News and Outreach Activities

The History Department Calendar contains up-to-date listing of events sponsored by the History Department or of interest to Valley historians. We also maintain a list of events especially for History majors and minors. Our honor roll showcases the achievements of Department students, faculty, and staff, and we keep lists of books written by our faculty and by our alumni.

Professor Brian D. Bunk co-edited the book "Nation and Conflict in Modern Spain: Essays in Honor of Stanley G. Payne" published by the Parallel Press in August 2008. Bunk also contributed an essay to the volume titled " "A Sharp Note of Pugnacity": Conservative Youth Groups in Spain, 1914-1939."

The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth _publishes articles from historians and scholars employing a range of methodologies _and perspectives on _children and young people. As an international journal, JHCY creates links between scholars of youth and childhood _working in a variety of time periods and geographic contexts. UMASS and the Five Colleges are particularly strong in notable scholars working in this exciting and emerging field. Already JHCY has received submissions from scholars working on the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Great Britain, Germany, Mongolia, and Turkey. In addition, JHCY's website (www.umass.edu/jhcy) has attracted visitors from at least twenty- three different nations including, China, Italy, Brazil, Ethiopia and Japan.

The emerging field of scholarship devoted to the history of children and young people has seen a growth that merits the kind of intellectual forum that the journal provides. Over the past twenty-five years, the history of children and youth has grown in prominence within the humanities and social sciences. JHCY has received major support from the Vice Provost for Research, Graduate Dean's Office, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the Five College/ Graduate History Program, the History Department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst as well as the Dean of Faculty's office and the English Department at Amherst College. For more information: http://www.umass.edu/jhcy/ To Order: http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_childhood_and_youth/

The Five College Seminar has ended for this semester. Check this page again next semester for more announcements.

Professor Audrey Altstadt has become a Senior Associate Fellow at the Joint Center of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins and the Silk Road Studies Program of Uppsala, Sweden. While not a residential fellowship, Professor Altstadt tells us that it does offer her the option of doing residential research in the future. The Fellows "are chosen on the basis of their scholarly attainments and the relevance of their work to the mission of the Joint Center" which is "producing research products relevant to policy-making on the region." Fellows are expected to act as an advisory body for the various publications of the Joint Center and in annual reviews of Center programs. Professor Altstadt was also among the experts who briefed Anne Derse, the new U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, on Aug. 17 in Washington, D.C.

The History Institute sponsors in-service training for K-12 teachers during the summer and the academic year. Last year's institute was Emerging America: From Agrarian Colonies to World Leader A partnership with the Hampshire Educational Collaborative (HEC) and a dozen area school districts. Local teachers and students will aid schools nationwide to learn about key events in U.S. history that occurred in Western Massachusetts. At a two-week Institute July 10-21 located at Smith College, teachers will study national and local historical documents with University of Massachusetts researchers Bruce Laurie, Leonard Richards, and Marla Miller, as well as Christopher Clark from the University of Connecticut. David Glassberg will present also. Teacher teams will then work with HEC and the Center for Center for Educational Software Development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to post and interpret primary source documents on the web. The Historic Northampton Museum and the Springfield Armory National Historic Site are making available documents and artifacts. The University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Education will also provide crucial support. Teachers from across Western Massachusetts participate at no charge – and even receive professional development points and $1,000 stipends – thanks to a three-year Teaching American History grant to HEC from the U.S. Department of Education.

Regular events include a department colloquium for faculty and grad students, the Five-College Faculty Seminar in History, and occasional talks and activities organized by the undergraduate History Club. See the calendar for currently scheduled events.

The Department sends a newsletter to alumni and friends of the department every year. The last issue was mailed in Fall 2008; if you are not on our mailing list, you may request a copy from the Department (tel. 413-545-1330, e-mail history@history.umass.edu). New graduates will automatically be added to the mailing list. If you move, you can update your address by sending e-mail to updateum@admin.umass.edu or calling 1-800-456-UMASS (1-800-456-8627).

The History Department also hosts the website for the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. (http://www.umass.edu/history/berks) Professor Laura Lovett administers this site as well as the Valley Women's History Collaborative site (http://www.umass.edu/vwhc) dedicated to collecting local women's history. History Graduate Students interested in Women's History are eligible to earn a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies (http://www.umass.edu/wost/) in association with the Women's Studies Program.

Department Awards
Spring 2009

Graduate Awards

Bauer-Gordon

Maria Abunnasr
Daniel Chard
Sandra Perot

History Department Travel Grant

Kate Freedman

Ermonian Award for Outstanding Service as a Graduate Teaching Assistant

Michella Marino

Caldwell Prize: For papers written by M.A. students in calendar year 2008

Niki Lefebvre, "Contempt for Corn"
Laura Miller "African-American Landscape in the Catskills"

Marvin L. Ogilvie Memorial Grant for Foreign Language Study

Andrew Dausch

Bauer-Gordon Research Travel

Yveline Alexis
Laura Miller




Spring 2008

Graduate Awards

University Fellowship

Margo Shea

Bauer-Gordon Research Fellowship

Yveline Alexis
Andrew Dausch

Leonard Richards Award

Michael Shapiro

Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Summer 2008
and Latino Studies Summer 2008 Pre-dissertation Research Award

Yveline Alexis

Undergraduate Awards

Ermonian Award - $1,300 each

Jonathan P. Hunter
Michael P. Lenahan
Jacqueline L. Forman
Zachary W. Simmons
Francis J. Murphy
Kevin M. Cremin
Kate L. Fontaine
Brian Mayor
Michael C. Goddard
Kevin W. Junker
Denise G. Rodrigues
Stephanie M. Newell
Brendan M. Gage
James T. Merrick
Derrick T. Perkins

Robert McNeal Award - $600 each

Jonathan P. Hunter
Michael P. Lenahan

Harold Cary Prize - $60 each

Jonathan P. Hunter
Michael P. Lenahan
Jacqueline L. Forman

Howard H. Quint Prize - $400 each

Jonathan P. Hunter

David H. MacDonnell Prize  - $225 each

Matthew Gwilliam
Ashley Jahrling
Shayna Murphy
Elizabeth Weisberger

Louis S. Greenbaum History Writing Contest Prize

Michael P. Lenahan: $150
Andrew Richmond: $50
Eric M. Dorrington: $150
Jonathan Hunter: $50