Category / Undergraduate Students

by abritt

Students in Miller’s “The History of Skiing and Snowsports” Launch Website

This spring Dr. Judith A. Miller, Associate Professor of History, taught a new course, “The History of Skiing and Snowsports.” Explaining the genesis of the course, Miller said, “I wished to create a course that took the history of skiing and snowsports seriously, that is, a course that reflected the questions that historians have.” The students in this course have just published their final projects on a website, which was produced in collaboration with Emory’s Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS). Browse the students’ projects on the new website, and read more about the course via the description below.

This new course explores the history of snow sports, especially skiing, from the 18th century to today. We have many topics and Zoom guests lined up. This class is not only for history majors or skiers, but also for business students, and anyone interested in environmental history, sports history, and the history of gender and race. The class will look at the military uses of skiing in World War II, the expansion of leisure sports after 1960, the development of ski schools, history of ski patrols, lift technology, emerging environmental issues, snow science, avalanche control, the history of the land and the indigenous peoples, race and inclusivity in winter sports, the transformation of ski equipment, snow fashions, and the business of ski resorts. Students who have never taken a history course and first-year students are welcome. Each student will do a short final research project. Check out the promotional video on @emoryhistory Instagram during the enrollment period. As American Historical Association Executive Director Jim Grossman says, “Everything has a history.” Skiing and snow sports have a fascinating histories.

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Celebrating the Class of 2021

Congratulations to the History Department-affiliated undergraduate and graduate students receiving degrees at Emory’s 2021 commencement! Find out more information about Emory’s commencement ceremonies here. See below for a list of undergraduate students graduating with special recognition.

History Majors Graduating with Honors
Melanie Mills Dunn
Jason Paul Goodman
Colin Andrew Hutton
Cameron Vida Katz
Ryan Andrew Kelly
Sun Woo Park
Rachel Elizabeth Remmers
Max K Rotenberg

Graduating Members of the History Department Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta, Phi Tau Chapter
Zachary Charles Ball**
Daniel Manuel Batterman
Elise Lauren Black
Colleen Elizabeth Carroll
Jessica Arevalo Dam
Melanie Mills Dunn
Jason Paul Goodman
Cameron Vida Katz
Ryan Andrew Kelly
AnnMarie Marlow
Rachel Elizabeth Remmers
Jesse Leib Steinman
Rowan M. Thomas

James L. Roark Prize in American History
Cameron Vida Katz

Matthew A. Carter Citizen-Scholar Award
Ciara Murphy

George P. Cuttino Prize in European History
Jesse Leib Steinman

James Z. Rabun Prize in U.S. History
Max K Rotenberg
Melanie Mills Dunn

Latin America & Non-Western World History Prize
Jacob Angelo DeFazio

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History Dept. Students and Faculty Receive Grants from Halle Institute

Emory’s Halle Institute for Global Research has awarded multiple undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members from the History Department with research funding throughout the 2020-’21 academic year. Directed by Dr. Jeffrey Lesser, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of History, the Halle Institute supports and promotes global research opportunities for faculty, students, and visiting scholars throughout all of Emory’s schools. See the History Department’s recipients and their funded projects below.

Rethinking Global Inequalities (with Goizueta Business and Society Institute)

Michelle Armstrong-Partida – “Singlewomen: Enslaved and Free in the Late Medieval Mediterranean”

Halle-CFDE Global Atlanta Innovative Teaching (GAIT) Grants

Adriana Chira – “Human Trafficking in World History”

URC-Halle International Research Awards in partnership with the University Research Council (URC)

Astrid M. Eckert – “Germany and the Global Commons: Environment, Diplomacy, and the Market”

Graduate Global Research Fellows

Georgia Brunner – Rwanda/Italy/Belgium      

Undergraduate Global Research Fellows

Bronwen Boyd – “The Signares of Senegambia: Slavery, “Progress,” and the French Colonial Project in the Nineteenth Century,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History, French Studies

Ellie Coe – “Unlikely Friendships: The Little-Known Meetings of Cosmonauts and Astronauts in the Early Space Age,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History, Russian and East European Studies

Alex Levine – “Dueling Dragons: Examining Welsh National Identity Through Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century British Imperial Involvement in China,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History

Annie Li – “A Comparative History of the Activism of Chinese American Churches and Taiwanese Churches,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History, Sociology

Willie Lieberman – “English Femininity in Purcell’s Operas,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History

Julien Nathan – “Who is the Nation: Analyzing the Relationship Between Gastarbeiter and the New Left Student Movement, 1960-1973,” Emory College of Arts and Sciences: History

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Honors Student Cameron Katz Discusses Experience as Undergraduate Fellow at the Fox Center

History major and honors student Cameron Katz recently published a piece on the blog of Emory’s Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry reflecting on her time as an undergraduate humanities fellow. Katz discusses her research, which centers on Florida’s felony disenfranchisement law, as well as how the pandemic has shaped her experience as a student and scholar. Read an excerpt from the post below, along with the full piece: “Shared Scholarship During the Pandemic.”

