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Regina Kunzel to Deliver History Department's Distinguished Annual Lecture

Monday, April 11, 2022

Titled “In Treatment: Psychiatry and the Archives of Modern Sexuality,” the lecture will explore the encounter of sexual- and gender-variant people with psychiatry and psychoanalysis in the mid-20th-century US and examine the role of psychiatric scrutiny and stigma in the making of modern sexuality. Focusing on the archive of St. Elizabeths Hospital, the federal hospital for the mentally ill in Washington, DC, Kunzel will reflect on its meaning and challenges to queer history.

UMass History Department, Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab Hosted Event Addressing Attacks on Teaching Accurate History

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

For not the first time in U.S. history, the content of public school curricula is being challenged across the country. Since January 2021, 41 states have introduced bills or taken other steps that...

Journalist and Biographer Brooke Hauser is History’s 2022 Writer in Residence

Friday, March 11, 2022

“What’s the meaning of work?” will explore the ever-evolving landscape of work — and the changing mindsets of workers — through a personal lens as well as examples from history, literature, popular culture, and news. Particular attention will be paid to working women, from the original “girl bosses” of the Baby-Sitters Club to the single women who looked to Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown for career advice to the droves of women who left the workforce during COVID-19 and the often-invisible labor of mothers.

Samuel Redman publishes new book ‘Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology’

Thursday, March 3, 2022

Recently appearing on an episode of The Dirt Podcast “Studying Salvage Anthropology with Samuel Redman,” Redman discusses his latest book, Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology,...
Film poster for 'Ashes to Ashes'

HFA to Host Screening and Discussion of “Ashes to Ashes”

Friday, February 18, 2022

The film explores the pain and triumph of Winfred Rembert, who, at the time of the film’s making was the only living survivor of an attempted lynching, and chronicles his friendship with Dr. Whitaker, who is on a mission to memorialize the forgotten 4,000 African Americans lynched during the Jim Crow era. Together, their journeys of healing paint a powerful portrait.

Richard Chu standing in a red shirt next to a sculpture, in front of hanging artwork

Richard T. Chu Appointed to Asian American and Pacific Island Commission

Monday, February 7, 2022

Throughout his career, Chu has striven to help create a just and equitable society. He has done this by doing research, writing, and teaching about the roots and causes of racism and other forms of discrimination. He has worked closely with individuals, communities, and organizations both at UMass and outside that are involved in building a better society.