Richards Center Penn State

The Militia Act of 1903 in Historical Context - The Journal of the Civil War Era Recent events have turned public attention to the previously obscure Militia Act of 1903 and the even more obscure historians and political scientists interested in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ...

Past and present intertwine in the latest post in Muster by @mgraber1.bsky.social, about the Militia Act of 1903:

A huge congratulations to former Richards Center predoctoral scholar @adamxmcneil.bsky.social!

Conversation with June 2025 Special Issue Editors Joan E. Cashin and Alaina E. Roberts - The Journal of the Civil War Era In today’s Muster, Associate Editor Robert Bland discusses the JCWE’s June special issue on material culture with guest editors Joan E. Cashin and Alaina E. Roberts. Dr. Cashin is a professor of histo...

‪Muster's @robertdbland.bsky.social discusses the JCWE June special issue on material culture with guest editors joanecashin.bsky.social‬ and Alaina E. Roberts:
https://www.journalofthecivilwarera.org/2025/07/conversation-with-june-2025-special-issue-editors-joan-e-cashin-and-alaina-e-roberts/

Congratulations to Paulina Serrano @paulinaaserrano.bsky.social (PSU PhD 2023) on winning a North American Society for Sport History’s 2025 Dissertation Prize!! 👏🏼🎉

Congrats to Hannah Hicks, Richards Center 2024-2026 postdoctoral scholar, who was awarded a travel grant from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at PSU to present her work, "An Expert Infanticide": Mothers, Grandmothers, and Infanticide in the Post-Civil War South, at the SAWH Triennial Conference!

Congrats to Adam Xavier McNeil, Richards Center predoc
✔️Received his PhD from Rutgers➕
✔️Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American & African Studies, UVA➕
✔️Assistant Professor of Africana Studies & History, Univ of Rhode Island!

Well done Dr. McNeil!! 👏🏼🎉

A.K. Sandoval-Strausz, professor of history and director of the Latina/o Studies Program at Penn State, edited the new book, “Metropolitan Latinidad: Transforming American Urban History,” a collection of 12 essays examining the rich and multifaceted Latino experience in cities and suburbs throughout the United States.

Congratulations to A.K. Sandoval-Strausz who edited the new book, “Metropolitan Latinidad: Transforming American Urban History,” a collection of 12 essays examining the rich and multifaceted Latino experience in cities and suburbs throughout the United States.

www.psu.edu/news/liberal...

Congratulations to Kathryn J. Shively, Richards Center Persun Visiting Scholar, who recently coedited with Caroline Janney, The Second Manassas Campaign! 🎉👏

Contributors include Keith S. Bohannon, Gary W. Gallagher, John J. Hennessy, Peter C. Luebke, James Marten, William Marvel, and Cecily Zander.

Congratulations to Richards Center Affiliates - Dr. Edward Green and Dr. Christopher Thrasher!! 🎉👏

The Richards Center is excited to welcome Michael Kaelin and Alison McCann to the community as the 2025-2026 predoctoral fellows. Michael is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Alison is a PhD candidate at the University of Miami. Welcome Michael and Alison! 🎉

The Richards Center is excited to welcome Ryan Quintana as the 2025-2026 Mark & Ann Persun Visiting Scholar! 🎉

Dr. Quintana is an associate professor at Wellesley College with specialties in the history of political development and the state, slavery and emancipation, and the production of space.

Dara Walker receives American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship | Penn State University Dara Walker, assistant professor of African American studies, history, and women's, gender, and sexuality studies, is the recipient of a 2025 American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship.

Congratulations to Dara Walker who received the 2025 American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship!👏🎉🥳

www.psu.edu/news/liberal...

The Richards Center is excited to welcome Halee Robinson and Joshua Strayhorn to the community as the 2025-2026 incoming postdoctoral scholars. Halee will receive her PhD later this month from Princeton University and Joshua received his PhD degree from Duke University. Welcome Halee and Joshua!! 🎉

Congratulations to Rachel Louise Moran (PhD 2013 Penn State) who will become a professor of history at Texas A&M this fall!

Dr. Moran also recently won the Teacher Scholar Award during The University of North Texas Salute to Faculty Excellence Awards Ceremony in April!

