Department of History News

Isabel Moreira, Distinguished Professor of history, has been awarded a prestigious fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to research her next book – Owning Salvation: Property and Its Loss in Late Antiquity. Moreira’s proposal rose to the top of a fiercely competitive grant cycle; she is one of only 25 scholars nationwide recognized with a fellowship.

Janet Theiss, Associate Professor of History, died unexpectedly in November 2025 and is survived by her daughter Tabitha, her father Norman, her sisters Tamara and Jennifer, nieces and nephew, and a wide circle of friends. A wonderful scholar, colleague, teacher, administrator, mentor, and friend, Janet has left an enduring impact on the University of Utah and will be missed by all who knew her.

Eric Herschthal, associate professor of history at the University of Utah, and co-author John Brooke of The Ohio State University have been awarded the Forest History Society’s 2025 Theodore C. Blegen Award for “The Plantation Carbon Complex: Slavery and the Origins of Climate Change in the Early Modern British Atlantic.”

W. Paul Reeve, professor of History and Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies, and co-authors Christopher Rich and LaJean Purcell Carruth, were recently awarded the Utah Historical Society’s Best Book in Utah History for This Abominable Slavery: Race, Religion, and the Battle over Human Bondage in Antebellum Utah.

The lecture was titled, "Prince of Water: Mohammed Al-Faisal" and focused on desalination technology in Saudi Arabia.

The annual O. Meredith Wilson Lecture will be held on September 25, 2025 at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.

Professors Rohan Chatterjee, Catalina Mackaman-Lofland, and Wenrui Zhao are joining the History Department this fall 2025. Check out their faculty bios and what courses they are teaching this semester!

History Department PhD Candidate, Christopher B. Rich Jr. received the Best Book Award from the Mormon History Association with co-authors LaJean Purcell Carruth and department professor Paul Reeve.

The Steffenson Cannon, Tanner Humanities, and Mariner Eccles Fellowships for the upcoming academic year.

Darlington's talk is titled, "Evolving Responses: An Intersectional Approach to Early HIV Activism in the US".

"Historians use data science to mine the past" by Carolyn Beans

Matt Basso and Megan Weiss discuss the iconic film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. They explore the film’s historical context, its satirical take on Cold War politics, and its depiction of gender. The Red and Lavender Scares, consumerism, and militarization all helped set the stage for the Cold War culture lampooned in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film.

Two History Professors selected as College of Humanities 2025 Faculty Fellowships.

The new Transregional Middle Easts book series welcomes manuscripts addressing the traditionally defined Middle East, including Egypt, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Turkey, and Iran. We also invite innovative approaches that situate the specificities of the Middle East within global, comparative, and connective frameworks, addressing topics such as diasporas, mobility, and the flow of ideas, as well as issues related to disease, environmental change, and technological exchange.

History Department Masters student, Tiffany Greene, received the 2024 Helen Papanikolas Award from the Utah Historical Society on January 13th. The Helen Papanikolas Award goes to the best college or university student’s paper on the subject of “Women’s History in Utah.” This award is funded by Linda Thatcher and Patricia Lyn Scott.

On January 13th, Shavauna Munster was recognized with the Utah Historical Society’s Outstanding Achievement Award for developing a unique student opportunity: the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA) Community History Internship.

Moran shows how both private and public insurers exploited a mix of “certainty, fear, and optimism” to promise a secure utopia on the back of anxiety.

This book tells the remarkable life of Balthild of Francia (c. 633-80), a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon slave who became a queen of France. Described in contemporary sources as beautiful and intelligent, she rose to power though her marriage to the short-lived King Clovis II.

The article is available on Project MUSE, read it here!

Professor of History Peter Roady's new book The Contest Over National Security is featured in Peter Bergen's podcast, "In the Room." Bergen is CNN's national security analyst and Episode 77 of his show asks "What is National Security Anyway?"

CNN chief national security correspondent Peter Bergen featured the book "The Contest over National Security: FDR, Conservatives, and the Struggle to Claim the Most Powerful Phrase in American Politics" in a discussion about climate change and national security.

History lives and breathes in places across the United States, bringing depth and nuance to unexpected corners of our everyday lives, and nobody knows that better than Matt Basso, associate professor of History and Gender Studies at the University of Utah. Matt is wrapping up a nearly five-year project with the National Park Service (NPS) that provides new resources for understanding the World War II home front, one of the most remarkable periods in our nation’s history.

Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies, Departmental Chair, and Professor in the History Department, W. Paul Reeves published an opinion piece in the Deseret News on Joseph Smith and the peaceful transfer of power.

The annual conference of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association (PCB-AHA) is being held from July 31-August 2, 2024, on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. In light of the conference’s location, the editors of the PCB-AHA’s official journal, the Pacific Historical Review, have curated a list of recent articles from the journal focused on Hawaii. Themes of racial diversity and belonging form a common thread throughout the selections. Whether or not you are in Hawaii for the conference, we invite you to read these articles for free online for a limited time.

Professors Edith Chen, Dwain Coleman, Annie Greene, and Daniela Samur will join us in fall 2024. Check out their faculty pages and what courses they will be teaching!

The Mormon Women's History Initiative Team Student Scholar Award is a one-time grant of $400 awarded to an individual enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student in a degree-seeking program at an accredited college or university. This award is intended to be used as support for research efforts specifically involving Mormon women’s history. Qualified projects may be new or ongoing.

Professor Low published an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune commenting on the recent student protests at the University of Utah and other institutions of higher education. To read the piece in its entirety, visit the Salt Lake Tribune's website.

University of Utah history professor Peter Roady does a deep dive into the topic in an attempt to answer these questions in his new book, “The Contest Over National Security.” Listen to the interview at KPCW.org

John Flynn has won a national award for his work with the local climbing community! He received the 2023 Policy and Conservation award from the Access Fund for his work in nominating an historic climbing area in Little Cottonwood Canyon to the National Register of Historic Places. The Access Fund is a large national organization devoted to protecting and maintaining access to climbing areas. It is funded largely by the outdoor industry including Black Diamond and REI.

A new history shows how FDR developed a vision of national security focused not just on protecting Americans against physical attack but also on ensuring their economic well-being—and how the nascent conservative movement won the battle to narrow its meaning, durably reshaping US politics. The book is published with Harvard University Press

Each year the Department hosts distinguished lecturers from around the world through its distinguished lecture series. These events are free and open to the public. The department recently held the 2024 Clayton lecture, given by Dr. Isabel Moreira, and the 2024 Miller Lecture, given by Dr. Connie Chiang.

Professor Colleen McDannell published 'Images of America: Catholic Utah' a visual expedition through Catholic Utah. The book was covered in a recent article by the Salt Lake Tribune. Click here to read the article and learn more about McDannell's publication.

After seven years as a program, Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Utah has new stature as an interdisciplinary research center.

While doing research for her 2003 publication, “Working Women in Mexico City,” Susie Porter, professor of history and gender studies and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Utah, had to decide who was in and who was out. Who is working class and who is not? How does this matter?

Hancock offers an overview of a white, missionary-descended man from Hawai'i working to create an ethnological display, and establish himself as an authority on Hawaiian culture, at Seattle's international exposition of 1909.

Herschthal publishes in the New Republic.

Professor Paul Reeve discovered documents related to early pioneers debate on slavery. Read more in his interview with Jamie McGriff for 'Belonging in Utah'.

PhD Candidate Julia Huddleston, explains the racial complications of 'passing' as white for Belonging in Utah with KUTV 2News.

During the 1852 Utah legislative session, a passionate debate ensued over voting rights for Black men. Legislator and Latter-day Saint apostle Orson Pratt argued that Black men should be allowed to vote, while territorial governor and Latter-day Saint president Brigham Young strongly disagreed. “[We] just [as well] make [a] bill here for mules to vote as Negroes [or] Indians,” Young declared. In an assertion of white superiority, he further stated, “What we are trying to do today [is] to make [the] Negro equal with us in all our privileges. My voice shall be against [it] all the day long.”

This year, the UMFA is partnering with Visual AIDS, University of Utah collaborators, and community partners to present ACME Session: Day With(out) Art 2023 on December 6, 2023. This event will feature a tour of the UMFA galleries lead by Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Emily Lawhead and an in-person screening and discussion of the film Everyone I Know Is Sick. 

“This Abominable Slavery: Race, Religion, and the Battle over Human Bondage in Antebellum Utah," documents the history of slavery in Utah. Reeve and Rich discuss the documents and database with the Salt Lake Tribune.

