Category / Uncategorized

by abritt

Roark Prize, Endowed by Young Alumni, Established to Support Undergraduate Research

Story image

Retiring Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of American History, Dr. Jim Roark, will be honored with a scholarship for undergraduate research bearing his name. The Roark Prize will support rising seniors in the History Department pursuing research in the United States relating to their honors thesis. The idea for the prize originated with two former history students, Ben Leiner (’14) and Naveed Amalfard (’14), who counted Roark as an inspiring mentor and professor. Read the Emory News Center’s full report on the prize here.

by abritt

Alumnus Reuben Lack (’16) Creates Science-fiction Webseries

emory-website.jpg

Reuben Lack, graduate of the Class of 2016, has released a science-fiction webseries called EPSILON. The story focuses on a world with various forms of artificial intelligence and its impact on humanity. With the collapse of food and habitable spaces for citizenry, people are forced within one of three refuges for protection. Each refuge relies on androids to help maintain security and protect against outsiders. The cities’ political dynamics are based off of several political theories, most notably Plato’s vision in the Republic of a philosopher-king and ‘Guardian’ protectors. If you’re interested in watching the first episode of the webseries or supporting the Patreon campaign for the project, please visit the project page here.

 

by abritt

Dr. James Roark, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of American History, Retires

Dr. James Roark, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of American History, will retire at the end of the semester after 33 years at Emory. A specialist in the 18th and 19th century history of the American South, Roark has served as department chair twice and has authored or coauthored numerous works. They include Masters Without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and Reconstruction (1977), Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South (1986), and The American Promise, which is about to release its 7th edition.

          
by abritt

Professor Joseph Crespino on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind”

Photo of

Joseph Crespino, Department Chair and Jimmy Carter Professor, recently joined Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind” for a conversation about echoes between past and present presidential races. Hosted by Bill Nigut, the segment was titled “Historical Parallels Between the 2016 Campaigns and Past Races.” You can find the full audio for the show at this link, and below is a plug elaborating on one part of their conversation:

We take a close look at “Confessions of a Republican,” a remarkable 1964 TV commercial that questions the fitness of the Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater to serve in the Oval Office. Crespino says the spot could easily be transplanted into today’s race as Democrats raise questions about Donald Trump’s preparedness and temperament to be president.

by abritt

First-Year Graduate Students End Semester with Hi-Five Research Presentations

The first-year cohort from the PhD program recently capped off the semester by presenting their research at the department’s annual Hi-Five event. The Hi-Five helps students develop their academic, presentation, and research communication skills and is based on the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition that originated at The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. The format is also used by the Laney Graduate School for those students completing their Ph.D. dissertations. In presentations to the department, each student must adhere to the following rules:

  • Presentations must be five minutes or less. Presentations will be cut off after five minutes.
  • A single static PowerPoint slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ in the slide, and the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration).
  • No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted.
  • No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.
  • Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).
  • Presentations are to commence from the front of the room and must be done while standing.
  • Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through movement or speech.

Participating students and the titles of their papers are as follows:

Oskar Czendze – “Old Homes Made New: The Reinvention of Landsmanshaftn in the United States”

Mary Grace Dupree – “The Golden Chalice: Vision and Prophecy in the Narrative of Perpetua of Carthage”

Cheng-Heng Lu – “Double-edged Sword: The History of the Shi Clan in the Qing Empire”

Luke Hagemann – “Imperial Clementia in Late Roman Law”

Anthony Tipping – “A Coercive Public Health Campaign in Rio de Janeiro: The benevolent elite, the ignorant masses, and the revolta da vacina of 1904″

Alexandra Lemos Zagonel – “Secret Agent Men: Spying at Brazilian Universities in the Twilight of Military Rule”

Tim Romans – “Under the Vermillion Seal: Japan’s Forgotten Tokugawa Pirates”

Anthony Sciubba – “Ancient Arbitration: Conflict Mediation in Late Antiquity”

by abritt

Graduating History Major, Ami Fields-Meyer, Named Emory College Class Orator

Story image

Following the university-wide commencement ceremony on May 9, senior history major Ami Fields-Meyer will speak to his fellow graduates as the class orator at the Emory College diploma ceremony. The Los Angeles native arrived at Emory with sights set on a career in politics as an elected official. A history class early on changed his perspective and led him to a major in History (along with a minor in African-American studies) instead of political science.

