On October 31, Associate Professor and Department Head Mark Healey was interviewed by Historias, the official podcast for the Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS). Listed as Episode 64 and titled “Mark Healey and Ernesto Semán on Argentina’s presidential election,” the participants discussed the evolution of Argentina political culture and the emergence of today’s radicalized center-right political movement. To listen, click here.
Faculty
Prof. Healey Featured in UConn Today Q&A
On Friday, October, 18, large demonstrations erupted across Chile after a fare increase occurred in the capital of Santiago – resulting in the largest popular demonstration in the country’s history. In UConn Today, Mark Healey, Associate Professor and head of the History Department, provided a Q&A that historicizes the protests and situates the unrest within a wider frame of the South American region. According to Healey, “[i]t’s important to understand that present-day democratic Chile remains the child of the dictatorship that ended in 1990″ and that, throughout the region, “[t]here are lots of worrisome echoes of the past right now, most obviously the images of presidents standing in front of generals that have become ubiquitous in the last few weeks.”
To read the article, please click here.
UConn History Faculty and Graduate Student UNH-Mellon Grant Winners
UConn History Associate Professors Fiona Vernal and Walter Woodward, and graduate Student Megan Fountain, are among the recipients of the UNH-Mellon seed grant. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Center for the Humanities’ annual Summer Institute is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to “train humanists to work in the public realm and embrace community engagement”. Winners of the 2019 seed grants include 14 graduate students and faculty members ranging from across New England.
Below are the listed projects of the UConn recipients:
Fiona Vernal, UConn Associate Professor of History
“A Caribbean Museum”
Community-based archival collecting to lead to an oral history initiative including one-week traveling pop-up exhibits, a migration exhibit to launch the Caribbean Museum, and salons (panel discussions) about public housing, mobility, and migration
Community Partners: Connecticut Humanities Council (CHC), The Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library, The West Indian Social Club (WISC), and El Instituto: The Institute of Latino, Caribbean and Latin American Studies (ELIN) at UConn, Hartford Public Schools, CREC (Capital Region Education Council)
Walter Woodward, UConn Associate Professor of History and Connecticut State Historian
“Doing Public Humanities: An Audio Field Guide”
A multi-episode web-based podcast as an audio roadmap into how to practice engaged public humanities
Community Partners: case history participants (faculty doing public humanities)
Megan Fountain, UConn graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies
“The Guatemala-Connecticut Community History Project”
Documenting and archiving oral histories of Guatemalan immigrants and their families in Guatemala
Community Partners: A committee of Guatemalan immigrants and community activists including Unidad Latina en Accion (ULA), a grassroots organization; a team of public historians and New Haven Public Schools teachers; Columbia Center for Oral History Research; and Groundswell: Oral History for Social Change.
Prof. Ogbar Interviewed by In Vivo Podcast
Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, UConn Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music, was recently interviewed by “In Vivo” podcast, which shares the fascinating stories of researchers at UConn. In the process of drawing attention to how UConn is a “pioneer of research and innovation,” In Vivo discussed with Professor Ogbar how his work furthers our understanding of black nationalism, social justice, and the sociopolitical evolution of hip hop. Additionally, the episodes features a discussion of Ogbar’s next book that is a history of the rise of political power in Atlanta (from the Antebellum period to the present).
Prof. Ricardo Salazar-Rey Shares Reflections from Folger
Assistant Professor Ricardo Salazar-Rey of the UConn-Stamford campus recently shared his experience participating in the Folger Institute‘s selective yearlong colloquium on “Finance, Race, and Gender in the Early Modern Atlantic World”. Calling the colloquium a “triumph,” Professor Salazar-Rey had the opportunity throughout the year to participate in “robust and informative” discussions and enhance his research, particularly by deepening his awareness of the special role and agency of Afroiberian women in the the Caribbean world.
To partake in this opportunity, Professor Salazar-Rey received funding from the Folger Institute and a travel award from the UConn Early Modern Studies Working Group. Salazar-Rey also notes the support he received from the UConn community, specifically his “eagle-eyed mentor” Mark Healey and Professor Brendan Kane. To read more about his experience, please click here.