Black Faculty & Staff Association Historian and History Department Academic Coordinator, Shavauna Munster, was interviewed for KUTV2News "Belonging in Utah" to discuss the life of the first Black faculty member at the University of Utah, Dr. Charles Nabors.

Professor Danielle Olden's book "Racial Uncertainties: Mexican Americans, School Desegregation, and the Making of Race in Post–Civil Rights America" was awarded the 2023 Robert G. Athearn Award for the best book on the 20th century by the Western History Association.

“At the time of a pandemic, there is always an assertion that it’s a great equalizer, that the wealthy will be dropping to the same degree as the poor. And in retrospect, that is never true,” says Rachel Mason Dentinger. Read more in the Wired article.

Professor Moreira published, 'Purgatory in Historical Perspective' in St. Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology and is free access to all readers.

Jeff Turner published "Mormon, Muslim, and Sikh Migration to the West: Empire and Religion in Federal Immigration Law," in the Pacific Historical Review.

"Soelberg, a recent BYU graduate entering a graduate program at the University of Utah, plans to continue her research over the next couple of years. She hopes to find a way to cover a wider range of Black members to learn more about their experiences."

Professor Elizabeth Clement and History Department MA recipient J Seth Anderson, discuss the history of the LGBTQ+ experience in Utah as it has slowly evolved on the KUER podcast RadioWest.

Shavauna Munster, History Department Academic Coordinator and Black Faculty and Staff Association Historian, participated in the Marriott Library event "Tell the Story Through Community Collections: Providing Access to Lost and Overlooked Histories," alongside leading experts and practitioners in building and providing access to community collections.

The Graduate School at the University of Utah annually awards Marriner S. Eccles Graduate Fellowships to enable graduate students to pursue advanced research projects in fields relating to political economy.

Selling Selective Anti-Statism: The Conservative Persuasion Campaign and the Transformation of American Politics since the 1920s

Professor Eric Herschthal reviews two new books about the violent overthrow of Reconstruction and Black experiences with trauma in the wake of racial terrorism.

By one estimate, agriculture in Utah consumes 75% of the state's water. Given that fact, along with historic drought and a drying Great Salt Lake, people are starting to ask: Can we continue to farm here? Smoak is featured in an episode of the KUER podcast, RadioWest.

Durbach is featured in the episode, Health Issues of Tomorrow. What have we learned from previous pandemics? Does history repeat itself? What does the future hold for the health of the planet?

Emily Larsen, History MA '21, Named Director of Springville Museum of Art.

Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement podcast, Speak Your Piece," hosted by Brad Westwood. Season 4 Ep. 14, Greg Smoak on His Book "Western Lands, Western Voices: Essays on Public in the American West"

Tim received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the history department at the University of Utah where he grew interested in both U.S. Environmental History and the history of the U.S. West. Also an American West Center alumnus,.. continue reading.

Published on 'The New Republic', A new book traces the long history of cloaking racism in the language of resistance to an overbearing federal government.

"We are delighted to announce the selection of the next editors for the Journal of British Studies. Nadja Durbach (University of Utah) and Tammy M. Proctor (Utah State University) will serve as co-editors. Their five-year term will begin July 1, 2023.

'Think Water Utah' is a statewide collaboration and conversation on the critical topic of water presented by Utah Humanities and its partners. From 2020 through 2022, Think Water Utah engaged 312,418 visitors in 25 exhibitions and over a hundred free community events in 34 locations throughout the Utah and southern Idaho.

This month, the United States Supreme Court reconvenes to answer important legal questions, including a series of affirmative action cases. One case, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, seeks to redefine the role of race in college admissions by establishing a colorblind, or race-neutral, application process. Racial colorblindness involves eliminating categories of race in order to prevent discrimination. Yet, this racial ideology has a long, complex history as it relates to college admissions, the Black intellectual tradition, and today’s assault on affirmative action and race-conscious policies.

The co-presidents and secretary of the History Student Association would like to invite you to attend our Fall Mixer on Wednesday, September 28 from 11am - 1:30pm! The aim of this event is to allow history students the opportunity to meet with professors and staff members who may give students an idea of what careers in academia look like.

