuz (PhD 2019) won Honorable Mention for the 2019 Michael Katz Award for Best Dissertation in Urban History. He is now Assistant Professor at the Instituto de Estudio del Caribe, Universidad de Cartagena, Colombia.

Erick Freeman (PhD candidate) is a Dissertation Fellow at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute, 2021-22.

Constance Holden (PhD candidate) was an intern with the National Endowment for the Humanities in Summer 2021.  She also won the Brian Bertoti Award for Outstanding Historical Scholarship for her paper, “Black Visibility and Whitened Modernity: Constructing Argentine Nationalism in Caras y Caretas, 1898-1910”, presented at Virginia Tech’s Innovative Perspectives in History Graduate Research Conference.

Aimee Loiselle (PhD 2019), won the 2020 Catherine Prelinger Award from the Coordinating Council for Women in History  & 2020 Lerner-Scott Prize in Women’s History from the Organization of American Historians. 

Frances Martin (PhD candidate) received a 2021 Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Research Grant from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

Britney Murphy (PhD candidate) was 2021 National Predoctoral Fellow for Humanities Without Walls.

Amy Sopcak-Joseph (PhD 2019), won the 2020 Zuckerman Dissertation Prize in American Studies from the McNeil Center for Early American History at the University of Pennsylvania.

Megan Streit (PhD candidate) received a 2020-21 Boren Fellowship, a 2020 Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Research Grant from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and a 2021 Critical Language Scholarship to study Azerbaijani.

Interview with Alea Henle, 2012 PhD from UConn History

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Here’s a splendid interview with historian and librarian Alea Henle, 2012 PhD from UConn History and 2011-12 UCHI Dissertation Fellow, on her research, writing, and her recent book, Rescued from Oblivion: Historical Cultures in the Early United States.  Dr. Henle is now the Head of Access & Borrow at Miami University (Ohio).  The interview was conducted by historian Elizabeth Della Zazzera, postdoctoral research associate at the UConn Humanities Institute. Wonderful to see the fruits of twenty years of the Humanities Institute at the University of Connecticut!