Prof. Alexis Dudden Contributes Article to NYT
On September 23rd, Professor Alexis Dudden published an op-ed, titled “America’s Secret History in East Asia,” in the New York Times. The article explores the history behind the history of the trade disputes between South Korean and Japanese officials and places blame in the hands of U.S. diplomats. Professor Dudden writes: “Neither South Korean nor Japanese officials point a finger at the United States for their dispute, and yet they should…the historical moment they are fighting about, more than a half-century later, was fundamentally shaped by America’s involvement. Even as it claimed to help resolve Japan’s and South Korea’s longstanding grievances with the 1965 treaty, Washington used one ally over the other out of expedience, to advance its own interests.”
To read more about the ongoing trade dispute and Washington’s past involvement, click here.
UConn Conference: Key Texts in Modern Chinese Political Thought
This Friday and Saturday, September 27-28, UConn-Hartford will be hosting the “Key Texts in Modern Chinese Political Thought: Late Qing to Republican China” conference.
The conference focuses on selected “key texts” in Chinese political thought from roughly the first half of the twentieth century. Conference papers will analyze texts in terms of their sources and argumentation, their position in the discursive field, and their contribution to political theory. The conference as a whole asks what counts as political theory, what political theorists might learn from China, and how to construct a larger list of key texts from China.
Alongside Thomas Fröhlich (Universität Hamburg), Professor Peter Zarrow (UConn) has organized the conference. The conference is co-sponsored by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation and the University of Connecticut.
All are invited to attend, but space is limited, so registration is required, and the conference organizers will get back to you. The registration webpage also links to the conference program. Registration and program can be found here.
Prof. Woodward Interviews CT Governor Ned Lamont
Professor and State Historian Walt Woodward joined Mary Donohue in interviewing Governor Ned Lamont for Woodward’s podcast, Grating the Nutmeg. In addition to sharing Lamont’s speech, “100 Years of Fake News and Fake and Real Wars,” the podcast also includes a discussion with the Governor regarding the importance of the liberal arts and history. To stream the episode, go to this link or search for Grating the Nutmeg on your preferred podcast app.
Wood Hall Welcomes Two South African Visiting Fellows
The History Department is pleased to welcome Thoko Sipungu and Siyanda Ntlabathi who join us through the University Capacity Development Program (UCDP), a South African initiative with international partners in higher education that helps to develop the professoriate. In a parternship with UCONN Global and South Africa’s
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the UConn History Department welcomes the second cohort or scholars in this exciting collaboration. We wish them a productive start to their semester at UCONN!
Thoko Sipungu, Visiting PhD Scholar, Rhodes University, South Africa 
Sipungu is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University. His research and teaching interests include the sociology of men and masculinities, sexuality/ies, disabilities, identity and belonging, and sociological theory. His research aims to theorize the significance of the ‘body’ and the place of disability in the construction of Xhosa masculinity/ies.
Siyanda Ntlabathi, Visiting PhD Scholar, University of Fort Hare, Eastern Cape, in South Africa
Siyanda works as Manager of the Teaching and Learning Centre, East London Campus at the University of Fort Hare. Her work involves Leadership, supporting Academics in Technology Enhanced Learning, Curriculum Development, Portfolio and ePortfolios development and Foundation Provisioning (Extended Curriculum) Support. This entails development and support through workshops, seminars, and one on one consultations. Siyanda has a Master’s in Education and is currently pursuing her PhD (DBA in Higher Education Management) with the University of Bath.
Prof. Ogbar Publishes Updated Edition of Black Power
Published in 2019 with Johns Hopkins University Press is an updated edition of Professor Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar‘s first book, Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (2005). The updated edition includes a new preface that traces the important linkage between the Black Power movement and the recent Black Lives Matter movement, as well as insight into the book’s genesis. The new edition also includes an updated essay on sources relating to the Black Power movement.
For more information, or to purchase book, please click here.