News

History Professor Judy Kertész: Co-curates New Exhibit at Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

Judy Kertész is one of the co-curators of IndiVisible: African-Native Lives in the Americas, a new exhibit opening Friday, November 13, at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), in Washington DC. This exhibit will focus on the historical relationships between African and Native peoples in the Americas. Opening events include a symposium on Friday, November 13, and a book signing event on Saturday, November 14.

Related Links:

• View the exhibit details and schedule

History major Jennifer Howard wins top prize in Thomas Henry Gatton Collegiate Essay Contest

Jennifer Howard, a senior History major (LTH option), recently won first place and a cash award of $500 in the Thomas Henry Gatton Collegiate Essay Contest.
Her essay was titled "Benjamin Cleveland in Wilkes, North Carolina: A Zealous Patriot During the Revolutionary War." Jennifer was also a student in Professor Holly Brewer's HI 441 class.

The Gatton Collegiate Essay Contest is sponsored yearly by the Raleigh Chapter of Sons of American Revolution, and is open to all North Carolina college students.
This year's essays discussed events, persons, or attitudes in North Carolina (1762- 1789) that led to North Carolina's participation in the American Revolution.

Spring 2009 Graduation

A heartfelt congratulations goes out to all of our Spring 2009 graduates!
The History Department commencement ceremony was held on May 9, 2009 at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church.

Related Links:

• View pictures and the Commencement Program (PDF)

History Grad Student Wins First CHASS Thesis Prize

Frank Blazich, who received his MA in history at the December 2008 commencement has won the inaugural College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS)Thesis Award for his thesis, "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: The North Carolina Civil Defense Agency and Fallout Shelters, 1961-1963." CHASS has nominated it for the University Thesis Award. Mr. Blazich, who wrote his thesis under the direction of Professor Nancy Mitchell, has been accepted to the PhD program in American History at Ohio State.

NCSU History graduate student wins major fellowship

Stephanie Brown, a current History M.A. student has been awarded a fellowship worth $12,600 from CAORC(Council of American Overseas Research Centers) for a three month term at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. She will be conducting research for her M.A. thesis, which she is completing under the direction of Prof. Tom Parker.
Stephanie earned her B.A. with honors in history at NCSU in 2006. She was one of five graduate students, and the only M.A. student, to win this fellowship this year. The other four are doctoral students at Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Michigan.

Dr. Jim Crisp featured in recent Dallas Morning News article

Dr. Crisp commented on the significance of recent archaeological discoveries at the San Jacinto battleground in a Dallas Morning News article (April 16, 2009) 'Archaeologists pinpoint location of San Jacinto surrender'.

History professors provide historical context for Free Expression Tunnel incident

The multitude of diversity discussions regarding the threats painted in the Free Expesssion Tunnel November 5th continued with a teach- in about the history of racial slurs and their impact, titled "The Gun, The Flag and the Noose". Four History professors : Dr. Blair Kelley, Dr. Katherine Mellen Charron, Dr. Susanna Lee and Professor Judy Kertész each presented separate lectures that provided a historical context for the incident in the Free Expression Tunnel.
December 4, 2008 Technican article.

Former Public History Graduate Melissa J. Delbridge publishes memoir Family Bible

Melissa is a former Public History graduate and student of Dr. James Crisp. According to Dr. Crisp, Family Bible (published by the University of Iowa Press) is not an academic book or bibliographic essay. Rather, it is a work of 'literary non-fiction' that is Melissa's memoir of growing up in the Deep South (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) amid massive social change in the mid 20th century. Click here for a link to the University of Iowa Press page. Family Bible developed while Melissa was the first Library fellow at the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute. Currently Melissa is Head of Cataloguing at the Duke Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Department.

Professor Emeritis John Riddle publishes History of the Middle Ages

Rowman and Littlefield has published John Riddle's History of the Middle Ages.

This clear and comprehensive text covers the Middle Ages from the classical era to the late medieval period. Distinguished historian John Riddle provides a cogent analysis of the rulers, wars, and events-both natural and human-that defined the medieval era. Taking a broad geographical perspective, Riddle includes northern and eastern Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic states. Each, he convincingly shows, offered values and institutions-religious devotion, toleration and intolerance, laws, ways of thinking, and changing roles of women-that presaged modernity. In addition to traditional topics of pen, sword, and word, the author explores other driving forces such as science, religion, and technology in ways that previous textbooks have not. He also examines such often-overlooked issues as medieval gender roles and medicine and seminal events such as the crusades from the vantage point of both Muslims and eastern and western Christians.
Click here for a link to the press's page.

