The article is entitled “The Civil Rights Era is Collapsing Before Our Eyes,” By Nikole Hannah-Jones, and appeared in both the print and online versions of The New York Times May 22, 2026.
You can read the full article here.
Liberation Summer: The Moment That Changed the Women’s Movement and the Future of American Politics
Micki McElya, Author
Professor McElya’s 2026 book Liberation Su
mmer is about a key moment in the women’s liberation movement surrounding the 1968 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City and the reactions and protests it was surrounded by.
Liberation Summer by Professor Micki McElya Published to Rave Reviews
Professor McElya’s 2026 book Liberation Summer, about a key moment in the women’s liberation movement surrounding the 1968 Miss America pageant and the reactions and protests it was surrounded by, has been widely recommended by the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Kirk’s reviews. Her last book about the history of Arlington National Cemetery was a finalist for the Pulitzer.
The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer – The New York Times
75 favorite books and best summer reads to check out this season
Announcement: Fall 2026 Draper Workshop
The University of Connecticut History Department is pleased to announce that the Fall 2026 Draper Workshop will take place on November 16th, from 4:30 – 6:00 PM in Herbst Hall rm. 1o1, with a reception to follow. The event will focus on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and will feature a panel discussion from professors Maya Jasanoff (Harvard University), Robert Parkinson (Binghamton University), Mark Peterson (Yale University), Karin Wulf (Brown University), and Andy Horowitz (University of Connecticut). Prof. Manisha Sinha (University of Connecticut) will moderate.
Three-Minute Thesis Competition
Congratulations to Lincoln Hirn and Daniela Domínguez Tavares for competing in the Three-Minute Thesis Competition this year! Both participants made it to the final round. Lincoln Hirn’s presentation was titled “Worthy to be Counted”: The Postbellum Slave Narrative, 1865-1915. Daniela Domínguez Tavares was the Runner-up in the “Arts, Humanities, and Social Science Ph.D” category with her presentation titled “Imaginaries of Mexican Infrastructure.”
Dept Head Mark Healey Receives Academic Leadership Award
The annual CLAS Faculty and Staff Awards recognize outstanding achievement across several categories.
The Academic Leadership Award honors exemplary leadership by an individual who oversees a CLAS department, school, center, institute, or program. At this year’s CLAS Faculty and Staff Awards, Department Head Mark Healey was recognized for his leadership in strengthening departmental climate, transparency, and academic success.
For the complete citation and list of award recipients, please see the UConn Today coverage at “CLAS Honors Faculty and Staff for Excellence in 2026.”
The Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era awards 2026 President’s Book Prize to Manisha Sinha for The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic
The prize was awarded at the Organization of American Historians meeting in Philadelphia on April 17, 2026. The prize citation reads:
Following a multi-tiered selection process, the committee selected The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860–1920 by Manisha Sinha as the recipient of the SHGAPE President’s Book Prize.
Manisha Sinha’s The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic offers a sweeping and compelling reinterpretation of Reconstruction, significantly expanding both the temporal and geographic boundaries traditionally associated with the period. Sinha provides a major new synthesis of Reconstruction scholarship—one that will stand alongside the seminal works of Eric Foner and W. E. B. Du Bois as a benchmark for a new generation of historians. The book will serve as a central text in graduate seminars on nineteenth-century U.S. history for years to come. Grounded in extensive archival research but driven by a clear and persuasive argument about the broader scope and significance of Reconstruction, it will shape how historians and their students understand this critical era. It is a powerful and important work and fully deserving of the SHGAPE President’s Book Prize.
Yang Zheng Successfully Defends Dissertation
On April 16th, Yang Zheng successfully defended her dissertation, “Gender and Transnational Education: Chinese Women Students in the United States in the Early Twentieth Century”.
Congratulations to Yang Zheng on this impressive achievement!
“Let’s Talk: Navigating Hard Conversations on Campus” workshop for student leaders, a cooperative effort
Students from an array of backgrounds came together at UConn Storrs on March 27 to do just that during the “Let’s Talk: Navigating Hard Conversations on Campus” retreat sponsored by UConn Hillel, the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, and the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate.
Edina Oestreicher, the executive director of UConn Hillel, said that she was invited to apply for a grant to create a “Campus Connections” initiative where student leaders gain the transferable skills of actively listening, asking meaningful questions, and practicing thoughtful communication with other leaders. With the grant, UConn Hillel partnered with the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute to host an interactive workshop facilitated by faculty affiliated with the “Democracy and Dialogues Initiative.”
History Professor Brendan Kane, co-director of the “Democracy & Dialogues” program, started thinking about creating a new dialogue model for respectful communication back in 2016. Kane wanted to engage scholars in meaningful and dynamic ways with community members, emphasizing UConn’s mission as a public university. Simultaneously, witnessing universities trying to implement spaces for dialogue after widespread incidents of racism occurred across campuses nationwide, Kane wanted to create a unique process to build strong and resilient communities. The “Democracy and Dialogues Initiative” is part of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs.
For complete coverage of the event, please see the UConn Today article “Retreat Aims at Fostering Civil Dialogue in an Era of Polarization.”
Manisha Sinha on Abolitionism and Feminism for Ms. Magazine
Prof. Manisha Sinha recently published a piece in Ms. Magazine on the abolitionist origins of American feminism, discussing the intersection of the abolitionism and women’s rights movements during the nineteenth century.
Read the piece here.