About the Department
Students and faculty in the Department of History explore the forces that drove past events and shaped the present. Our faculty members have a wide range of teaching and research interests, from the ancient world to the recent past. We encourage students to design degree programs that enable them to both pursue their own historical interests and obtain a broader understanding of history across time and place.
The department offers six degree programs and certificates. We also work closely with students completing interdisciplinary certificates in Museums and Archives as well as Public Humanities. Take a look around our website to learn more about our programs, scholarships, and career opportunities for students of history!
History Department News
2022 Miller-Knepper Lecture: Empire of Rubber
Prof. Gregg Mitman of the University of Wisconsin will present "Empire of Rubber: Scenes from Firestone’s Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia" at the 2022 Combined Miller-Knepper Lecture. Simmons Hall Auditorium, Thursday, March 31 at 5:30 p.m. Read More»
New M.A. Degree in Applied History
Interested in practicing hands-on history? Check out our new M.A. program in Applied History and Public Humanities! Read More»
Santos Spends Fall Semester 2021 at Sorbonne
Congrats to Prof. Martha Santos, an invited scholar this fall at the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris! Read More»
UA History Alum Writes about Racism and TV
Read Dr. Kate Flach's (UA M.A. in History) featured piece in the Washington Post on TV's past attempts to address racism. Read More»
Wainwright to Offer "History of Video Games"
Learn more about Prof. Wainwright's "History of Video Games" course (offered this spring) in this new interview! Read More»
Innovative Salsa Unclass Performs
Prof. Santos's "History in Motion" Salsa Unclass students recently performed their final project on campus. Read More»
Wainwright Publishes Innovative New Book
Virtual History: How Videogames Portray the Past examines many of the most popular historical video games released over the last decade and explores their portrayal of history. Read More»
Hixson Addresses National Press Club
Prof. Walter Hixson recently spoke to the National Press Club about the history of foreign policy in the Middle East. Click below to view his nationally-televised talk! Watch»
2019 Miller Lecture: Pearls and the Cost of Empire
Prof. Molly Warsh of the University of Pittsburgh will present "Empire Beneath the Waves: Pearls and the Violence and Beauty of the Early Americas" at the 2019 Miller Lecture. Simmons Hall Auditorium, Thursday, April 4 at 5:45 p.m. Read More»
Martino's New Book Studies Colonial Women's War Making
Prof. Gina Martino's new book Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast looks at English, French, and Native women who made war in conflicts that shaped the future of North America. Read More»
Michney to Present the 2017 Knepper Lecture
Prof. Todd Michney of Georgia Tech will present "Studying African Americans and Homeownership in the Long Twentieth Century: Lessons from Cleveland and Atlanta" at the 2017 Annual Knepper Lecture. The lecture will take place in Simmons Hall Auditorium on Monday, Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m. Read More»
Christopher Kenney's New Book Honored
The History Department's museums and archives specialist Christopher Kenney received the Ohio Museums Association’s Silver Award in Visual Communications for his new book, The McKinley Years: The Life and Times of our 25th President. Read More»
19th Annual Miller Lecture: "Fascism Then and Now"
Prof. Geoff Eley of the University of Michigan will present "Fascism Then and Now" at the 19th Annual Miller Humanities Lecture. The lecture will take place in the Simmons Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, March 22 at 5:30 p.m. Read More»
Okoh Praised for Innovative Teaching
The Council on Foreign Relations recently featured the History Department's Prof. Oghenetoja Okoh on their website. Okoh integrated the Council's web-based simulation program, Model Diplomacy, in her course on Modern African History. Read More»
Odabasi Tasci Wins Fulbright-Hays Grant
Ph.D. Candidate Pinar Odabasi Tasci of the History Department has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Grant by the US Department of Education to conduct research in Turkey. Read More»
2016 Knepper Lecture on History of the Black Panthers
