Earlier this month, Alexis Dudden‘s article, “Alexis Dudden on the Firebombing of Tokyo and on Post-war Struggles to Keep it Remembered,” was published in The Economist. The article tackles the topic of the air raids in Japan of World War II, and the efforts to remember the civilians who were injured, perished, and made homeless by the bombings.
To read the article in The Economist: Article
To read the PDF version: Article
On the 1st of February, Professor Jeffrey Ogbar was interviewed by KPFA 94.1, a radio station based in California. The episode, titled “Carry the Light: Atlant
a: America’s Black Capital”, delves into “the history of the trials, tribulations, survival and triumphs of Atlanta’s Black citizens” and a discussion of these topics within the book America’s Black Captial. Professor Ogbar talks with Davey D, the founder of Hard Knock Radio and a Hip Hop Historian. This episode is part of a series of interviews by KPFA to celebrate and recognize Black history and culture.
In 2023, Dr. Jeffery Ogbar published America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy, which “chronicles how a center of Black excellence emerged amid virulent expressions of white nationalism, as African Americans pushed back against Confederate ideology to create an extraordinary locus of achievement”.
To listen to the interview: Carry the Light: Atlanta: America’s Black Capital
To listen to the other episodes in this series: Carry the Light
On November 11th, Cláudio Daflon successfully defended his dissertation “Peripheral Vision:The New Conurbano Universities and the Struggles for a More Popular and Democratic Higher Education System in Argentina, 1980s-2010s”.
Congratulations to Dr. Daflon on his successful defense!
Grace Easterly has been selected as a 2024-2025 fellow at the Cold War Archives Research Institute.
The Cold War Archives Research Institute at the Wilson Center has two objectives: “to stimulate original scholarship on the interplay between soft and hard power in the cold and hot wars between 1945 and 1991; and to demonstrate the power of cooperative scholarship through innovative archival practices”. This highly competitive fellowship seeks to train graduate level students in archival research methodologies, and hone the CWAR fellows “critical research skills in historical and archival methodologies, further their own research agendas in Cold War history, improve their communication and presentation skills, and develop a network of supportive professional contacts”.
Congratulations to Grace Easterly on this impressive achievement!
On September 25, Prof. Manisha Sinha visited Washington D.C., where she discussed her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920, as part of the Congressional Dialogue series. Speaking before an audience of more than two hundred Members of Congress, Prof. Sinha discussed the relevance of Reconstruction to contemporary politics, and to the issues Americans face today.
History Ph.D.’s Mary Mahoney ’18 and Allison Horrocks ’16 explore American Girl dolls through 
lenses 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 Boo
k, 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.
Prof. Manisha Sinha is one of twenty-five Civil War and Reconstruction historians who signed an amicus brief in support of Colorado’s attempt to remove Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, which bars insurrection participants from running for office. A summary of the brief’s main arguments is featured in the Guardian article, “US historians sign brief to support Colorado’s removal of Trump from ballot.”
Find the whole brief here.
A second brief from historians regarding the case cites Prof. Sinha’s upcoming book, The Rise and Fall of the Second American, 1860-1920.
University of Connecticut Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History, Frank Costigliola will discuss his most recent book, Kennan: A Life between Worlds, with the Executive Director of the Leon Levy Center Kai Bird. The hybrid event will occur Thursday, November 9th, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in-person at the CUNY Graduate Center’s Segal Theatre and online via Zoom.
After a recent election, Professor Manisha Sinha is now the president-elect of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR).
Established in 1977, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) is an association of scholars dedicated to exploring the events and the meaning of United States history between 1776 and 1861. SHEAR’s mission is to foster the study of the early republican period among professional historians, students, and the general public. It upholds the highest intellectual standards of the historical profession and encourages the broad diffusion of historical insights through all appropriate channels, including schools, museums, libraries, electronic media, public programming, archives, and publications. SHEAR cherishes a democratic ethos in scholarship and cultivates close, respectful, and productive exchanges between serious scholars at every level of experience and recognition. SHEAR membership is open to all; most members are professional historians employed in colleges, universities, museums, and historical parks and agencies, as well as independent scholars and graduate students.
Elected to the Nominating Committee for 2024-2026 were two department alumni: Antwain K. Hunter, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MA ‘09) and Jessica C. Linker, Northeastern University (PhD ’17).
Congratulations to everyone!
