Month / August 2018

by abritt

Lesser on Brazil’s Upcoming Presidential Election in ‘Time’

Jeffrey Lesser, Director of the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of History, recently commented about a leading candidate in Brazil’s 2018 presidential election for a Time magazine article. Read an excerpt below in addition to the full article by Matt Sandy, “Jair Bolsonaro Loves Trump, Hates Gay People and Admires Autocrats. He Could Be Brazil’s Next President.”

Despite Bolsonaro’s prior support for military rule, analysts agree that a coup is unlikely in Brazil. But few believe the country would be unaffected by a Bolsonaro presidency. “[It] would be revolutionary for contemporary Brazilian society,” says Jeffrey Lesser, director of the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning at Emory University. “There is little doubt that if elected, he would seek to diminish checks and balances.”

by abritt

Emory History Department Well Represented at Decatur Book Festival

Emory History Department faculty, alumni, and current students are among the presenting authors at this year’s AJC Decatur Book Festival, the largest independent book festival in the country. 2018 marks the first year that Emory University is a presenting sponsor. See the presentations of authors associated with the History Department below, and explore the full schedule here.

  • Joseph Crespino, Jimmy Carter Professor of History and History Department Chair. “Atticus Finch: A Biography.” Sept. 2, 3:45-4:30 p.m., Decatur Presbyterian Sanctuary.
  • Ruby Lal, Professor of South Asian History, Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies and Associated Faculty in History. “Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan.” Sept. 1, 3-3:45 p.m., Marriott Conference Center B.
  • Hank Klibanoff, Professor of Practice, Creative Writing. “Understanding our Painful Past: Investigating the Impact of Lynchings Through Voice and Prose.” Sept. 1, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Decatur Presbyterian Sanctuary.
  • Edward Hatfield, Managing Editor of the “New Georgia Encyclopedia.” Hatfield will introduce Joseph Crespino. Sept. 2, 3:45-4:30 p.m., Decatur Presbyterian Sanctuary.
  • Michelle Oppong-Ampofo, Poet, Emory College Junior, and History Department Work-Study Student. Oppong-Ampofo will read her poetry on Sunday, Sept. 2, 4:40-6 p.m.
by abritt

Carol Anderson in ‘The New York Times’: “Brian Kemp, Enemy of Democracy”

Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies Carol Anderson recently authored an opinion piece in The New York Times. Anderson discusses the record of voter suppression by Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state since 2010 and currently the Republican nominee for governor. Read the full article: “Brian Kemp, Enemy of Democracy: An expert on voter suppression, he will help keep Georgia red.”

by abritt

Senior History Major Alexa Palomo Helps Coordinate Volunteer Programs Against Homelessness at Atlanta’s Gateway Center

Alexa Palomo, a senior history and anthropology major, has spent her summer as an engagement coordinator and fundraiser at Atlanta’s Gateway Center. The organization focuses on ending homelessness in Metro Atlanta “through therapeutic programs and community collaboration.” Read more about Palomo in a recent Emory News Center article, “The change agent: Alexa Palomo.”

by abritt

Alumni Update: Fulbright ETA Andrew Shifren (’17 College) Teaches English in Indonesia

The Emory History Department welcomes updates from alumni. Below, 2017 graduate Andrew Shifren describes his recent arrival in Indonesia on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

andrew-shifren-indonesia

I’ve now spent about a week in my placement, Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, where I will be living for the next 10 months. So far Indonesia has defied many of my expectations. It is isolating, but also incredibly eye-opening and motivates me to learn the language (Bahasa Indonesia) like nothing else could.  My town is the launching point for tours of the Komodo Islands and the surrounding coral reefs. In my free time I hope to snorkel and dive. The politics and history of Komodo National Park is fascinating and something I hope to learn more about. The teaching is going to be difficult, but I am looking forward to it. I teach eight 35-person classrooms per week with very little organizational help from the school. Most of the students hope to secure the well-paying tourism jobs that are popping up as hotels are built in the town and more and more tourist come to tour the Komodos; English is really the key to their futures.

by abritt

Ashley Parcells (PhD, ’18) Publishes Article in ‘The Journal of African History’

Dr. Ashley Parcells, Assistant Professor of History at Jacksonville University, published an article in the July 2018 edition of The Journal of African History. The piece is titled “Rural Development, Royal History, and the Struggle for Authority in Early Apartheid Zululand (1951-4).” Parcells, a former student of Clifton Crais, graduated in the spring of 2018. Check out the article abstract below and read the full piece here.

“From 1951, apartheid officials sought to implement soil rehabilitation programs in Nongoma, the home district of Zulu Paramount Chief Cyprian Bhekuzulu. This article argues that these programs brought to the surface fundamental questions about political authority in South Africa’s hinterland during the first years of apartheid. These questions arose from ambiguities within native policy immediately after the passage of the 1951 Bantu Authorities Act: while the power of chiefs during the colonial and segregationist era in Zululand had been tied to their control of native reserve land, in Nongoma, these development interventions threatened that prerogative at the very moment apartheid policy sought to strengthen ‘tribal’ governance. In response, the Zulu royal family in Nongoma called on treaties with the British from the conquest era, colonial law, and the very language of apartheid to reassert chiefly control over land, and more importantly, to negotiate this new apartheid political order.”