Prof. Waldo Martin of UC Berkeley will speak on the history of the movement Monday, October 11 at 5:30 p.m. in 111 Simmons Hall. His talk is titled "'Ready for the Revolution?' History and the Black Panther Party." Read More»
Levin is UA Teacher of the Year
Prof. Michael Levin of the History Department has received the prestigious University of Akron Outstanding Teacher Award for 2016. Read More»
Outstanding Junior and Senior History Majors Honored
The History Department has named graduating senior Matt Lang as this year’s David C. Riede Award winner and junior Bridget Sciscento winner of the Summerfield Baldwin Award. Read More»
2016 Miller Lecture on Ballet in 20th Century Cuba
Dr. Lester Tomé's talk, "Black-and-White Pas de Deux," will be held on March 10 at 7 p.m. in Kolbe Hall's Daum Theatre. Tomé will focus on ballet's role in forming ideas about race, sex, and democracy in the Caribbean nation. Learn More»
New Book by Harp Studies Rubber's History
Prof. Stephen Harp's A World History of Rubber: Empire, Industry, and the Everyday looks at the role of rubber in world wars, in global empires, and in cities such as Akron, the Rubber City. Read More»
Hixson Publishes New Book on US Foreign Relations
American Foreign Relations: A New Diplomatic History, published by the Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, is the latest book from Dr. Walter L. Hixson, Distinguished Professor of History. Read More»
Greenberg to Present this Year's Knepper Lecture
The award-winning historian Amy Greenberg will deliver the 2015 Knepper Lecture at Quaker Station 1 on Wednesday, October 28 at 6 p.m. Her topic is "A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico.” Read More»
Prof. Gordon to Speak as Guest Historian at Andersonville Ceremony
Prof. Lesley Gordon will speak at a ceremony at Andersonville National Historic Site to memorialize the Union soldiers who lost their lives while prisoners in the infamous Georgia camp during the Civil War. Read More»
Santos Invited to Present Research at International Conference
Prof. Martha Santos will present “Mothering Slaves, Labor, and the Persistence of Slavery in Northeast Brazil: A Non-Plantation View from the Hinterlands of Ceará, 1813-1884” at the University of São Paulo in September. Read More»
Students Explore History in France
UA students and faculty traveled to Le Mans, France this summer for an experiential learning program in Humanities and French history. Read More»
Schutte's New Book Examines England of Queen Mary I
In her new book, Mary I and the Art of Book Dedications: Royal Women, Power, and Persuasion (Palgrave-Macmillan), recent graduate Dr. Valerie Schutte (Ph.D., History), studies book dedications as religious and political instruments of power during the reign of Mary I of England. Read More»
History Professor Levin Addresses Akron's Italian-American Community
History Professor Michael Levin answers the question: "What Did It Mean to be Italian During the Italian Renaissance?" Read More»
Kern and Thurman earn high honors from the Ohio Academy of History
History professors Dr. Kira Thurman and Dr. Kevin Kern received major awards for research and service from Ohio's top organization for historians this month. Read More»
Hixson's Latest Book Honored
Dr. Walter L. Hixson's most recent book, American Settler Colonialism: A History (Palgrave-Macmillan), has been selected as an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice, the official publication of the American Library Association. Read More»
Book examines one of Civil War’s most disastrous units
In 'A Broken Regiment,' author Lesley J. Gordon tells the story of common soldiers whose tales do not conform to traditional narratives of military heroism. Read More»
Akron Ph.D. Graduate Accepts Prestigious Academic Appointment
Maurice Labelle (Ph.D., History, 2012) has received confirmation of his new position as a tenure-track professor in Middle East History at the University of Saskatchewan. Read More»
Profs. Wilson and Kern Rewrite Ohio History, Creating a “First-rate” Reference
The award winning Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State by History Professors Gregory Wilson and Kevin Kern traces the state's past from prehistory to the present day. Read More»
Wainwright Named Top Educator in Ohio
Professor and Department of History Chair Martin Wainwright was honored with a Distinguished Teacher Award by the Ohio Academy of History. Read More»
CONTACT US
Address:
216 Arts & Sciences
The Department of History
The University of Akron
Akron, OH 44325-1902
Phone: 330-972-7006
Fax: 330-972-5840
Email: History Department»