“The opportunity to present my research to a group of scholars was also very beneficial. My history honors thesis examines the racial implications of Florida’s felony disenfranchisement law – the rule which revokes a person’s right to vote on account of a felony conviction – which was on the books from 1838 to 2018. Because my temporal framework is so large, working to condense it to a short presentation for an audience less familiar with the history really helped me to streamline my main argument, which I think is one of the most challenging aspects of large projects. Hearing feedback about my presentation allowed me to narrow my presentation even further so that I could convey my work in an accessible and informative manner. Later this month, I will be presenting my research at the Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Symposium so the additional practice at the Fox Center has helped me to prepare.“

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Undergraduate Honors Students Present Thesis Proposals Throughout April

Throughout the month of April History majors at Emory are presenting their honors thesis proposals via Zoom. Their fifteen research projects range widely in period, place, and theme, from an analysis of African-American funeral directors in Jim Crow Georgia to a study of diplomatic relations between Russian cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts. Read about the student projects (including their faculty mentors) by clicking on the flyers below, and email Ms. Lakesia Hayes for the zoom link to the final round of presentations on Monday, April 26, from 2:40-4pm EDT.

by abritt

Suddler to Moderate “State of the Playing Field” in Final Event of Sports History Lecture Series

Dr. Carl Suddler, Assistant Professor of History, will moderate the final event in the Sports History Lecture Series, titled “State of the Playing Field: Sports Historians Wrap Up,” along with History honors student Hannah Charak (21C) and Mathematics major Matthew Ross (21C). The panel will include: Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor of history and African American Studies at Penn State University; Louis Moore, associate professor of history at Grand Valley State University; Theresa Runstedtler, associate professor of history at American University; and Derrick White, professor of history and Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky. Following the panel, the speakers will answer questions from the audience. Registration is required, and registrants will be entered into a prize raffle.

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Honors Student Willie Lieberman Celebrates Jane Austen Collection in Emory’s Rose Library

Willie Lieberman, a third-year student in the History honors program specializing in European Studies, recently published a post on the blog of Emory’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. Coinciding with Women’s History Month, the article surveys the Rose Library’s exciting Jane Austen collection. Read an excerpt from Lieberman’s piece below along with the full article here.

“March is Women’s History Month – a time to celebrate women’s accomplishments throughout history, address past and present injustices, and pave the path to a more liberated future for all women. The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library is home to a wealth of collections by significant female authors like Sylvia Plath and Alice Walker. One of the Rose Library’s most exciting features is its Jane Austen collection. Jane Austen is one of the best-known and most successful female authors…The Rose Library’s Jane Austen holdings signify her commercial success and the value of her writing to society, while also pointing to inequities female authors faced in publishing.“

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Ward Publishes Op-Ed in ‘NY Times’ on GA Voting Law and ‘Jim Crow 2.0’

Dr. Jason Morgan Ward, Professor of History, recently published an opinion piece in The New York Times. The article, “Georgia’s Voter Law Is Called ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ for a Reason,” offers essential historical context for understanding the new voting law that Georgia Republicans passed in the last month. Among the evidence Ward cites is research conducted by History Department senior honors thesis student Hannah Charak. Read an excerpt from the article below along with the full piece here.

“But we may not be as distant in our political moment from theirs as we might think: The long struggle to block access to the ballot has always relied on legal maneuvering and political schemes to achieve what bullets and bombs alone could not.

“What legislators in Georgia and across the country have reminded us is that backlash to expanded voting rights has often arrived by a method that our eras have in common: by laws, like Georgia’s Senate Bill 202, passed by elected politicians.”

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Celebrating Senior Prize Winners for 2020-’21

The Undergraduate Committee recently announced the winners of senior prizes for 2020-’21. Congratulations to the recipients, listed below:

  • George P. Cuttino Prize for the best record in European History: Jesse Steinman
  • James Z. Rabun Prize for the best record in American History: Max Rotenberg & Melanie Dunn
  • The Latin America & Non-Western World Prize for best record in Latin America & Non-Western World History: Jacob DeFazio
  • Matthew A. Carter Citizen-Scholar Award: Ciara Murphy

These awards will be presented at the History Department’s virtual Senior Celebration on Wednesday, May 5, 2-3p (Zoom details to come). Browse past winners of the senior prizes here.

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Yaza Sarieh (‘18Ox, ‘20C) Wins 2020-21 Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship

Congratulations to recently graduated History major Yaza Sarieh (‘18Ox ‘20C) on receiving the Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship for 2021-2022. Yaza was also the recipient of the History Department’s Matthew A. Carter Award, given annually to a graduating student who exemplifies high academic achievement and good works in the community. Sarieh is one of only a dozen Emory students to win this prestigious fellowship in the university’s history. Read the Luce Foundation’s profile of Sarieh below, along with the same from the Emory News Center: “Two recent Emory graduates selected for prestigious Luce Scholars Program.” Also, learn about the other Luce fellowship winners from this past year here.

“Yazmina Sarieh graduated from Emory University in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in History and Arabic. Born and raised in a small immigrant community outside of Nashville, Tennessee, Yazmina has always had a passion for service, social justice and diversity. At Emory, she co-directed Behind the Glass, an organization connecting students with undocumented detainees who were being held in a nearby detention center. She led initiatives at Georgia Organics, a food justice organization, managing a project that mapped demographics, health disparities and nutritional assets in order to alleviate food insecurity among schoolchildren. She has volunteered with the International Rescue Committee to support the integration of newly arrived refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo and Honduras. While interning at the Carter Center, she worked on large-scale conflict resolution with international actors regarding the Syrian Civil War, specifically advocating for the rights of internally displaced populations. As a Gilman Scholar at al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco and the Sultan Qaboos University in Manah, Oman, Yazmina connected with people around the globe, engaging in cross cultural dialogue and integrating into diverse communities. She was named a Phi Beta Kappa scholar upon graduation, and received the Matthew A. Carter Citizens Award from the Emory History Department, given to one student who best exemplifies academic achievement and good works in the community. Yazmina is motivated to work in migrant rights and advocacy, hoping to create more efficient policy, programming and infrastructure that will enhance economic growth, social inclusion and political stability among marginalized communities. During her free time, Yazmina loves to preserve her Palestinian heritage through embroidery, reading ethnographies and caring for her plants.“