For three decades, the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam has provided a podium for the best and brightest in the fields of literature, politics, history, and technology. Hosting brilliant minds, from Toni Morrison to Spike Lee, this independent institute sponsors lectures and intellectual exchanges that highlight American culture. It is also where University of Utah History Teaching major, Jesus Labastida Munguia, will spend his fall semester. Continue reading.

As we welcome new faculty members, Assistant Professors Chris Low and Brandon Render, to the Department of History, we want to remind you of the great courses they will be offering the Fall 2022 semester.

Professor Paul Reeve received the Ardis E. Parshall Public History Award, as well as the Best Journal of Mormon History Article award from the Mormon History Association conference. Continue reading about the database and the awards received here...

On May 11, the Department of Interior released a Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative investigative report, the first official accounting of the hundreds of federally supported institutions that, for generations, worked to culturally assimilate Indigenous children to white American norms. Continue reading here.

Professor Julia Ault is awarded the 2021 - 2022 Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in General Education from the University of Utah. Ault engages with the past, creates a welcoming environment, and makes history come alive with innovation and effectiveness. To see the courses Dr Ault is teaching and more about her research, continue reading here.

Kris Manjapra’s new book, “Black Ghost of Empire,” examines the ways white slaveholders were compensated, while formerly enslaved people were not. Professor Herschthal discusses the publication in a piece for the New Republic.

The University of Utah’s Presidential Public Impact Scholar Awards recognizes a select group of faculty: Recognized experts in their respective fields and disciplines, they share and translate their scholarship, research, creative activities and ideas with opinion leaders, policymakers, the general public and other audiences outside the university and in ways that can transform society.

In a recent interview with KUER, Professor Matt Basso discusses the national wave of Starbucks Unionization drives and places it in the larger context of Utah and US labor history.

A Georgia native from the foothills of the Appalachians and Atlanta, Michael Christopher Low received his PhD from Columbia University in 2015. Since 2015, Low has been an Assistant Professor of History at Iowa State University. His primary research and teaching interests include the Ottoman Empire, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Ocean world, and environmental history. Continue Reading...

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Brandon James Render grew up among the creeks and caves of Western Kentucky before pursuing a PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. The lack of African American history courses at his undergraduate institution drove him to undertake research on Black intellectual history and social movements in the twentieth century. His current research project, "Colorblind University," explores the relationship between race and higher education through the lens of race-neutral policies, practices, and ideas during the civil rights and Black Power era. Aside from teaching and research, he enjoys writing music, traveling, watching sports, and spending time with his partner, Murphy, and dog, Mos.

Internal and external faculty fellowships provide scholars with the time and support to conduct research that makes significant contributions to humanistic knowledge. Internal fellowships are awarded for one semester while external fellowships cover the academic year.

The Hatch Prize in Teaching is awarded to an outstanding faculty member who has made significant contributions to teaching at the University of Utah for an extended period of time. Specifically, the committee looks for a faculty member who has distinguished themselves through the development of new and innovative teaching methods, inventiveness in the curriculum and classroom, as well as commitment to enhancing student learning.

Elizabeth Clement, associate professor of history, discusses the Utah AIDS Foundation’s holiday program, which has been providing meals and support to those struggling with the complexities of HIV since the late 1980’s.

Why has a relatively conventional history of the War of Independence drawn such an outraged response? A review of Woody Holton's "Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution"

History department Professor Greg Smoak is the 2020-22 is names the 2020-22 President of the National Council on Public History. The NCPH inspires public engagement with the past and serves the needs of practitioners in putting history to work in the world by building community.

"In 1995, Yale University Press published Material Christianity, Colleen McDannell's volume has become a standard on American Religion and Religion and Popular Culture reading lists to this day and continues to be a book that all scholars of religion and popular culture must deal with." - American Academy of Religion. At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion, the Religion and Popular Culture Unit will hold an investigation into Material Christianity's legacy in religion and popular culture studies and inquire as to how to build upon the book today. **Meeting held in San Antonio, Texas with no virtual component.

The American Institute of Indian Studies is pleased to announce the latest recipients of AIIS Fellowships - one of whom is our very own chair, Professor Benjamin Cohen.

"We began bowling together during our first semester of coursework. We had met in class and discovered we shared a lot in common. We had earned similar degrees before beginning our doctoral program at the University of Utah, and we were interested in the same academic conversations. We even applied for the same part-time job. Somehow, we both got it. If only the academic and other job markets we now face worked the same...." Continue reading.

