Congratulations to UConn History Professor Dexter Gabriel (under his nom de plume P. Djéli Clark) whose novel, Ring Shout, was selected by National Public Radio (NPR) to appear on their Best Books of 2020 list.

NPR Books editor, Petra Mayer, wrote:

“In P. Djéli Clark’s version of the Jim Crow South, The Birth of a Nation wasn’t just a movie – it was a summoning spell that brought the pointy headed, pale-skinned demons called Ku Kluxes to Earth to feed off the hatred of human Klansmen. Standing against the Klan are demon-hunters Maryse, Sadie and Chef, backed by the power of the ring shouts, chants led by the old Gullah woman Nana Jean. But hatred goes both ways, and Maryse must learn how to use her own before the demons do. Ring Shout is a novella, but it packs cinematic excitement, shuddering body horror, real history and wrenching emotion into its short length.”

This book sounds incredible and a must-read. Well done, Professor Gabriel, and again, congrats on this incredible honor!

An op-ed by James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History Professor Manisha Sinha is prominently featured on CNN.com. The essay notes similarities and differences between the 1860 and 2020 U.S. Presidential Elections.

As Professor Sinha writes, “The one underlying commonality that binds these two historic presidential elections is the conviction that it is American democracy — rather than just opposing presidential candidates — that is on the ballot.”

Do give this excellent article a read. To read the op-ed, click the link. If you enjoy the op-ed, please share.

UConn History Professor Brendan Kane, working with Assistant Professor of Human Rights and Education Glenn Mitoma, aided CT Humanities in winning a $50,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Kane and Mitoma are co-directors of the Democracy & Dialogues Initiative (D&DI) and this Mellon grant will fund further D&DI programming. The initiative presents programming designed to provide frameworks for meaningful discussion around often difficult and divisive topics, instruction on civic processes and participation, and avenues that ensure access for all citizens to value and participate fully in our democracy.

Congratulations, Professor Kane on this incredible news. For more information about this latest honor for Professor Kane, please click the following link. 

In these days when conversations across political and disciplinary borders can be difficult, it is a delight to report that the summer 2020 issue of the influential Iranian socio-cultural journal Negah-e Nou featured an extensive appreciation of the work of our colleague, Fakhreddin Azimi.

In eight essays, scholars and intellectuals from Tehran, Paris, Frankfurt, and elsewhere offer assessments of his intellectual trajectory, close reviews of some of his key works, and an extended interview with him by the editor-in-chief of the journal, Ali Mirzaie. Dr. Mohammad Ali Movahhed, a member of the Iranian Academy of Language and Literature, describes Azimi as “one of the most outstandingly capable and authoritative Iranian historians since the mid-20th century.”

Dr. Nader Entekhabi writes from Paris that “Azimi is a rare figure in our modern historiography as he combines deep theoretical knowledge of different social and human science disciplines with methodical exploration of various archival and other primary sources to furnish a multi-faceted and robust account of political life in modern Iran.” Entekhabi goes on to highlight how Azimi’s writing reflects his “full immersion in classical Persian culture and literature, a reality fully discernible in every line of his magnificent prose.” As the title of Arman Nehchiri’s essay puts it, Azimi has been “Holding a Mirror in the Alley of the Wakeful” with his “subtle” analysis and his “mastery of Persian prose and distinctive style that clearly distinguish him from his peers.”

Congratulations, Professor Azimi, it is an honor to have you as a colleague. And if propriety and intellectual property allow, perhaps we someday soon might even be able to publish that interview on your path from student movements at Tehran University to teaching at the University of Connecticut.

UConn’s Department of History learned two of its students recently received impressive awards.

First, PhD student Nicole Breault received the John Tanaka Graduate Student Fellowship from the UConn Chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Nicole is on leave this year because of another award, a 2020-2021 Draper Dissertation Fellowship from UConn’s Humanities Institute.

Second, our own undergraduate honors student, Lisette Donewald, was declared co-winner of the Judge Peter Zerella Scholarship of the Connecticut Supreme Court Society.

Congratulations to both Nicole and Lisette! You make everyone in Wood Hall proud.

In recent years, and especially this summer, debate is spreading about what to do with monuments – whether statues, memorials, or obelisks – that commemorate white superiority. As society changes, and the values of those societies shift, what is to become of monuments that have, in one word, “expired?”

Connecticut State Historian and Associate Professor Walter Woodward, in a co-authored essay with UConn Neag School of Education Professor Alan Marcus, have a fascinating new article in The Conversation examining the debate over “expired” monuments and what to do with them.

To read this engaging and timely piece, click here. If you like the essay, please consider sharing it.

In August the United States reached another grim milestone: over 170,000 deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic. But unlike other national tragedies, there has been little collective mourning among Americans. Why is that? Why is this time different? To better understand why national grieving is important, CNN contributor Ray Sanchez spoke with Professor Micki McElya. On August 16, Sanchez published the article, “Few signs of collective mourning as the US tops 170,000 coronavirus deaths,” on the CNN website. Professor McElya, author of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery, is the ideal scholar to discuss matters of collective grief and how US political leaders have marshalled national mourning during previous tragedies.

Describing the country’s lack of collective mourning, Professor McElya eloquently states in the CNN article: “We need to really consider this and talk about this as a collective national failure. One certainly encouraged by our leadership. But people have to submit or commit to that narrative, and so many have, and that’s an enormous sadness.”