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Faculty News

  • David Chang, Finalist for ASA Lora Romero First Book Publication Prize

    AMERICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION AWARDS CEREMONY (2011)

    The Lora Romero First Book Publication Prize was established in 2002
    and is awarded annually for the best-published first book in American
    Studies that highlights the intersections of race with gender, class,
    sexuality and/or nation.

    The 2011 prizewinner is Cynthia M. Blair, I've Got to Make My Livin':
    Black Women's Sex Work in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago (University of
    Chicago Press, 2010).

    Finalist mentions go to:

    David Chang, The Color of the Land: Race, Nation, and the Politics
    of Landownership in Oklahoma, 1832-1929
    (University of North Carolina
    Press, 2010)

    Kelly Lytle Hernández, Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol.
    (University of California Press. 2010)

    December 19th, 2011
  • Evan Roberts Takes Freshmen to 19th Century Chicago

    Students in Evan Roberts freshman seminar are immersing themselves in a different time and place -- 19th century Chicago.

    Continue reading MN Daily: Students go back in time to 19th century Chicago

    December 16th, 2011
  • Caughey Western History Prize to Erika Lee

    Western History Association has awarded the Caughey Western History Prize to Erika Lee for her book, Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America.

    December 8th, 2011
  • Mai Na Lee in the Chronicle of Higher Education

    In March 2011, Mai Na M. Lee, an assistant professor of history at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, participated in a panel at a conference in Madison, Wisconsin titled "To Zomia or Not to Zomia," The panel topic was centered around issues raised by Yale University professor of political science and anthropology James C. Scott in his latest book, The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia (Yale University Press, 2009).

    On Sept. 4, 2011, Mai Na Lee was featured extensively in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education discussing the Zomia region and James C. Scott's book.
    Chronicle of Higher Education: The Battle Over Zomia

    September 29th, 2011
  • Profs. Tracey Deutsch, Erika Lee, and Thomas Wolfe Honored

    Prof. Tracey Deutsch has won the prize for the best book of 2010 awarded by the Association for the Study of Food and Society, for her book, Building a Housewife's Paradise: Gender, Politics, and American Grocery Stores in the Twentieth Century (University of North Caroline Press, 2010).

    More Information

    Prof. Erika Lee has received the Arthur "Red" Motley Exemplary Teaching Award for 2010-11 from the College of Liberal Arts.

    More Information

    Prof. Thomas Wolfe has also won a significant honor this spring in the form of the Council of Graduate Students Outstanding Faculty Award for teaching and advising.

    More Information

    August 31st, 2011
  • Prof. Fischer, 2010-11 Morse-Alumni Award for Undergraduate Education Recipient

    Kirsten Fischer, 2010-11 Morse-Alumni Award for Undergraduate Education Recipient

    Watch Kirsten's award presentation and comments here.

    Each year, the University community honors its best teaching professors with the Morse-Alumni Award for Undergraduate Education and the Graduate-Professional Teaching Award. The Alumni Association is proud to financially support the awards and to host the annual awards ceremony.

    May 13th, 2011
  • Austrian Academy of Sciences Honors Prof. Cohen

    On April 15, 2011, members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Philosophical-Historical Section, elected Professor Gary Cohen a Corresponding Member of the Academy.

    The Austrian Academy of Sciences is the leading organization promoting non-university academic research institutions in Austria. More than 1100 employees carry out extensive research projects. Highly qualified researchers from Austria and abroad are included among the members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and guarantee the "community's" excellence in the sciences and the humanities.

    May 6th, 2011
  • Wed 2/16, 4:00 pm, U Bookstore: Tracey Deutsch's Building a Housewife's Paradise

    Tracey Deutsch will discuss her book, Building a Housewife's Paradise: Gender, Politics, and American Grocery Stores in the Twentieth Century, on Wednesday, February 16 at 4:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union.

    Deutsch examines the history of food distribution in the United States and demonstrates the important roles that gender, business, class and the government have played in the evolution of the American grocery store. The supermarket, that icon of postwar American life, emerged not from straightforward consumer desire for low prices and convenience, but through government regulations, women customers' demands, and retailers' concerns with financial success and control of the "shop floor." From small neighborhood stores to huge corporate chains, Deutsch traces the origins of contemporary food distribution through topics as varied as everyday food purchases, sales tax, ideologies of domesticity, politics and the history of capitalism.

    More Info

    February 15th, 2011
  • Profs. Welke, Matar Named a Scholar of the College in the College of Liberal Arts

    Barbara Y. Welke, University of Minnesota professor of History and professor of Law, and Nabil Matar, University of Minnesota professor of English and professor of History have been named as a Scholar of the College in the College of Liberal Arts for the three year period 2011-12 through 2013-14.

