UMD Department of History

Mark your calendars! Dr. Robyn Muncy is joining the Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Lecture Series with a talk entitled "Government at the Grassroots: Feminists and the State Spark the Battered Women's Movement, 1970s"

RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Paul Landau was interviewed for Ep.142 of "Africa Past and Present"! Listen to him discuss his book, "Spear: Mandela and the Revolutionaries," and antiapartheid violence, Mandela’s Communism, and Cold War intelligence intrigues here: afripod.aodl.org/fullPodcast/...

How Frederick Douglass Changed His Mind About Lincoln | Maryland Today Alum’s New Book Finds Fresh Nuance in Relationship That Helped End Slavery

Our own alum, Jonathan White M.A. '03, Ph.D. '08 and Lucas Morel recently published “Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln,” which recounts Frederick Douglass' journey from criticism to respect of Abraham Lincoln. Read more here! today.umd.edu/how-frederic...

Students in Michael Ross's HIST454: Constitutional History class had the amazing opportunity to visit the Supreme Court for the Griswold Prize lecture by Gerald Magliocca! Justice Sotomayor was the host for the evening.

Richard Bell's 'The American Revolution and the Fate of the World' Author and historian Richard Bell's latest book talks about why the American Revolution was actually a global conflict.

Richard Bell appeared on WYPR on September 24th to discuss his upcoming book, "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World." Take a listen, or keep reading, here!
www.wypr.org/show/on-the-...

Last week, Robert Chiles and Robyn Muncy were both honored at the university's Faculty and Staff Convocation! Please join us in congratulating Dr. Chiles for his Provost's Excellence Award, and Dr. Muncy for her Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award!

Curious where a history degree can take you? Hear from Rachel Jessee (UMD ’22, History and Government & Politics) in this Q&A, “From UMD to Capitol Hill: How a History Degree Helps Shape a Political Career.” history.umd.edu/news/umd-cap...

Dr. Richard Bell's article, "The Underappreciated True Story of the Brash Prussian Military Officer Who Whipped the Patriots Into Shape at Valley Forge," was just published in Smithsonian Magazine! Follow the link below to continue reading. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unde...

The UMD First Year Book committee has selected the U.S. Constitution as this year’s book!

Join our own Holly Brewer and Michael Ross in "We the Terps: Why the Constitution Matters." For more information and for the day's schedule of events, follow this link! fyb.umd.edu/events.html

Who was Jane Austen’s best heroine? These experts think they know We’re pitting her much-loved heroines against each other in a battle of wit, charm and sass

In honor of Jane Austen's 250th birthday, Dr. Julie Taddeo and other Regency era scholars were featured in The Conversation UK's "Jane Austen Fight Club." Continue reading to learn who Dr. Taddeo chose as her ultimate Jane Austen heroine! theconversation.com/who-was-jane...

Caregiving A documentary revealing America’s caregiving crisis through intimate stories and expert insight.

Exciting news! Robyn Muncy and Sonya Michel appeared in a new PBS documentary, "Caregiving" which premiered on June 24, 2025. It draws attention to the crisis the US currently faces in providing care for children, the elderly, and the disabled. Stream "Caregiving" here! www.pbs.org/show/caregiv...

Brooke worked with the journal & attended the conference for two years, impressing the journal editors to create an award for students who exhibit a consistent, long-term record of exemplary service to the field of New York history, called the "Excelsior Scholar Honors," first awarded to Brooke.

Undergrad Brooke Timmins was an intern with & worked for Rob Chiles on the New York History journal and the annual New York State History Conference. Her internship was administered through the Department's internship program, supervised by Julie Taddeo.

Spring2025Newsletter

Spring 2025 UMD Department of History Newsletter
pub.marq.com/a80990a7-041...

The Dept of History is saddened by the death of George Hardy Callcott, a faculty member from 1956-1994. He wrote two histories of UMD and served as Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs. George was a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher & received the President's Medal.

history.umd.edu/news/memoriu...