This award is dedicated to recognizing both length of commitment to the GE mission and effectiveness in its impact. From the students: "I loved that this course was taught opening and challenging, like a college class should be…there aren’t many professors on campus that can speak freely on such topics as race, or privilege, or that I feel comfortable going to. So, thank you, for creating an open space for everyone…sometimes on this campus we don’t have that space to go to our professors.” - “I loved the learning environment in the class. She welcomed people’s thoughts and opinions on the different subject…her enthusiasm for the subject helped make the class less stressful and more fun.”

2021: Ami Chipone, "The Establishment of Nurse-Midwifery in Utah, 1965-1985" 2020: Emily Larsen, "The Power of Paint: Working Women in Utah's Art World, c1935-1955" Andrea Maxfield, "Latter-day Saint Female Dynasties of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries"

"Saving Nature Under Socialism: Transnational Environmentalism in East Germany, 1968-1990" explores environmental policy and protest in communist East Germany and neighboring countries during the Cold War.

It may be hard to fathom a time when politics weren’t so polarized and the middle ground didn’t seem like a no man’s land. But for a moment 20 years ago, the United States was a united nation. Dr. Roady discusses the legacy with KSL.

We are excited to welcome Rachel Mason Dentinger to the History Department! "I am originally from Minnesota, but I’ve lived various places in the US, Canada, and—most recently—England, where I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Kings College London. My family moved to Salt Lake City five years ago, and I have been teaching at the University of Utah ever since. I’m an avid knitter, a beginning skier, and in the summer you will find me camping in Utah, Minnesota, or somewhere in between with my husband, Bryn, our two kids (ages 7 & 11), and our very fluffy Old English Sheepdog, Fergus." - Mason Dentinger.

In the year since the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer, and the mass protests that followed, Confederate monuments have come down with astonishing speed. According to a February 2021 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which keeps the most exhaustive database of Confederate symbols nationwide, 94 monuments were taken down in 2020—nearly twice as many as in the four years prior combined.

Undergraduate, Graduate, and Faculty Awards for the 2020-21 academic year. To students, faculty and staff, thank you for an amazing - and truly historic - year in the (virtual) Department of History!

Looking beyond the science of race, The Science of Abolition shows how Black and white scientists and abolitionists drew upon a host of scientific disciplines—from chemistry, botany, and geology, to medicine and technology—to portray slaveholders as the enemies of progress.

To celebrate 125 years of statehood, Thrive 125 has produced a series of documentary style videos that explore the development of Utah's identity. Check it out!

Black Americans have always understood science as a tool in their freedom struggle. Fixating on Black vaccine skepticism obscures a rich history of Black medical and scientific innovation.

We're wishing longtime friend of the History Department, Greg Thompson, a happy retirement and congratulate him on an incredible 54 year career!

The story of India as a nation was written over millennia, symbolized in the emblem of a newly formed state. Newlines Magazine is a forum for the best ideas and writing about the Middle East and beyond.

These awards are given annually to honor cookbooks and food writing. Professor Durbach’s book won in the thematic category of Food Security (United Kingdom).

Three new books show how Northern states betrayed Black people, and why many found Mexico a safer destination.

In recognition of Indigenous People’s Day and Native American Heritage Month, the University of Utah is formally launching its Indigenous Land Acknowledgement.

Congratulations to Professor Isabel Moreira on her recent publication, which examines research from a variety of fields, including archaeology, architecture, hagiographic literature, manuscripts, visionary literature, and material culture. Available for purchase NOW.

A new book argues that the threat of secession has never left American politics. In the wake of Brexit and Trump’s election, many Americans began to ask if the United States might soon break apart.

Forty years ago, America faced a viral pandemic spreading rapidly across the globe, killing otherwise young and healthy individuals. In the early ’90s it became the leading cause of death among Americans ages 25-44. The pandemic wasn’t COVID-19 — it was HIV/AIDS — but the parallels between the two are striking.

The University's 2020 Undergraduate Research Symposium features the research projects of three incredible History students: Nicholas Cockrell, Juan Esquivel, and Maria Stokes. Congratulations students! Click here to view their projects.

As the academic year comes to a close, we look back on the accomplishments of our undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty. Congratulations to all!

