New Book: The Transcendentalists and Their World

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Tomorrow, our colleague Robert Gross, Draper Chair of Early American History Emeritus, is publishing with Farrar, Straus & Giroux his long-awaited history of Emerson, Thoreau and their circle in Concord: The Transcendentalists and Their World. A lovely first review came out in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago, with many more surely on the way.

There will also be many talks about the book in the coming weeks, starting with a book launch at the Boston Public Library on November 9. A list follows below.

Nov. 9, 2021: Boston Public Library: https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/6144be5d257a2d290006efd1

Nov. 10, 2021: Concord Museum: https://concordmuseum.org/events/transcendentalists-and-their-world-with-robert-gross/cover-the-transcendentalists-and-their-world/

Nov. 30, 2021: Harvard Bookstore: https://www.harvard.com/event/virtual_event_robert_gross/

Dec. 2 and 9, 2021: 92 Street Y: https://www.92y.org/class/robert-a-gross

Dec. 5, 2021: Thoreau Society/Thoreau Farm: https://www.thoreausociety.org/event/author-talk-robert-gross

Dec. 13, 2021: Massachusetts Historical Society: http://www.masshist.org/calendar/event?event=3573

Dec. 15, 2021: Salem Athenaeum: https://salemathenaeum.net/event/robert-gross-the-transcendentalists-and-their-world/

Jan. 13, 2022: Massachusetts Historical Society: https://www.colonialsociety.org/calendar

We hope to have Professor Gross back to campus sometime in the spring to talk about the book as well.  Congratulations!

Prof. Micki McElya Contributes to NYT Article

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The New York Times has once again turned to UConn History Professor Micki McElya for her insights into the national politics of mourning, memorials, and memory. In a recent piece on The Tomb of the Unknowns–scheduled for public opening for the first time in 73 years this week–Prof. McElya indicates that  “Arlington became a site that every single American can claim a relationship to,” in large part because of the tomb.  In the article, Prof. McElya details the debates about veteran burial and remembrance, culminating in this tomb functioning as a political symbol imbued with ever-changing meanings about military service and leadership. Read more in the  excellent NYT article and consider taking a look at Prof. McElya’s award-winning book, The Politics of Mourning: Death and Honor in Arlington National Cemetery.

Prof. Fiona Vernal Participates in Hartford Heritage Series

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UConn History Professor Fiona Vernal delivered a talk on Shade Tobacco Stories: Land, Labor, and Immigration in the CT Tobacco Valley. As a part of Capitol Community College’s virtual history heritage series, Prof. Vernal gives us a deeper appreciation of the local histories that go forgotten between the larger national stories that influence yet take center stage in the narratives we tell about the past. She illustrates the connections and collaborations that people of West Indian, Caribbean, and African descent fostered as they labored and organized to create political communities and social networks.  The making of tobacco culture in CT is one that Prof. Vernal details with passion and dedication.

Listen to her talk on the CT Old State House page and read this Hartford Courant article that chronicles the work of historians throughout the region laboring to bring the history of Hartford and its surrounding areas to the fore. The whole series is on the CT Old State House page!

 

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Spotlight: Elisabeth Bienvenue

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Headshot of History Undergrad Alum Elisabeth BienvenueUConn ’21 graduate Elisabeth Bienvenue worked with UConn History Professor Nancy Shoemaker on their senior thesis that explored music and culture among New Englanders of Franco American descent. A job well done!

Elisabeth Bienvenue, “La Vie en Chant: The Role of Songbooks in Twentieth Century Franco-American Survivance”

Thesis Advisor: Nancy Shoemaker

The Chants Populaires des Franco-Américains were a collection of songbooks published by the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d’Amérique in Woonsocket, Rhode Island from 1929-1962. These songbooks should be considered as part of “la survivance” (“the survival”), a mindset in which the Franco-Americans of New England sought to preserve the French language, Catholic faith, and cultural ties to Quebec and Acadia in future generations. This paper argues that survivance was both a political and cultural phenomenon and that while the politicized survivance movement fell out of favor after the divisive reform effort known as the Sentinelle Affair ended in 1928, the cultural aspects of survivance endured for several more decades. While the songbooks serve as a powerful example of the importance of music and culture among Franco-Americans of the twentieth century, the songbooks themselves did not survive in mass distribution, but they successfully contributed to the movement to create a cultural legacy among New Englanders of Franco-American descent.

11/11-11/12: Gender and History Series with Mariana P. Candido

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November 2021 Gender and History FlyerBetween November 11-12, UConn History will host Emory Professor Mariana P. Candido as a part of the annual Gender & History Series. Professor Candido’s training is in African history, and her work explores gender, property, and land in Angola. Professor Candido will discuss her research in a public lecture and workshop:

Thursday, November 11

Public Lecture | Storrs Campus, Class of ’47 Room in Homer Babbidge Library | 4:30-6pm

“Wealth and Accumulation in Angola: A History of Dispossession and Inequality”

Friday, November 12

Workshop | Storrs Campus, Wood Hall Basement Lounge | 10-11:30am

“Gendered Strategies to Secure Property in 19th century Angola”

*(a pre-circulated paper is available – email Cornelia Dayton at cornelia.dayton@uconn.edu)

 

 

 

New 2021 Faculty Books

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We celebrate the 2021 UConn faculty books!

 

New 2020 Faculty Books

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We celebrate the 2020 publications from UConn faculty!

2019 Faculty Books

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We celebrate the 2019 publications from UConn faculty!

 

 

Prof. Peter Baldwin Discusses Bathrooms with Bloomberg CityLab

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Prof. Peter Baldwin of the UConn History Dept. Photo by Mark Mirko, Hartford Courant newspaper.A recently published CityLab article asks the question, “where did all the public bathrooms go?” The author, Elizabeth Yuko, turned to UConn History professor Peter Baldwin to delve into this inquiry. For Professor Baldwin, public bathrooms reveal the intersections of public health, class, and gender, each intimately  connected to early twentieth century concerns around privacy and government intervention. The absence of public bathrooms, Professor Baldwin argues, reveals that “we do not care about anyone who doesn’t have money, which I think encapsulates where American politics has been going since 1980.” For more insights into toilets, culture, and politics, check out the CityLab article!

Prof. Fiona Vernal Receives Distinguished Faculty Award

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Fiona Vernal, Assistant Professor of History at the University of ConnecticutUConn History Professor Fiona Vernal has received one of the annual Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship. This prestigious award is bestowed upon several faculty, staff, and students who have worked to create local, regional/state, national, and global projects that further sustainability and the public good. Professor Fiona Vernal has collaborated with various partners to amplify the stories and histories of housing, labor, and migration in the greater Hartford community. Her projects have  contributed to the launch of the History Department’s Engaged, Public, Oral, and Community Histories (EPOCH) initiative. Her work bridges public history and mentorship to chart new paths in scholarship about race, community, and belonging. Professor Vernal’s community-engaged scholarship, alongside the work of many amazing staff, students, and faculty, has been profiled in UConn Today.

Congratulations! A job well done!