Dr. Noll Has a Visitor
Reuben Miller on Mass Incarceration and the Supervised Society
Upon release, incarcerated people are greeted by more than 48,000 laws, policies and administrative sanctions that limit their participation in the labor and housing markets, in the culture and civic life of the city, and even within their families. They are subject to rules other people are not subject to and shoulder responsibilities other people are not expected to shoulder. They, in fact, occupy an alternate form of political membership—what Miller calls “carceral citizenship.”
Back to School!
Whether you arrive in Gainesville by plane, automobile, or a good old-fashioned donkey, the History Department welcomes you back for the 2018-19 academic year. Be sure to check out our many courses listed in the slideshow below–including brand new classes on China–and please have safe travels. Check in to this site from time to time for updates on news and happenings in the Department of History and like us on Facebook
Welcome back!
Why Did You Become a Historian?
Dr. Lily Gu
erra (pictured here as a youngster) provides a compelling answer to this question in the most recent edition of the American Historical Association’s Perspectives. Dr. Guerra responds to an earlier article by AHA President Mary Beth Norton entitled “Why Are You a Historian?” After a meeting with UF’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, Dr. Guerra was inspired to write about her own experiences growing up in Kansas as the child of Cuban expatriates and how that influenced her decision to practice history.
You can read Dr. Guerra’s article in its entirety by clicking here.
Jack Davis Wins Pulitzer Prize for History
We are thrilled to share the news that UF History’s Jack Davis has won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book The Gulf: The History of an American Sea. In announcing the award, the Pulitzer called this book: “An important environmental history of the Gulf of Mexico that brings crucial attention to Earth’s 10th-largest body of water, one of the planet’s most diverse and productive marine ecosystems.” The Gulf has received much praise, as it has been appeared on the front page of the New York Times Book Review and won the 2017 Kirkus Prize.
A warm congrats are in order, and we look forward to Jack’s next book, which will be a look at the American Bald Eagle.
The Dog Days of the Academic Year?
The History Department wishes all its undergraduate and graduate students good luck as they embark on these final days of the 2017-18 academic year. If you are graduating, congratulations and we wish you success. If not, then we look forward to seeing you next year. No matter where you are headed, please stay in touch with us. One good way to do that is to stay tuned to this website, or to visit our Facebook page at: UF History Facebook
Have a great summer!
Aaron Sheehan-Dean on the American Civil War
The Birth of an Icon
Please join us for a public lecture on Thursday, 15 March, 2018 4:00 pm at the History Department conference room in 5 Keene-Flint Hall, as Professor Azzan Yadin-Israel of Rutgers University will present: “The Birth of an Icon: How the Forbidden Fruit became an Apple.”
Though we often assume Adam and Eve sinned by eating an apple, the Book of Genesis does not identify the Forbidden Fruit. Even at the end of the 12th century, when the great Bible scholar Andrew of St. Victor surveyed the various views on the Forbidden Fruit he knew of only two possible candidates: the fig and the grapevine. Three hundred years later, throughout northern Europe, the apple would become the Forbidden Fruit par excellence. What occurred during this period to transform the apple into the dominant iconographic representation of the Fall of Man? Weaving together insights from medieval Bible commentary, art history, and historical linguistics, this lecture offers a novel interpretation of an enduring icon.
This talk is open to the public and is co-sponsored by the departments of History and Classics
Considering the History Honors Program?
For UF undergrads interested in doing a Senior Thesis on a historical subject, consider the History Honors Program. It might not be the School of Athens, but it’s pretty close. And you don’t even have to be a history major to apply! For more details, you can either visit our webpage link or click here to see our flyer.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Honors Coordinator, Dr. Jessica Harland-Jacobs at harlandj@ufl.edu.
Gary and Eleanor Simons Lecture–Joseph Crespino on Atticus Finch
The History Department is proud to announce that this year’s Gary and Eleanor Simons Lecture will be on Thursday, 22 March 2018 at 5:30 in Smathers 100. Dr. Joseph Crespino of the Emory University History Department will give a talk entitled, “Searching for Atticus Finch: Harper Lee & American History.”
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most beloved novels in American literature, and its hero, Atticus Finch, has long been considered a touchstone of decency and probity. Yet the publication of her apprentice novel, Go Set a Watchman, in 2015 has muddied the waters of Lee’s literary legacy. Dr. Crespino has uncovered new archival sources that shed important light on not only how Lee’s relationship with her father inspired the paradoxical characterizations of Atticus that emerged in her two novels, but also the personal and political battles that shaped the lives of white southerners in the closing decades of the Jim Crow South.
This talk is free and open to the public.