Professor Durbach's most recent book explores food programs initiated by the British government across two centuries, from the workhouses of the 1830s to the post-war Welfare State. It is available for purchase NOW!

Professor Smoak joins KCPW to discuss the coronavirus’s outsized impact on the Navajo Nation and the regional toll of an earlier pandemic.

The new pamphlet, published with the American Historical Association, offers a hemispheric view of European Emigration. It is available for purchase now.

The American Council of Learned Societies has awarded Professor Ryan Moran a full-year grant for the 2020-2021 year.

Congratulations to History Department graduate student Jeff Turner who just published a coauthored article in Digital Humanities Quarterly!

The American Historical Association has published Professor Lowey-Ball's recent article, "History by Text and Thing" - read it now!

Professor McDannell was recently cited in an ABC News story about the grisly murder of Travis Alexander. Read it now!

Julie Ault has received two internal fellowships (from the Tanner Humanities Center and the College of Humanities) to pursue a new project on East Germany’s place in the Cold War.

The University of Utah Vice President for Research's Office has agreed to fund. the Rocky Mountain American Religion Seminar for the second time

Congratulations to Professor Arvin, whose new book is available for purchase NOW!

Click here to read, "Robert A. Goldberg: A symbol of hate sits in our own backyard"

Congratulations to Professors Isabel Moreira, Susie Porter and Rebecca Horn who were each recognized at the 2019 Humanities Faculty Awards.

The American Historical Association has awarded Professor Cagle's new book, "Assembling the Tropics", with the Leo Gershoy Award. The book is available for purchase on Amazon - check it out!

Julia Huddleston and Emily Larsen independently proposed projects that mine both the Museum’s and the Library’s collections to investigate women’s roles in Utah history in distinctly different ways.

Current Research in Digital History is an annual open-access, peer-reviewed publication of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. It just published Professor Paul Reeve's short digital article featuring Century of Black Mormons!

The History Department is excited to welcome David Bresnahan, Caitlin Tyler-Richards and Cody Stephens.

Department Chair Benjamin Cohen's newest article discusses the Victorian sex scandal that shook India.

Colleen McDannell was cited in a recent Time article entitled, "15 Unsung Moments From American History That Historians Say You Should Know About"

Fellows are selected through multi-disciplinary peer review on the basis of the strength of their proposed projects and their commitment to connecting their community engaged scholarship with doctoral education at their institutions.

This year's prize will be presented to Professor Susie Porter for her work, entitled "From Angel to Office Worker: Middle-Class Identity and Female Consciousness in Mexico, 1890–1950".

The Organization of American Historians has awarded Colleen McDannell for her book, Sister Saints: Mormon Women Since the End of Polygamy.

The NEH summer stipend will enable archival research for a biography of 7th-century French Queen Balthild.

Reeve will begin July 1, 2019 when Robert Goldberg concludes his tenure as director of the Tanner Humanities Center.

Click here to read the full piece by History Graduate Student Shavauna Munster

Each episode of Ben Franklin's World features a conversation with a historian who helps shed light on important people and events in early American history.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, facing declining enrollment and revenue, is weighing major changes to its degree programs. - Read the New York Times article here

The 2018 Wilson Symposium’s theme was “History, Film and Race” and invited six distinguished scholars to speak about the intersection of history, film and race and its effects on modern society.

Colleen McDannell discusses her new book "Sister Saints" and the history of Mormon women, with the Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Drawn: An Exhibit of Rare Maps, co-curated by History Department PhD graduate Travis Ross, has won the Autry Public History Prize from the Western History Association.

Lori Wilkinson, a first-year graduate student focusing on 19th and 20th century US History, will have a research paper featured in the January 2018 issue of the Journal of Mormon History titled "Scribbling Women in Zion: Mormon Women Emulate Fanny Fern". The paper focuses on the relationship between LDS women on the frontier of Utah and the writings of Fanny Fern, a satirical newspaper columnist with the New York Ledger known for her conversational writing style.

Eric Hinderaker, Chair and Professor of History, is being honored with the University of Utah’s prestigious designation of “Distinguished Professor.”

The University of Utah’s Department of History has been chosen to receive a Career Diversity Implementation Grant, as part of the Career Diversity for Historians initiative.

Our colleague and friend Dr. Bradley Parker passed away Friday, January 5th, in Berkeley, California.

