Category / Undergraduate Students

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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.

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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.“

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Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project Partners with National Center for Civil and Human Rights to Produce Exhibit about the Victims of 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre

Emory’s Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project will partner with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to produce an exhibit about the more than two dozen Black Atlanta residents murdered in what has become known as the Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906. The exhibit will make up part of a three-story expansion to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights funded by a $17 million grant by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Hank Klibanoff, James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism and Associated Faculty in the History Department, is the director of the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project. The Blank Family Foundation grant will support the continuation of research by Klibanoff, along with undergraduates in his course the Cold Cases Project, into the Black lives lost to the massacre. Read an excerpt from the Emory News Center feature of the project below along with the full article: “Grant to help Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project uncover Atlanta’s racial history.”

“Who were these people? What did they do, how did they live, how did they die? We know enough from our preliminary research to see the victims were people living on the right side of the law, but they became political pawns, expendable because of their race,” says Klibanoff, a professor of practice in Emory’s Creative Writing program.

“We’ll be seeking to animate their lives to give them the historical justice that was denied them by law enforcement and the judicial system in 1906,” he adds.

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Lesser and Anderson Among Faculty Panelists at Upcoming Event, “The Insurrection at the Capitol: Where Do We Go from Here?”

Dr. Jeffrey Lesser (Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor and Director of the Halle Institute),  Dr. Carol Anderson (Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies, AAS Chair, and Associated Faculty), and Dr. Jeffrey Staton (Professor and Chair, Political Science) will speak on a panel at an upcoming Zoom event titled “The Insurrection at the Capitol: Where Do We Go from Here?” Sponsored by Emory College and Bridge Emory, the event aims to create dialogue among students and faculty relating to the events at the U.S. Capitol in January. Following presentations by the panelists, students will be invited to join a dozen additional Emory faculty members in conversation in breakout rooms. Dr. Gyan Pandey (Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor) and Dr. Carl Suddler (Assistant Professor) are among the faculty who will facilitate breakout conversations. The event will take place on Thursday, February 4, from 7:30-9pm. You may register here: http://bit.ly/postinsurrection-event.

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History Major Scott Benigno Publishes Research in ‘The Haley Classical Journal’

Scott Benigno

History major Scott Benigno recently published a paper, “A Martyrdom that Overshadowed Heresy: Saint Lucian of Antioch,” in The Haley Classical Journal. Scott’s paper originated in the course “Byzantium: Gold, Glory, and Gore in the Eastern Roman Empire,” taught by graduate student Mary Grace Gibbs-DuPree. Scott’s assignment was to pick a saint and explain how this saint came to be included in the Byzantine religious calendar. Saint Lucian of Antioch was so appealing, Scott thought, because he gained sainthood for having died for his faith but, during his lifetime, had strayed from Church doctrine. The journey from a class assignment based on a keen observation to a published paper was still long, though: “The peer-editing and review process was tough,” Scott said, “and I have never dug deeper to find sources than I did for this paper. It was a very rewarding experience.” Find the article here: “A Martyrdom that Overshadowed Heresy: Saint Lucian of Antioch.”