70 Graduates Honored as Senior Marshals High-Achieving Students to Lead Classmates Into Commencement

Ryan Carr, History Minor, is a Senior Marshall for UMD's Commencement ceremony. He is a member of several campus groups and organizations & held internships with the Montgomery County Council, the Maryland General Assembly, and TerpsVote.
today.umd.edu/70-graduates...

Dept of Hist PhD student Leah Rasmussen is awarded a 2025-6 Joseph Bradley & Christine Ruane Research Grant in Russian Studies from the Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies to support dissertation research for “Canvases of Red: Painting Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Soviet, 1917-91.”

Jamie Myre, 2nd year HiLS student, has a summer internship at Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture as the publications intern for the Center for the Study of African American Religious Life. She will design and produce a journal for the Center and the gODTalk film series.

History Honors student Holland Schmitz received a travel grant to present a paper at the New York History Conference at the New York State Museum, Albany, NY. Honors student Taylor Mason was also awarded a travel grant and will be on the same panel at the New York History Conference.

Congratulations to graduating History Honors student, James Schmidtlein, who has been awarded a Winston Family Honors Best Student Paper Award, for his Honors thesis, “Christians in a Pagan World: Understanding the Construction of Early Christian Identity from a Pagan Past and Custom."

Holland Schmitz, History Honors has received 3 awards for their Honors work: Library Award for Undergraduate Research, Winston Family Honors Best Student Paper Award, and Hoosier Clio Award for the best Honors thesis written by this year's cohort.
history.umd.edu/news/holland...

The Department of History came close to a sweep of undergraduate Library Research Awards, with three out of four awarded to History students. Sylvia Cotten, Taylor Mason, and Holland Schmitz are the winners.

history.umd.edu/news/three-d...

History Honors graduating seniors made their showcase presentations today. Congratulations on work well done!

Dept of History Alum Debbie J. Goldman won the David Montgomery Award from the Organization of American Historians and the Labor and Working Class History Association for the Best Book in Labor History published in 2024.
history.umd.edu/news/debbie-...

Robyn Muncy has been selected to receive the 2025 Winston Family Honors Faculty Award from the UMD Honors College.

Robyn's "dedication to fostering intellectual curiosity and critical thinking had a profound impact on many of our students.”

Speaking of Books with Julie Greene: Box 25: Archival Secrets, Caribbean Workers, and the Panama Canal Powered by Research Education at University Libraries. Speaking of Books series features free, open to the community and public talks by UMD faculty authors on their recently...

Julie Greene will talk about her new book, Box 25: Archival Secrets, Caribbean Workers, and the Panama Canal (UNC Press, 2025), on Thursday, April 24, from 3:00 to 4:30 pm. The talk may also be viewed online. For further information, and to register to attend, see
umd.libcal.com/event/141427....

A Taste of Ethnographic Research In New Course, Students Journey Through Foodways of Maryland’s Immigrant Populations

Madeline Hsu is the co-creator (with Psyche Williams-Forson, AMST) of a new course, Maryland's Ethnic Foodways, featured in an April 16, 2025 MarylandToday article. The course explores ethnic food in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties.
today.umd.edu/a-taste-of-e...

Take This Class! How Shopping Has Shaped U.S. History ‘Pocketbook Politics’ Tells Story of American Consumerism

Kate Keane's popular course, HIST289R Pocketbook Politics: A History of American Buying and Selling," is featured in the April 18 edition of MarylandToday. The article describes how the course addresses the history of US consumption and consumerism.
today.umd.edu/take-this-cl...

History Undergraduate Association is sponsoring a Listening Session on Thursday, April 24, 11:30am to 1 pm to gather thoughts, concerns, and advice about the History program at UMD. The session will take place in Key 2120 (Merrill Room).

Pope Francis Died After Cerebral Stroke, Vatican Says: Latest News World leaders praised the pope’s legacy, and mourners, some in tears, gathered in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate his life. The Vatican said Francis asked that his tomb be simple.

Piotr Kosicki is quoted in 2 New York Times articles that are live today (www.nytimes.com/.../pope-fra... and below) about the death of Pope Francis. He also gave an audio interview to WTOP (link not yet available). He will be live on ABC7 this evening around 10:15.

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04...