Rochester’s Black community had a deep—and underrecognized—influence on Frederick Douglass
Douglass was profoundly influenced by the Rochester region. But the region’s role in shaping the abolitionist leader has not been fully appreciated, according to history professor Larry Hudson.
Experts answer election questions we should be asking
The pending election has dominated news cycles for the past year. Four professors at the University of Rochester each raised and answered an important question they say we should be asking this election season.
Social critic Christopher Lasch’s enduring influence
In a recent interview, Vox editor Ezra Klein asked Hillary Clinton to name three books that have influenced how she thinks about policy. Clinton’s reply included the work of Christopher Lasch, who was a historian at the University of Rochester for nearly a quarter of a century.
‘Looking like the enemy’ examines WWII internment, current debates
An upcoming Humanities Project event reviews the experiences of the more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in remote relocation camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Joan Shelley Rubin named director of the Humanities Center
Joan Shelley Rubin, a noted scholar of American history, has been named the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Director of the Humanities Center. The center will celebrate the opening of its permanent home in Rush Rhees Library in October.
Three things you didn’t know about the American Revolution
America typically celebrates the 4th of July as a unifying victory for the country, but the road to independence was more divisive and violent than most people realize, according to historian Thomas Slaughter.
Seward family papers project earns National Archives grant
The grant will be used to continue and expand the collaboration with volunteers from the Highlands at Pittsford retirement community and retired UR staff and librarians to transcribe, annotate, and tag achival documents.
Documenting a hometown’s history of slavery
History professor Pablo Sierra is working to document the forgotten history of the Africans who passed through the slave market in his hometown and contributed to the diverse culture of modern Mexico.
Laura Ackerman Smoller wins La Corónica International Book Award
The professor of history was honored by the largest gathering of medievalist scholars in North America for her book The Saint and the Chopped-Up Baby: The Cult of Vincent Ferrer in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.
Conversations on linguistics and politics with Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky, professor of linguistics, emeritus, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the University’s Distinguished Visiting Humanist. Chomsky, an esteemed linguist, philosopher, political commentator, and activist, will meet with students and faculty this week. In advance of his visit, Jeffrey Runner, Chair of the Department of Linguistics, and Theodore Brown, Professor of History and Charles E. and Dale L. Phelps Professor of Public Health and Policy, talked with Chomsky about his seminal works in linguistics and politics.