Great job Rachel!!👏

Congratulations to @cecilynzander (PhD 2021 Penn State)who accepted a position as assistant professor of history at the University of Wyoming!

Dr. Zander has also been named the series editor for @lsupress.bsky.social new "History in an Afternoon" series.

Congratulations to Bianca Dang and Christina Davidson!

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to hear from Lori Ginzberg, Penn State professor emerita of history, about her book Tangled Journeys, in conversation with Richards Center predocs Adam McNeil & Hope McCaffrey. It was a great conversation! Check out the book: uncpress.org/book/9781469...

Dara Walker

Congratulations to Dara Walker, affiliated faculty, who received the 2025 Oscar Handin Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies for her project "High School Rebels: Black Power, Education, and Youth Politics in the Motor City, 1966-1973"!

News from UNC Press: Retirement of Senior Executive Editor Mark Simpson-Vos - UNC Press Blog I’m writing today to announce that after nearly three decades of service to the university press community, Mark Simpson-Vos will be retiring this summer from UNC Press.  There’s not enough space here...

Congratulations to Mark Simpson-Vos @simpsonvos.bsky.social, Senior Executive Editor at UNC Press, on his upcoming retirement. Mark has been an invaluable collaborator in the Brose Lectures book series, and we are so thankful for his work over the years!

Congrats to Anne Cross, affiliated faculty, on a great chapter workshop yesterday!

First-generation students say resources are available to help the transition When Leslianne Terrero-German was applying to colleges, she often felt alone.  The 19-year-old is currently studying at Penn State University and...

Tony Frazier, faculty fellow at the Richards Center, was praised for his support of first-gen students in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"...Frazier, a professor of a comparative slavery course she took, was someone she was able to connect with and make her feel like she belonged at the university."

Congrats to postdoc Hannah Katherine Hicks for her manuscript workshop last Friday! Thank you to Kathleen Brown (University of Pennsylvania) and Sally Hadden (Western Michigan University) for joining us to workshop her great manuscript.

Congrats to grad affiliate Cameron Sauers, who was interviewed for the debut episode of the National Park Service's new podcast, "Echoes of Camp Nelson: Uncovering the Stories of the Civil War Era." Cameron spoke on "Slavery and Law in Civil War Kentucky." Listen here! ⬇️

⬇️ Deadline for this workshop is April 1 ⬇️. Please apply if you've got a relevant article in the works and want a structure for getting feedback and moving toward submitting to a peer reviewed journal! @jcwe.bsky.social @richardscenter.bsky.social

Check out Rachel Shelden's new article "The Griffin's Case Phenomenon and the Problem of Historical Knowledge in Legal Arguments" in the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal! ⬇️

Trump is Upending The American Approach to Veterans' Care Officials have considered balancing efficiency with providing quality care and listening to veterans essential.

Grad affiliate Moyra Williams Eaton wrote about her dissertation research on the history of veterans' care for Time!

Read the excellent, timely piece here ⬇️

We also have a current CFP for a special issue on political economy, which will also be workshopped at the Richards Center! Submit by April 25. Details:

- Rodrigo Camargo de Godoi (Universidade Estadual de Campinas)
- Fabiane Popinigis (University of Pittsburgh & Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro)
- Alexandre Pelegrino (University of Toronto)
- Adriana Barreto de Souza (Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro)

Thank you all!

On Friday we had a workshop for an upcoming special issue of the Journal of the Civil War Era on 19th-century Brazil! Thank you to issue editors Celso Castilho & Keila Grinberg, JCWE editors Kate Masur & Greg Downs, and participants ⬇️

Call for Submissions: Anthony E. Kaye Memorial Essay Prize - George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center The Society of Civil War Historians and the Journal of the Civil War Era invite submissions from early career scholars (doctoral candidates at the writing stage and PhDs not more than two years remove...

The Journal of the Civil War Era is seeking submissions from early career scholars for the Anthony E. Kaye Memorial Essay Prize! Submit a paper on any topic concerning the history of the Civil War era, broadly defined, by June 1, 2025.

Click here for more information ⬇️