Department of History

Jun 25, 2012

Meet Historian Blair Kelley

Associate Professor of History Blair L. M. Kelley is the subject of a video created by students in COM 437 - Advanced Digital Video, in the Department of Communication. The video highlights Kelley's research and her passion for teaching. Kelley's research has focused on the social movements that undergirded change for African Americans. Among the courses she teaches are oral history and the civil rights movement. This semester she co-taught "The South in Black and White" with Duke University historian Tim Tyson. Students enrolled from campuses throughout the Triangle to explore the history of race in the South.

Jun 23, 2012

Cedars in the Pines

Through the generosity of Moise Khayrallah, the rich history of Lebanese Americans in North Carolina is being researched, documented, preserved, and shared. The Khayrallah Program for Lebanese-American Studies is making possible a documentary, "Cedars in the Pines," on the history of the community that will air on UNC-TV; a traveling museum exhibit; a resource book and lesson plans for K-12 educators to teach the history of Lebanese-Americans in our state; and an online archive housing the personal stories, letters, photos, home movies and newspaper clippings of the state’s Lebanese-Americans.

Jun 5, 2012

Rachel Trent – CHASS Thesis Award

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences selected Rachel Trent’s “Seeing the Nation by Numbers: The 1874 Statistical Atlas and the Evolution of a Demographic Imagination,” written under the direction of Professor Craig Friend, for the 2012 CHASS Thesis Award. Rachel graduated with her M.A. in Public History in 2012

May 10, 2012

2012 Faculty Awards

Faculty were recognized for outstanding accomplishments in teaching, advising, research and engagement at a ceremony held in Caldwell Lounge April 25, 2012. "The range of scholarship represented by these awards demonstrates the breadth of excellence in our faculty," said CHASS Dean Jeff Braden. "I am proud of all our faculty, and humbled to serve as your dean."

Apr 24, 2012

The Grand Tour and the Expansion of the British Mind: Cultural Imperatives in the Eighteenth Century

Hensley, Katherine Lydia. “The Grand Tour and the Expansion of the British Mind: Cultural Imperatives in the Eighteenth Century.” (Under the direction of Dr. Brent Sirota.) During the eighteenth century, many British young men of wealth and standing traveled to the Continent as a means of completing their education. As part of that experience they…

Apr 10, 2012

How African Americas, Native Americans, and White Women Found Their Voices in Southern Appalachian Music

Howard, Jennifer Camille. “Sounds of Silence: How African Americas, Native Americans, and White Women Found Their Voices in Southern Appalachian Music.” (Under the direction of Dr. Craig Friend.) This thesis examines the complex identity of southern Appalachian folk music. One of the most common misconceptions is that southern Appalachian folk music is the realm of white…

Mar 29, 2012

Christian Writers, Pagan Subjects: The Preservation of Norse Religious Imagery through Legal Culture in Iceland

Bennett, Shaun. “Christian Writers, Pagan Subjects: The Preservation of Norse Religious Imagery through Legal Culture in Iceland.” (Under the direction of Dr. Julie Mell.) The rich literary history of medieval Iceland has served as a phenomenal historical resource for life in medieval Iceland both before and after Christianity came to the island in the summer…

Mar 28, 2012

Extralegal and English: the Robin Hood Legend and Increasing National Identity in the Middling Sorts of Late Medieval England

Black, Tiffany Elyse. “Extralegal and English: the Robin Hood Legend and Increasing National Identity in the Middling Sorts of Late Medieval England.” (Under the direction of Dr. Julie Mell.) Evidence for the legendary hero Robin Hood exists from at least the thirteenth century in England; however, throughout the long fifteenth century, a great efflorescence of…

Mar 20, 2012

Two Dead in Mississippi: Black Power, Vietnam, Memory, and the 1970 Jackson State Shootings

McGeorge, Heather. “Two Dead in Mississippi: Black Power, Vietnam, Memory, and the 1970 Jackson State Shootings.” (Under the direction of Dr. Katherine Mellen Charron.) This thesis explores the 1970 shootings at Jackson State College in Mississippi to illuminate the intersections between American foreign policy, the Black Power Movement, and significant silences in the nation’s collective…