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History | Faculty News

Dr. Malfavon’s Article Published

Alan Malfavon’s article “Loyalty, Subjecthood, and Violence: Veracruz’s Afro-descendants in the Early Mexican War of Independence, 1812-1813” will be published on the December 2023 Issue of The Latin Americanist, the oldest continuously published Latin American Studies journal in the United States, published by SECOLAS, The Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies.

Dr. Weller New Monograph

Charles Weller’s new monograph is out and now on display in the main office: ‘Pre-Islamic Survivals’ in Muslim Central Asia: Tsarist, Soviet and Post-Soviet Ethnography in World Historical Perspective (Islam and Global Studies Series, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). The volume traces the conceptual lens of historical-cultural ‘survivals’ in various Christian, Islamic and offshoot secular traditions of historiography, especially E.B. Tylor & company, and their subsequent impact on Tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet historiography of Muslim Central Asia. It draws from European, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and world history situated within a global-crosscultural frame, contributing to scholarship on ‘syncretism’ and ‘conversion’, definitions of Islam, history as identity and heritage, and more. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-5697-3  Dr. Weller has also now signed a contract with Palgrave Macmillan for his manuscript on Moses, Muhammad and Nature’s God in Early American Religious-Legal History: A Global Crosscultural Perspective, 1640-1830. The volume should be out next year.

Dr. Franklin and Hanford History Project Awarded Grant

Robert Franklin and the Hanford History Project are thrilled to be awarded a three-year grant from the National Park Service titled “Digital Asset Management and Community Engagement to Enhance Understanding of Park Resources” at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Hanford Unit.   Robert will lead a WSU team to write a digital asset management plan for the entire Manhattan Project National Historical Park and train staff on implementation.  In addition, for the Hanford Unit, the WSU team will host community workshops, conduct archival research and consolidate fundings into a summary report.  These findings and the digital asset management plan will be used to curate 6 digital image galleries; develop one digital walking tour of East Pasco; write 10 articles, create 20 oral history vignettes; and produce one story map.  The project includes funding for undergraduate and graduate student interns.  If anyone has or knows students who might be interested in participating, please contact Robert Franklin directly at robert.franklin@wsu.edu.

Dr. Spohnholz and Dr. Miller Teach Workshops at World History Association

Jesse Spohnholz and Brenna Miller ran a faculty workshop on teaching introductory world history courses at the World History Association’s annual meeting. Each also participated in a second panel and the two ran a booth at the conference to introduce colleagues at the conference to ideas for student-centered, inquiry-driven, active learning lessons in large General Education courses – the heart of the History for the 21st Century project that two are working on.

Dr. Booth Appearing in PBS Documentary

Dr. Ryan Booth will be appearing in a PBS documentary entitled “Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts.” Established by Congress, the 14th Amendment promised citizenship in exchange for enlistment, prompting many African American men. They were denied due to Jim Crow laws but still served. The film examines the profound and often-contradictory roles played by Buffalo Soldiers in U.S. history, and how they fought on two sets of front lines: military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home. Check your local listings for times, but the film is set to debut on Monday, June 12. https://www.pbs.org/video/local-usa-buffalo-soldiers-fighting-on-two-fronts-trailer/

Dr. Booth to Present at International Symposium on Jesuit Studies

Dr. Ryan Booth will present a paper at the 2023 International Symposium on Jesuit Studies in Lisbon, Portugal in June. The conference brings scholars on Jesuit history from across the world to share their research on a particular theme. This year’s theme is on “Circa Missiones: Jesuit Understandings of Mission Through the Centuries.” The International Symposia on Jesuit Studies offer annual opportunities to cross thematic, chronological, and disciplinary boundaries. Dr. Booth’s paper will address the painful and complicated legacy of the Jesuit-Native American boarding schools in the Pacific Northwest.

Dr. Franklin Awarded Grant

Robert Franklin and Phil Gruen (SDC) were awarded a TCI IDEA Grant for a class they plan to co-teach in spring 2024 tentatively titled “Infrastructural Racism” looking at social justice in the built environment.  They will be examining how infrastructure projects, specifically in the Tri-Cities (the Lewis Street Underpass and the Pasco-Kennewick “Green Bridge”), shape social and economic inequalities.  The grant is to fund important site visits and relationship building with community partners, and to recruit students.

Dr. Chastain Wins Albert J. Beveridge Grant

 Andra Chastain won an Albert J. Beveridge Grant for Research in the History of the Western Hemisphere from the American Historical Association. The grant will support preliminary research on a new project on the history of air pollution in California, Mexico, and Chile, tentatively titled Urban Air: A History of Smog in the Americas.  https://www.historians.org/awards-and-grants/past-recipients/albert-j-beveridge-grant-recipients