Katharine Beene Successfully Defends Dissertation

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On August 8th, Katharine Beene successfully defended her dissertation, “Women’s Acquisition and Transmission of Knowledge in Early Modern Ireland, 1600-1750”. 

From the abstract: 

This dissertation expands understandings of scientific and political advancement in Ireland from 1600-1750 by examining the often-overlooked informal learning networks of early modern Irish women, focusing on their correspondence and kinship relationships.  It reveals how these women were not merely passive recipients, but active contributors to the formation and distribution of foundational knowledge in fields like medicine, science, mathematics, and politics across Western Europe.  Early modern Ireland’s experience as a colony offers valuable insights into how colonial systems shape the transmission of knowledge.  This dissertation argues that despite the limitations imposed by formal colonial controls on access to education, women’s informal networks played a unique role in the transfer of knowledge… Investigating women in Ireland knowledge acquisition in a kingdom-colony context provides a methodological approach to investigate informal networks and the circulation of knowledge among marginalized communities.

Congratulations to Katharine Beene on this impressive achievement!

 

An Eoraip: Gaelic Ireland in Medieval and Early Modern Europe

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Red book cover with an image of an old manuscript showing "europe" written in GaelicBrendan Kane and Patrick Wadden, Editors

Brill, 2025

Medieval and early modern Irish scholars thought of themselves as Europeans. As an expression of territorial association, this belief reflects both their familiarity with the geographical traditions of Antiquity and the integration of their society into economic, cultural, and political networks that spanned the continent. But it was also an articulation of a perceived cultural affinity often denied in modern scholarship. The chapters in this volume examine the many and various ways that Gaelic Ireland was integrated into the broader, European world, focusing on literature and learning; real-world politics, economics, and travel; and questions of identity.

UConn History at Shear 2025

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Over the weekend of July 17-20, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic held their annual conference in Providence, Rhode Island, where UConn history was well-represented. Manisha Sinha, Draper Chair in American History and outgoing president of SHEAR, moderated the president’s plenary panel and delivered the presidential address, while current faculty members Cornelia Dayton, Deirdre Cooper Owens, and Melanie Newport helped to lead several panels and workshops.

Current UConn History Graduate Students Alex Keuny, Timothy Brown, and Lincoln Hirn also presented their work, as part of panel discussions. UConn History alumni Kathryn Angelica, Nathan Braccio, Nicole Breault (who also served on the program committee), Allison Horrocks, Antwain Hunter, and Amy Sopcak-Joseph all presented, as well.

Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age

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Sylvia R. Frey, Author, with foreword by Manisha Sinha

Princeton University Press, 2025

 

Abstract:

black and white image of revolutionary figures struggling, with book title and author's name overlaid in contrasting white and yellow text

The American Revolution brought about violent and unpredictable social changes throughout the new nation, particularly in the South. Sylvia Frey reveals how slave resistance gave rise to a Black liberation movement that was central to the revolutionary struggle in the southern colonies, and how Black resistance persisted after the war as a struggle for cultural power that manifested itself in the establishment of separate Black churches with distinctive ritual patterns and moral values. She examines how white Southerners responded to Black resistance amid their own fight for independence from the British, and how they reacted to new movements by African Americans in the postwar period. With an incisive foreword by Manisha Sinha, Water from the Rock shows how the upheavals of war created opportunities for a quiet revolution that laid the foundations for the modern civil rights movement in America.

 

Jenna Ulizio ’26 and Everett Padro ’26 presenting at int’l virtual conference 6/19

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"The Conflict" by Snejana Granatkina, a line drawing of two stick figures fighting over the word "history."Jenna Ulizio ’26 and Everett Padro ’26 will present at the online seminar “Public history for contested and conflicting past(s)” on Thursday, June 19. The seminar is organized by the students of the Master in Digital and Public History (MADiPH) at the University of Luxembourg:

The past is subject to multiple historical interpretations. Perhaps more than ever, the current context offers many examples of contested – and sometimes conflicting – views and interpretations of the past. Beyond certain events and topics that appear very controversial, the overall production, mediation, and discussion of history are also at stake. The very existence, practices and discussion of evidence-based research are sometimes threatened. In this context, we may question what public history can bring to the discussion, what roles historians (still) have in the public interpretations of the past. How does public history deal with controversies, handle contested and conflicting topics?