    Award recipients will be honored at a presentation on Feb. 16, 2011, at 3:30 p.m. in the Cowles Auditorium of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

    More info on Welke and Matar

    February 14th, 2011
  • Twin Cities GLBT Oral History Project at U Bookstore - Monday, Jan 24, 4pm

    QueerTC.gif

    Members of the Twin Cities GLBT Oral History Project will discuss their work in Queer Twin Cities on Monday, January 24 at 4:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union.

    The Twin Cities GLBT Oral History project--a collective organization of students, scholars, and activists devoted to documenting and interpreting the lives of GLBT people, presents a collection of essays on Minnesota's vibrant queer communities, past and present.

    Queer Twin Cities is a rich blend of oral history, archival research, and ethnography that uses sexuality to chart connections between people's lives in Minnesota. This collection delivers a critical analysis of local history and community, and fills a glaring omission in the culture and history of Minnesota. Contributors include Kevin P. Murphy, an associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota, and Jennifer L. Pierce, a professor of American studies and the former director of the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies at the University of Minnesota.

    More information:
    UofM Events Calendar
    University of Minnesota Press

    January 19th, 2011
  • Minnesota 2.0: Facebook gives researchers insight into young immigrants

    Minnesota2.0.jpg"Minnesota 2.0," a new digital archive created by the U of M's Immigration History Research Center, used Facebook to examine how first and second generation immigrants deal with the challenges they face in everyday life. Center director Donna Gabaccia says the conversational nature of social media makes "Minnesota 2.0" a unique historical snapshot of young immigrant life in the 21st century.

    Visit the Minnesota 2.0 website
    Read more from MPR about the Minnesota 2.0 project
    Learn more about the Immigration History Research Center

    January 12th, 2011
  • Hy Berman on "Minnesota's Deadliest Blizzards"

    Premieres Thursday November 11 on PBS/TPT channel 2

    tpt's Mary Lahammer tells the history of three deadly Minnesota blizzards along with meteorologist Paul Douglas, climatologist Mark Seeley and historian Hy Berman. 1880s's Laura Ingalls Wilder blizzard, 1888's Schoolchildren's Blizzard and 1940's Armistice Day Blizzard are all brought back to life.

    More viewing times

    November 9th, 2010
  • IAS "Oil Spill" Fall Course Garners National Attention

    "Oil and Water: The Gulf Oil Spill of 2010", a Fall semester course sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study and taught by PhD student Robert Gilmer, is featured on the front page of today's Star Tribune. The story profiling the course offering, instructor Robert Gilmer, and the IAS and its director, Prof. Ann Waltner, is also featured on CNN.com's "Intriguing People" blog, on HuffingtonPost.com, the website of the Washington Post, and the 6/23 edition of The Minnesota Daily.

    Congratulations to Rob and Ann!

    For a course description of "Oil and Water: The Gulf Oil Spill of 2010", click here.

    June 25th, 2010
  • 2009-10 Distinguished Teaching Award - Ruth Mazo Karras

    On Monday, April 26, 2010, Prof. Ruth Mazo Karras was honored as a recipient of the 1009-2010 Graduate/Professional Award.

    The Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education (Graduate/Professional Award) was established in 1999 to recognize contributions to postbaccalaureate, graduate, and professional education. Recipients are chosen for excellence in instruction; involvement in students' research, scholarship, and professional development; development of instructional programs; and advising and mentoring of students.

    Prof. Karras Award Profile

    April 27th, 2010
  • 2010 Dean's Medal to Ruth Mazo Karras

    The College of Liberal Arts has awarded the 2010 Dean's Medal to Professor Ruth Karras, Department of History.

    This honor is awarded each year to a member of the CLA faculty who has demonstrated excellence in scholarship and/or creative activity. Previous recipients have been Professors Edward Prescott, Sara Evans, Lydia Artymiw, Elaine Tyler May, Marcia Eaton, Gordon Legge, Jeylan Mortimer, Clarence Morgan, R. Dennis Cook, David Wilkins, Paula Rabinowitz, and John Freeman.

    The faculty member selected receives an inscribed medal and a cash award, and is invited to address the faculty at the time the award is presented.

    Prof. Karras' Dean's Medalist address: "A Medieval Perspective on Marriage Equality"

    The college will honor the 2010 Dean's Medalist, as well as the 2010 Scholar of the College Awardees, on Monday, February 22, beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the Mississippi Room (3rd floor, Coffman Memorial Union) and is open to the public.

