About the Department

History Department News

• Professor Eugenia Gorogianni's “Sports and Society in Ancient Greence and Rome” receives national recognition for course design
  

  Evi Gorogianni, professor of instruction, in the Department of History, has had her course, “Sports and Society in Ancient Greece and Rome” receive the Quality Matters (QM) Certification mark after scoring an incredible 100/100.

• History documentary featuring UA faculty to be shown at Akron Civic Theatre
  

  Dr. Kevin Kern and Dr. Greg Wilson were featured in a documentary film, "Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Disaster," that was recently nominated for five regional Emmy awards.

• Dr. Karen E. Spierling to Deliver the 2023 Miller Lecture
  

  Her topic will be “Scandal in the Reformation: How to Shock your Neighbor in 16th-century Geneva.”

• UA history professor headed to semester of teaching and learning at the Sorbonne
  Dr. Martha Santos will be an invited scholar at the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Université Sorbonne, Nouvelle-Paris this fall.
• Grant will fund ‘Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time’ project
  History professor Dr. Gregory Wilson is one of the lead scholars on a new, transnational research project to understand the deep roots, experiences and long-term consequences of deindustrialization.
• To this group, trivia is a great pursuit!
  Several members of the UA community are on a trivia team called “The Fellowship,” and hope the team is voted into the Trivia Hall Of Fame.
• Meet Pinar Odabasi Tasci: From Turkey to Akron to the Ottoman Empire
  Pinar Odabasi Tasci is pursuing her dream — of earning a doctorate in Middle East history — through our Graduate School at The University of Akron.
• History is not a game. Or is it?
  UA's Dr. Martin Wainwright authors unique textbook, using video games to teach history
• University of Akron Students Explore History in France
  

  UA students and faculty are traveling to Le Mans, France this summer for an experiential learning program in Humanities and French history. Read what participants from the previous trips said about their time studying in Europe and find out how to apply this year!

• Michney to Present the 2017 Knepper Lecture in History
  

  The Departments of History at the University of Akron and Kent State University welcome Prof. Todd Michney for the 2017 George W. Knepper Endowed Lecture on Monday, Oct. 2. Michney will present "Studying African Americans and Homeownership in the Long Twentieth Century: Lessons from Cleveland and Atlanta" at 5:30 p.m. in Simmons Hall Auditorium on the University of Akron campus. The lecture and following reception are free and open to the public.

• Historian Christopher Kenney Honored
  

  The Ohio Museums Association recently honored History faculty member Christopher Kenney at its annual awards ceremony. Kenney is the Director of Education at the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton and is the Department of History’s specialist in museums and archives education. He received the prestigious Silver Award in Visual Communications in recognition of his new book, The McKinley Years: The Life and Times of our 25th President.

• 19th Annual Miller Humanities Lecture: Fascism Then and Now
  

  The Department of History and the Sally A. Miller Humanities Center welcome Prof. Geoff Eley as the speaker for the 19th Annual Sally A. Miller Humanities Lecture. Prof. Eley, a specialist in modern European history, is the Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Michigan. Eley will present his lecture, “Fascism Then and Now,” at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22 in the Simmons Hall Auditorium at the University of Akron. The lecture is free and open to the public.

• Okoh Praised for Innovative African History Course
  

  The Council on Foreign Relations recently featured an interview with the Department of History's Prof. Oghenetoja Okoh on their website. Prof. Okoh integrated the Council's web-based simulation program, Model Diplomacy, in her course on Modern African History.

• 2016 Knepper Lecture on History of the Black Panthers
  

  The Department of History at the University of Akron welcomes Professor Waldo E. Martin of the University of California, Berkeley for the 2016 George W. Knepper Endowed Lecture on Monday, October 10 at 5:30 p.m. in 111 Simmons Hall. Prof. Martin will present "'Ready for the Revolution?' History and the Black Panther Party." The lecture and following reception are free and open to the public.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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?"

• History professors 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.

• History Professor'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.

• 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.
• History professor named Public Policy Leadership Institute Fellow
  Dr. Zachery Williams is one of 15 people selected from a national pool of applicants to be named a Center for American Progress Leadership Institute Fellow.
• History prof to lecture on Israel-Palestine Conflict
  The lecture is free and open to the public on Tuesday, Sept. 18, in Leigh Hall 107.
• Wainwright is state's top history professor
  For his dedication, his interest in his students and his attentiveness to their needs, A. Martin Wainwright has earned the 2012 Distinguished Teaching Award from the Ohio Academy of History.
• UA Campbell Art History Lecture on Sept. 23
  Explore Queen Isabella's medieval manuscripts and stormy life during Anne Rudloff Stanton's lecture.
• UA professor pens Holocaust legacy book
  Michael Schuldiner, chair of the Department of English, has published several works.
• History Department Presents the 10th Annual George Knepper Lecture
  

  The University of Akron History Department will present the 10th annual George Knepper Lecture on March 15, 2011.