Dr. Holly Brewer to speak at Cameron Village Library's Benjamin Franklin Exhibit

Febuary 15, 2008- As part of the Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World traveling exhibit, Dr. Holly Brewer, Associate Professor of Early American History at NCSU will discuss "Franklin and the American Revolution" Thursday, February 21 at 6:30pm, Cameron Village Library (www.wakegov.com/libraries). In the years leading up to the American Revolution, Ben Franklin played a key role, first as an arbiter with British authorities, then as an activist campaigning for revolution. How did Franklin go from loyal subject to revolutionary, and why was his choice so important to the Revolution? Please join Dr. Brewer as she explores these crucial questions of allegiance, principles and Revolution. Call 856-6703 for more information.

Dr. William Kimler to speak at North Carolina Botanical Garden's "Darwin Day" celebration

On February 12, 2008 the North Carolina Botanical Garden will celebrate"Darwin Day," an international celebration of science and humanity, with a lecture event on "Darwin the Botanist." Please join Dr. William Kimler, Associate Professor of History at NCSU to discuss the influence of botany and some famous botanists on both Darwin's training and his work as a naturalist. A look at Darwin's lifelong interest in the biology of plants reveals some surprising insights into his scientific work on evolution.

The public is invited to this event from 7:00pm -9:00pm at the Botanical Garden, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://ncbg.unc.edu). Call 962-0522 for information and to register for either of these events. (Fee: NCBG members $8; others $10)

Jenny Litzelman produces award-winning activity guide for NPS

During her practicum at the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, Jenny Litzelman, a second-year Public History student, created a Junior Ranger Activity Book which has now won a Kentucky History Award of Merit. Kentucky History Awards, which acknowledge outstanding achievements in the field of history by individuals, civic leaders, communities, museums, and historical organizations. The awards celebrate outstanding programs, exhibits, Web sites, and publications, as well as individuals who have excelled in the field or made lifetime contributions to the preservation, awareness, and appreciation of Kentucky's history.

Major book award for Dr. Holly Brewer!

The American Association of Law Schools has awarded Dr. Brewer the 2008 Biennial Book Prize of the Order of the Coif for By Birth or Consent: Children, Law and the Anglo-American Authority in Revolution.

W. Turrentine Jackson Award

The Pacific Historical Review has named Prof. Matthew Booker the recipient of the 2007 W. Turrentine Jackson Prize, which honors authors of the most outstanding articles emanating from dissertations on any aspect of the history of the American West in the twentieth century.

The prize-winning article was "Oysters and Oyster Pirates: Property and Inequality in San Francisco Bay."

Dr. William C. Harris

Congratulations to Dr. William C. Harris, professor emeritus from our own Department of History, on the glowing review received from the History Book Club (historybookclub.com) for his new book, Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency. Called a "masterful analysis" by the review, Dr. Harris's book can be purchased at the University of Kansas Press website. For the review, please click here.

2007 North Carolina Museums Council Student Memorial Award

Congratulations to Jennifer Litzelman, a student in the NCSU Public History M.A. program, who has received the North Carolina Museums Council 2007 Student Memorial Award.

The Student Memorial Award, established in honor of deceased members of the North Carolina Museums Council, is available to undergraduate and graduate students interested in a career in museums. The award pays for the cost of the annual meeting registration, reimbursement for up to $250 of travel expenses, and a one-year student membership in NCMC. The recipient of the Student Memorial Award will be recognized during the awards ceremony and will serve as co-chair of the Student Affairs Committee for one year.

New home for the Department of History

In December 2006 the Department of History left its home of thirty years in Harrelson Hall to reside in the newly renovated Withers Hall. Please keep this in mind when visiting our faculty and/or staff, and pardon the mess as we settle in.

Dr. S. Thomas Parker publishes new work

Congratulations to Prof. Parker has published The Roman Frontier in Central Jordan: Final Report on the Limes Arabicus Project, 1980-1989, 2 vols. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006.

Dr. Blair Kelley wins National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend

Congratulations to Prof. Kelley for receiving a 2006 NEH summer stipend which funds two consecutive months of full-time research and writing.

She also has been named a fellow with the NEH Summer Institute at Harvard's W.E.B. Dubois Institute for African and African American Research.

Congratulations to Dr. Tony LaVopa on receiving the John S. Guggenheim Fellowship

We're pleased to announced that Prof. LaVopa has been awarded a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship. Tony is the first member of our department to be awarded a Guggenheim and only the second person in NCSU's history. Please join us in congratulating Tony for receiving this prestigious and highly competitive fellowship. For more information, view the NCSU Article. We're also delighted to announce that Prof. LaVopa has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professorship at University of Edinburgh for the 2006-2007 academic year. The Leverhulme Trust has the status in England of the Mellon Foundation here, and British universities must compete to obtain one of these visiting professorships, of which there appear to be only one or two awarded per year. Congratulations Dr. LaVopa!

Dr. Jim Crisp receives the Fehrenbach Award for his book Sleuthing the Alamo

the Texas Historical Commission honored Prof. Crisp with a Fehrenbach Award for his book Sleuthing the Alamo. The Fehrenback Award recognizes outstanding original research and publication in the field of Texas History and carries a prize of $1000. Please join us in commending Dr. Crisp on his achievement!