    More Information

    February 9th, 2010
  • Gary Cohen Awarded Austrian Medal of Honor

    CohenMedl02-thumb-350x262-20924.jpg
    Gary Cohen has been awarded the Austrian Medal of Honor (Verdienstkreuz) for Science and Arts, First Class. The ceremony was held at the Austrian Embassy in Washington. He was presented the award by Dr. Christian Prosl, the Austrian Ambassador to the United States.

    Congratulations to Gary! This is a much-deserved recognition of Gary's scholarship on the Habsburg Empire and his leadership of the Center for Austrian Studies.

    November 17th, 2009
  • Regina Kunzel, Lambda Literary Award Recipient

    Regina Kunzel has been awarded the Lambda Literary Award in the category of LGBT Studies for her book Criminal Intimacy: Prison and the Uneven History of Modern American Sexuality. Congratulations Regina.

    June 5th, 2009
  • Donna Gabaccia, Fesler-Lampert Chair

    Tthe Graduate School has appointed Donna Gabaccia to the Fesler-Lampert Chair in Public Humanities for 2009-2010.

    June 5th, 2009
  • Pat McNamara, "Red" Motley Award

    Each year, the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) honors at least one tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has exemplified CLA's highest standards of teaching and scholarship. CLA has selected Pat McNamara as one of this year's recipients of the "Red" Motley Award for Teaching Excellence. Congratulations Pat.

    June 5th, 2009
  • Clarke Chambers, MPR Interview

    Clarke Chambers, Professor Emeritus of the History Department, was interviewed on MPR's "Midday" about growing up in southern Minnesota, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Social Welfare History Archive.

    http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/09/30/midday2/

    October 7th, 2008
  • Steve Ruggles, Regents Professor

    Congratulations to Steve Ruggles, who has been named Regents Professor. The Regents Professorship is the highest rank the University of Minnesota offers and is limited to 25 positions. This is a great honor to Steve, one very richly deserved.

    Continue Reading

    June 16th, 2008
  • Sara Evans

    Sara Evans has been named the Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholar for fall 2008. Congratulations to Sara on a very well-deserved award!

    Continue Reading

    June 16th, 2008
  • Jean O'Brien-Kehoe helps found Native Studies Association; 2009 meeting to be held in Minneapolis

    On April 11, a new academic organization officially came into existence at what will one day be called (by future academics, of course) a ''historic'' meeting held at the University of Georgia - Athens. Say hello to the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association, aka NAISA.

    Continue Reading

    May 13th, 2008
  • Kay Reyerson

    kay.jpg
    Kay Reyerson has been elected a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, a wonderful testament to her accomplishments. The Medieval Academy was founded in 1925 and is the largest and most prestigous association committed to the study of the medieval world.

    Continue reading

    April 14th, 2008
  • Giancarlo Casale

    Congratulations to Assiatant Professor Giancarlo Casale, who has been awarded a Senior Residential Fellowship at Koc University's Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (RCAC), for Spring 2009.

    March 27th, 2008
  • Rudy Vecoli

    Congratulations to Emeritus Professor Rudolph Vecoli who recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society. The award is presented on rare occasions to scholars who have made
    distinguished contributions to the field of immigration and ethnic history. Rudy is only the third recipient of this award.

    March 27th, 2008
  • Stephen Feinstein 1943-2008

    Feinstein1.jpg

    The University of Minnesota lost a popular teacher and influential scholar when Stephen Feinstein, the director of the U's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS) and adjunct professor of history, died on Tuesday, March 4. Feinstein was speaking at the Jewish Film Festival when he suffered an aortic aneurysm that resulted in cardiac arrest. He was 64.

    Continue Reading

    March 6th, 2008
  • Saje Mathieu

    Assistant Professor Saje Mathieu has been awarded the 2008 President's Faculty Multicultural Research Award (PFMRA). PFMRA is designed to encourage and support research on issues related to people of color, particularly in a North American context.
    For more information see PFMRA.

    March 2nd, 2008
  • Ruth Karras

    It is with great pleasure to report that Professor Ruth Karras has been selected as the recipient of the Distinguished Women Scholars Award in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities for 2008. This award will be presented at the OUW spring celebration.

    March 1st, 2008
  • Kirsten Fischer

    Congratulations to Associate Professor Kirsten Fischer who will be the Deutsche Bank Junior Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for American Studies at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 2008-2009. Kirsten will teach a graduate level course on religion in early America and will work on her book "Reason and Wonder: Rational Religion in the Early American Republic."

    February 14th, 2008

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