History Review DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters | Fall 2020 Newsletter FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY fau.edu/history Inside this Issue Message From remote option for those who were unable to the Chair travel. Most classes were taught synchronously, Student News ....................5 meaning that students logged into a Zoom-like As you can see, the portal at regular class times, and faculty taught Graduates 2019/20 ...........6 current newsletter DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY & Where are They Now? as if they were in a classroom. The Spring 2021 is not as robust as semester is shaping up to give all students Graduate Studies ..............7 in years past, for the option of taking their courses in person if obvious reasons. I that was the way the classes had been usually 2019/20 M.A. Thesis..........8 never could have taught. With the pandemic still rampant in imagined in the many years I’ve lived on this South Florida, there is the possibility this could Faculty News....................13 earth that I would be wearing a mask in public all change, which may already be the case by for over nine months due to a pandemic that the time you read this. Department of History was raging over the land. And I, along with Special points of interest Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters most of my colleagues, never thought we Needless to say, other adjustments came in the coronavirus’ wake. With social distancing, PO Box 3091 would be teaching courses remotely instead of in person during that time. Without a doubt, mask wearing, and limited gatherings, after 777 Glades Road the many changes our department has faced Spring Break, the department office operated Boca Raton, FL 33431-0991 in 2020 will have lasting repercussions, for remotely, and our special events had to be good or ill; but if there is a silver lining it is that canceled. Virtual events became possible, and we’ve still been able to teach our classes and so we decided to continue with some of our Phone: 561-297-3840 be there for our students as they grow and signature public offerings. A wonderful John continue their education. O’Sullivan Memorial Lecture was delivered Fax: 561-297-2704 on November 20th with Dr. Andra Gillespie of Email: [email protected] Student Spotlight featuring So, how did we get here? As most of you Emory University speaking on Race and Politics: Isabel Hidalgo.......................11 know, the acute dangers posed by COVID-19 The Crossroads of Modern American Politics. became all-too-apparent in early March so And we are proud to host CNN Political Analyst that students did not return to campus from David Gergen as the speaker for the Alan B. Spring Break. Faculty quickly—and rather and Charna Larkin Symposium early in 2021 miraculously—revamped their classes so that will be accessible virtually as well. they could be taught online. This was made possible through a Herculean effort by the Before the “great detour” that 2020 took university’s eLearning office to design and offer we were able to host a few outstanding expertly-directed workshops on how to make public events in person, including hosting the the transition. For the most part, students and eminent presidential historian, Doris Kearns faculty rose to the challenge. Goodwin, for February’s Alan B. and Charna Alan B. and Charna Larkin Larkin Symposium. The Larkin Graduate Fellow, Symposium on the American This same teaching modality continued Camila Giraldo, gives you in this newsletter the Presidency featuring through the summer. By the fall semester, full rundown of her visit. FALL 2020 NEWSLETTER • fau.edu/history • featuring David Gergen........17 students were beginning to return to campus History Review and some classes were held in person with a (continued) Statement in Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement Department Of History In March, two of our esteemed alumni, former Ambassador In other exciting news, Dr. Kelly Shannon was appointed the new The deaths of Corey Jones, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, For these reasons, we also believe that simply affirming our Robert “Skipp” Orr and former U.S. Representative Dan Mica, director of the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights Initiative. Dr. Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others, have solidarity is not enough to bring about change in our communities. shared the stage to talk to a large student crowd about their Stephen Engle is continuing as the university’s Faculty Athletic brought us as a nation to a crossroads. Florida has been far We must do more. Therefore, we pledge to: careers and how their history backgrounds at FAU were Representative. Congratulations to graduate student, Isabel from immune to such tragedies. Indeed, on February 26, 2012, instrumental in their success. Hidalgo, for receiving the prestigious Kelly/Strul Emerging George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, • Create a concentration within the department in Scholar Award. This past year the department was awarded Florida, murdered Trayvon Martin and was subsequently Africana History. Early 2020 also saw the grand opening of the Avron B. the Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship in Memory of Kenneth acquitted. Martin’s murder ignited a national conversation • Prioritize hiring faculty who recognize the tremendous impact Fogelman Sports Museum on the Boca Raton Campus. R. Lavoy, Jr. by the Society for Colonial Wars, which will help us about racial profiling and policing that, along with other of the African diaspora in history and who incorporate it into Fogelman, a former owner of the Kansas City Royals, and a promote early American history. episodes of racial violence, have sparked the international their teaching. sports and history enthusiast, assembled this unique collection Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). This systemic violence has to spotlight the role of sports in critical moments of Meanwhile, the FAU History Project continues under the • Work to center minority experiences and voices in all been further crystalized by the current COVID-19 crisis, which history courses. U.S. history. History professor, Dr. Sandra Norman, helped steady direction of Dr. Norman and Dr. Evan Bennett. Faculty has disproportionately impacted communities of color. As a with the many logistical components, including hiring history members continue to research and publish, even in restricted department we want to state, unequivocally, that we stand in • Make deliberate efforts to work with community and student students as interns. One of those, M.A. student, Isabel Hidalgo, circumstances, and our students excel and win awards for their solidarity with the BLM movement, our students of color, organizations engaged in the fight for racial justice. writes about the museum and her experiences elsewhere in exceptional academic achievements. and all those who have been fighting for racial justice. this newsletter. As we look to the future, more than ever, the History As a history department, we know that recent events are in solidarity, Even with the disruptions of the pandemic, the department Department can use your support. If you are able to help out, consistent with our nation’s history of racial violence. In order Evan Bennett Christopher Ely Douglas McGetchin was fortunate to hire three outstanding new tenure-track feel free to contact me ([email protected]) or contribute to any to heal our nation’s present circumstances, we must face our Boyd Breslow Adrian Finucane Heath Mitton assistant professors. We are indeed thrilled to welcome of the funds listed on the last page of this newsletter. nation’s past. Here in South Florida, that means coming to terms Candace Cunningham Barbara Ganson Sandra Norman Dr. Candace Cunningham (Ph.D. South Carolina), Dr. Eyal with a long history of racial segregation, political terrorism, Miriam Dalin Eric J. Hanne Mark Rose Weinberg (Ph.D. Texas-Austin), and Dr. Jermaine Scott (Ph.D. This has been an unusual year, to say the least, but we’ve unequal schools, unfair housing policies, and police brutality. Jeffrey Dockswell Kenneth Holloway Jermaine Scott Northwestern) as colleagues. Dr. Scott specializes in African weathered what I hope is the worst of it. Thank you for More importantly, we believe that engaging with this troubling Claudia Dunlea Douglas Kanter Kelly Shannon diaspora, sports, and African American history and will teach continued encouragement and support. Here’s to a new and history will play a vital role in understanding current events and Brian Dunne Patricia Kollander Jason Sharples courses in those areas. Dr. Weinberg’s research is in modern better 2021. Please stay in touch! bringing about community reconciliation and racial justice. Stephen Engle Ben Lowe Eyal Weiberg Brazilian Cold War history and he will teach courses also in modern Latin America and medical history. Dr. Cunningham, Ben Lowe, Chair Florida Atlantic University is one of the most diverse universities Read the American Historical Association’s statement whose research is in African American women’s history and the Department of History in the United States, located at the nexus of the Americas and on the history of racist violence in the United States: history of sexuality, also brings tremendous skills in public and the Caribbean. Our international student body demands a historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/aha-statement- digital history, and she will be developing courses in all of global understanding of freedom and justice. Therefore, it is onthe-history-of-racist-violence-in-the-united-states-(june-2020)] these fields. particularly important to collaborate with our students and the wider community. 2 3 The Bachelor of Arts in History | Message from the Undergraduate Director Over the 2019-2020 academic year, the 200+ members of the Department of History’s undergraduate program have continued to excel in myriad ways, at times under the most trying of circumstances.