Beginning Fall semester 2017 the History Department at the University of Utah will offer a Public History Certificate designed to prepare graduate students for a range of careers in public history institutions. The program combines rigorous training in historical methods and theory with practical, real world experience.

Professor Eric Hinderaker was recently interviewed on WBUR Radio about his newest publication, Boston's Massacre, published through Harvard University Press.

Professor Noel Voltz was recently interviewed in the Chronicle of Higher Education, along with other professors, about the specific challenges of being a person of color in academia.

Professor Bradley Parker recently published an article in the prestigious journal Advances in Archaeological Practice.

Kathryn Hain, December 2016 graduate from the History Department, received an Honorable Mention, in the World History Association Dissertation Prize, an award that placed her work in the top ten percent of the competition.

Dr. Clement was one of 20 faculty members selected out of over 200 nominations to receive this year's award. Her nomination by student Amy Brown emphasized Dr. Clemet's "dedication to helping students find resources, figuring out their career passions, and realize the possibilities that exist for their futures".

Professor Matthew Basso has been named the State Scholar for the Smithsonian Institute's The Way We Worked, a Museum on Main Street program. Presented by Utah Humanities and the Smithsonian Institute, this exhibition of work and labor in American history began its year-long Utah tour in January at the Ogden Union Station.

Danielle Olden, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. The year-long NEH Fellowship will enable Danielle to complete her book, Racial Uncertainties: Mexican Americans, School Desegregation, and the Making of Race in Post-Civil Rights America,which examines Denver, Colorado's battle over school desegregation in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Professor Bradley Parker guests on the Thinking Aloud podcast to discuss Utah's archaeological treasures, the dangers facing petroglyphs and material remains, and how archaeologists and the public can work to preserve them for future generations.

Professor Bradley Parker guests on the Thinking Aloud podcast to discuss Utah's archaeological treasures, the dangers facing petroglyphs and material remains, and how archaeologists and the public can work to preserve them for future generations.

Gary Okihiro, Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University will deliver the Department of History’s prestigious O. Meredith Wilson Lecture. Okihiro is a brilliant and internationally recognized scholar whose wide-ranging research focuses on United States, southern African, and world history.

Gary Okihiro, Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University will deliver the Department of History’s prestigious O. Meredith Wilson Lecture. Okihiro is a brilliant and internationally recognized scholar whose wide-ranging research focuses on United States, southern African, and world history.

Professor Beth Clement’s ongoing work on the AIDS epidemic has supported the production of a documentary on HIV in Utah, part of which just appeared in Still Here, an eight-minute short film hosted by VideoWest. Click on "Read more" for the link.

Professor Beth Clement’s ongoing work on the AIDS epidemic has supported the production of a documentary on HIV in Utah, part of which just appeared in Still Here, an eight-minute short film hosted by VideoWest. Click on "Read more" for the link.

Nadja Durbach is an historian of modern Britain who specializes in the history of the body. During her Guggenheim Fellowship, Professor Durbach will be working on a book entitled, Many Mouths: State-Feeding in Britain from the Workhouse to the Welfare State.

Nadja Durbach is an historian of modern Britain who specializes in the history of the body. During her Guggenheim Fellowship, Professor Durbach will be working on a book entitled, Many Mouths: State-Feeding in Britain from the Workhouse to the Welfare State.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Clement has not only won the 2016 Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in General Education, but over the last two years, Clement has been active in the creation and processing of the new Kristen Ries/Maggie Snyder HIV/AIDS Collection at the Marriott Library. Click "Read more" for the link.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Clement has not only won the 2016 Faculty Teaching Award for Excellence in General Education, but over the last two years, Clement has been active in the creation and processing of the new Kristen Ries/Maggie Snyder HIV/AIDS Collection at the Marriott Library. Click "Read more" for the link.

According to the BYU Studies Review, "Religion of a Different Color is a true historical tour de force. It instantly joins the elite ranks of the Mormon studies canon, becoming required reading for anyone interested in the Mormon past (or present).

According to the BYU Studies Review, "Religion of a Different Color is a true historical tour de force. It instantly joins the elite ranks of the Mormon studies canon, becoming required reading for anyone interested in the Mormon past (or present).

Of professor Horn, the Office for Global Engagement commented that "her leadership to establish the Center for Latin American Studies and gain NRC status has a far-reaching impact for student and faculty global engagement at the U as well as in K-12 education and the local community."