“[H]e took a history class focused on the history of inequality in the United States. Fields-Meyer discovered life as a self-described news junkie took on greater depth when he understood the historical context of current events.”

Fields-Meyer also highlights his experience in the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases course, co-taught by historian Brett Gadsden and Hank Klibanoff. Gadsden remembers Fields-Meyer fondly from the class: “One thing I’ve really admired is his efforts to bridge the past and the present, to really think about the gap between the two, and understand the echoes of history. That’s testimony to me of a dynamic mind.”

In addition to his accomplishments as a Dean’s Achievement Scholar, Fields-Meyer co-founded TableTalk, an initiative designed to spur conversations between groups at Emory that would not likely otherwise interact.

Read the full profile on Fields-Meyer here.

by abritt

Dr. Dawn Peterson in ‘Slate’ on “Andrew Jackson’s Adopted Indian Son”

Illustration from John Frost's 1860 biography, A Pictorial History of Andrew Jackson.

Illustration from John Frost’s 1860 biography, A Pictorial History of Andrew Jackson – Internet Archive 

Professor Dawn Peterson was recently interviewed for a piece in Slate by Rebecca Onion. Prompted by discussions following the decision to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, the article hones in on one piece of Jackson’s life frequently cited by those who defend his legacy: his adoption of a infant Creek boy in 1813. Peterson offers historical context for the adoption of Lyncoya (the name given by Jackson to the orphaned boy) and the practice in southern society more broadly. These insights derive from Peterson’s recent research and especially her forthcoming book Indians in the National Family: Adoption and the Politics of Antebellum Expansion (Harvard University Press in 2017). Read an excerpt from the piece below and check out the full article here.

Though they adopted native children, slaveholders like Jackson imagined “they were assimilating Native people and their lands into the confines of the United States. They believed that what they were doing was a benevolent act, but also understood it as a form of cultural genocide.” 

 

by abritt

Graduating History Major Takuya Maeda Profiled for Innovative Scholarship

In May of 2016 senior Takuya Maeda will graduate with highest honors in history. Maeda was recently profiled for his research accomplishments at Emory, most especially his work on the use of funds from the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 “set aside for the Japanese-American community to develop educational efforts and awareness about internment” during World War II. Maeda received a grant from the Scholarly Inquiry and Research at Emory (SIRE) program to conduct this research, which his mentor Professor Daniel LaChance described as “groundbreaking.” Maeda plans to continue and expand this project through graduate work in history. Read the full profile on Takuya here.

Story image

by abritt

President Jimmy Carter Discusses the Importance of History and Archives with Students from Spring Course Taught by Dr. Joseph Crespino

On April 21 President Jimmy Cater was on Emory’s campus to speak to students in a session titled “Why Archives Matter: Memory, Meaning and History.” Included in the event where students from Dr. Joseph Crespino’s spring undergraduate course on the history of politics and race in the United States. Aside from a lively question and answer period with the attendees, the event served to highlight recent renovations at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. Read more about the event on the Emory News Center’s site here.

photo description

by abritt

Professor Judith A. Miller Consults for the Opera Lafayette’s “Opera and the French Revolution”

“Opera and the French Revolution” debuts on April 29 and May 1 in Washington and New York.  Emory University French historian Judith A. Miller has enjoyed consulting on the production.  The Opera Lafayette will perform the modern world premiere of scenes from Martini’s and Pipelet’s Sapho (1794), as well as Cherubini’s Médée (1797) and Sacchini’s Oedipe à Colonne.   Performances will take place in DC (Lisner Auditorium, GWU) on Fri., April 29, 7:30pm; and in NYC (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall) on Sun., May 1, 8pm.  More info and ticket links are on the company’s website.   Emory discounts are available for the DC performance, Code EMORY.  Along with workshops in March in NYC, Professor Miller has contributed to the blog on the production.  An hour before each performance, there will be a panel discussion  featuring Ryan Brown, with stage director Miřenka Čechová and Judith A. Miller.