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by abritt

Patrick Allitt on Teaching in ‘The Chronicle of Higher Education’

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education featured Cahoon Family Professor of American History Patrick Allitt. The piece, “The Best and Worst Part of Being a Professor: Students” (by Audrey Williams June), surveys how professors view teaching responsibilities and interactions with students. Allitt is quoted as saying that “Teaching is really the best part of my job” – a sentiment that seems representative of broad satisfaction among professors with the teaching element of the job. Allitt is the author of I’m the Teacher, You’re the Student: A Semester in the University Classroom (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).

Read the full article here and see the brief excerpt below.

When students fall short of his expectations, Allitt says, his teaching experience gives him the perspective he needs to deal with it. Two things haven’t changed, he says, since he started teaching as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley. There will always be students who won’t do the reading. To deal with that, Allitt calls on every student in class during discussions. And most students don’t write as well as he would like. (He blames schools that rely on multiple-choice exams much more than did the schools in his native England, where he wrote in school every day.)

by abritt

Anderson’s ‘One Person, No Vote’ Named to National Book Award Longlist

Dr. Carol Anderson’s newly-released book, One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy, was named to the National Book Award longlist. Published by Bloomsbury and released on September 11, 2018, One Person, No Vote charts continuities in practices of voter suppression from the nineteenth century through the present. Read more about Anderson’s work and Emory’s representation on the National Book Award longlist in the Emory News Center’s article “Emory professors named to 2018 National Book Awards longlists.”

by abritt

Carol Anderson Publishes ‘One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy’

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies, has just published a new book, One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy (Bloomsbury Publishing 2018). Anderson is Associated Faculty in the Department of History. The Emory News Center profiled Anderson’s new work in a video and article by Kimber Williams: “New book explores history of voter suppression in America.” Anderson is also the author of  White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, which received the 2016 National Book Critics Award in Criticism.

by abritt

Dr. Danielle Wiggins (PhD, 2018) on Black Progressives and the Democratic Party in ‘The Washington Post’

Recent doctoral program graduate Danielle Wiggins (PhD, 2018) authored an article in The Washington Post. Wiggins’ piece examines how Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1980s presidential campaigns laid the groundwork for contemporary black progressives in the Democratic party. Wiggins is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia. Read the article here: “The black progressives remaking the Democratic Party.”

by abritt

Dr. Jason Ward Publishes Piece in ‘Southern Spaces’

Congratulations to Jason Ward, acting professor of History, who recently authored a piece for Southern Spaces. The article reviews Melanie S. Morrison’s Murder on Shades Mountain: The Legal Lynching of Willie Peterson and the Struggle for Justice in Jim Crow Birmingham (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2018). Read Ward’s article here: “Shades of Violence: Jim Crow Justice and Black-Resistance in the Depression-Era South.”

 

 

by abritt

Ruby Lal’s ‘Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan’ Published by W.W. Norton

Professor of South Asian Studies Ruby Lal recently published Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan with W.W. Norton. Lal is Associated Faculty in the History Department. The biography charts the ascendance of the empress in 17th Century India and her unprecedented rule over the vast Mughal empire. Read a more detailed description of the book below along with Lal’s recent article about it on the BBC, “The Mughal queen who became a feminist icon.”

Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire.

When it came to hunting, she was a master shot. As a dress designer, few could compare. An ingenious architect, she innovated the use of marble in her parents’ mausoleum on the banks of the Yamuna River that inspired her stepson’s Taj Mahal. And she was both celebrated and reviled for her political acumen and diplomatic skill, which rivaled those of her female counterparts in Europe and beyond.

In 1611, thirty-four-year-old Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. While other wives were secluded behind walls, Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, and governed in his stead as his health failed and his attentions wandered from matters of state. An astute politician and devoted partner, Nur led troops into battle to free Jahangir when he was imprisoned by one of his own officers. She signed and issued imperial orders, and coins of the realm bore her name.

Acclaimed historian Ruby Lal uncovers the rich life and world of Nur Jahan, rescuing this dazzling figure from patriarchal and Orientalist clichés of romance and intrigue, and giving new insight into the lives of women and girls in the Mughal Empire, even where scholars claim there are no sources. Nur’s confident assertion of authority and talent is revelatory. In Empress, she finally receives her due in a deeply researched and evocative biography that awakens us to a fascinating history.

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.”