Of professor Horn, the Office for Global Engagement commented that "her leadership to establish the Center for Latin American Studies and gain NRC status has a far-reaching impact for student and faculty global engagement at the U as well as in K-12 education and the local community."

Along with a number of scientists and two poets, Colleen McDannell won the 2015 Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award. She is among the first Humanities scholars to win the prestigious prize.

Along with a number of scientists and two poets, Colleen McDannell won the 2015 Distinguished Scholarly & Creative Research Award. She is among the first Humanities scholars to win the prestigious prize.

The History Department is pleased to welcome Professor Noel Voltz to the faculty. Professor Voltz is a scholar of African American and African Diasporic History. She earned her PhD in History in 2014 from the Ohio State University and has been an Assistant Professor at Trinity Washington University in DC.

The History Department is pleased to welcome Professor Noel Voltz to the faculty. Professor Voltz is a scholar of African American and African Diasporic History. She earned her PhD in History in 2014 from the Ohio State University and has been an Assistant Professor at Trinity Washington University in DC.

Three Humanities students, Jessica Chamorro, Sabrina Dawson, and Kate Mower have won the 2016-2017 Fulbright Awards. The US Fulbright program was established in 1946 to create mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between people in the U.S. and other countries.

Three Humanities students, Jessica Chamorro, Sabrina Dawson, and Kate Mower have won the 2016-2017 Fulbright Awards. The US Fulbright program was established in 1946 to create mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between people in the U.S. and other countries.

Hosted by H-SAC in cooperation with Department staff and faculty, the second annual Futures in History social brings together faculty, students, and alumni to share stories, network, and to explore the rich variety of career pathways open to History undergraduates.

Hosted by H-SAC in cooperation with Department staff and faculty, the second annual Futures in History social brings together faculty, students, and alumni to share stories, network, and to explore the rich variety of career pathways open to History undergraduates.

Professor Benjamin Cohen received a 30k grant from the U.S. Consulate, Hyderabad, India, to lead a team of nine Indian and six American students in studying sustainable urbanization in India. He travelled with Stephen Goldsmith (Architecture + Planning) to Hyderabad in December-January where the students conducted interviews, fieldwork, and meetings.

Professor Benjamin Cohen received a 30k grant from the U.S. Consulate, Hyderabad, India, to lead a team of nine Indian and six American students in studying sustainable urbanization in India. He travelled with Stephen Goldsmith (Architecture + Planning) to Hyderabad in December-January where the students conducted interviews, fieldwork, and meetings.

Brad Dennis, who graduated in the Fall of 2015 with his Ph.D. in History from the University of Utah this December, discusses the origins of interethnic and interreligious conflict at the birth of the modern Middle East from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

Brad Dennis, who graduated in the Fall of 2015 with his Ph.D. in History from the University of Utah this December, discusses the origins of interethnic and interreligious conflict at the birth of the modern Middle East from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

Congratulations to Alyssa Victoria Mae Wall for winning one of the two J. Willard Marriott Library Honors awards this year. The title of her thesis was "A Tradition of Appropriation of Culture for Political Gain: Music in Korea," which one in the category of Social Science / Science.

The Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch Prize in Teaching is awarded to an outstanding faculty member who has made significant contributions to teaching at the University of Utah for an extended period of time. Specifically, the committee looks for a faculty member who has distinguished him or herself through the development of new and innovative teaching methods, inventiveness in the curriculum and classroom, as well as commitment to enhancing student learning.

The Calvin S. and JeNeal N. Hatch Prize in Teaching is awarded to an outstanding faculty member who has made significant contributions to teaching at the University of Utah for an extended period of time. Specifically, the committee looks for a faculty member who has distinguished him or herself through the development of new and innovative teaching methods, inventiveness in the curriculum and classroom, as well as commitment to enhancing student learning.

Marwan M. Kraidy is the Anthony Shadid Chair in Global Media, Politics and Culture, and Founding Director of the Project for Advanced Research in Global Communication (PARGC) at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, where he is also affiliated with the Middle East Center.

Marwan M. Kraidy is the Anthony Shadid Chair in Global Media, Politics and Culture, and Founding Director of the Project for Advanced Research in Global Communication (PARGC) at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, where he is also affiliated with the Middle East Center.