University of West Georgia
Department of History
Faculty News
Click here for a Calendar of Events
Click here for the 2011 Faculty Newsletter
Fall 2012
Dr. Larry O. Rivers, UWG assistant professor of history, presented "The Civil Rights Struggle Before the Freedom Riders," on October 25 in Ingram Library as part of the Fall 2012 programming related to the library’s exhibit on the Freedom Riders. While a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Rivers studied with the Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr., a key mentor to the Nashville Student Movement activists who participated in the Freedom Rides. In his Ingram Library talk, Dr. Rivers discussed the origins of the Civil Rights Movement and how the movement relates to today's national challenges, as well as some of the insights that he learned from James Lawson.
On October 8, Dr. Colleen Vasconcellos participated in a roundtable discussion on Immigration to the United States, sponsored by Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc.
On October 4, Dr. Michael de Nie presented "Imperialism and Humor: (What's So Funny 'Bout) War, Hate, and Misunderstanding?" as part of the Department’s Fall Colloquium series. In his talk, Dr. de Nie examined cartoons and other comic commentary on British intervention in Egypt and the Sudan in the early 1880s, including Victorian conceptions of the Islamic world, popular awareness of empire, Ireland and the British Empire, and the role of humor in History.
On October 4, 2012 Dr. Jonathan Goldstein delivered the annual Pell lecture at the Univ. of California at Berkeley. His topic was: "Wartime Shanghai as a Microcosm of Eurasian Jewish Identity."
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Melvin Steely, Emeritus Professor of History, has won both the Governor's Award in the Arts and Humanities, and the Southeastern Library Association's Charles Beard Award. These awards recognize his decades of service in documenting and preserving the papers and recorded memoirs of Georgia political figures. Congrats Dr. Steely!
Welcome new faculty! This year the Department of History welcomes Dr. Larry O. Rivers, who has joined the department as Assistant Professor of African American Studies.