College of Humanities & Sciences

April 21, 2021

On April 21 at 8 PM, Christine M. Walker, Ph.D., will give a talk highlighting the role that female slave owners played in shaping colonial Jamaica. This presentation is part of the Alexandrian Society's spring lecture series. Free and open to the public. Join Jamaica Ladies via Zoom. 

April 23, 2021

Join us on Friday, April 23 at 5:30 p.m. for a History Graduate Student Research Symposium. Three M.A. students will be presenting their thesis research via Zoom. 

April 4, 2021

History majors, minors, and those who are interested in learning history, we invite you to visit the virtual course fair website. Each of the course categories have links to a slide show with course descriptions and all the information you need prior to registration. 

May 15, 2021

VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) will hold in person graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 15 at Cary Street Field. The History Department ceremony is scheduled with 6:00 p.m. with other humanities departments. RSVP is required. 

April 8, 2021

Professor Andrew Crislip reflects on the nearly three decades of the Blake Lecture in the History of Christianity, the remarkable teaching skills of Dr. Blake, and the relevance of Christianity in today's society. 

March 18, 2021

The 2021 Blake lecture in the history of Christianity titled "Peregrine Palimpsests: Medical-religious border crossing in the lives and luggage of three migrant monks" featured Susan R. Holman; John R. Eckrich Chair and Professor of Religion and the Healing Arts, Valparaiso University. 

March 25, 2021

As part of Women's History Month, Annie Newton (M.A. History '18) discussed her thesis "Mother Knows Better: The Donna Reed Show, the Feminine Mystique and the Rise of the Modern Maternal Feminist Movement" with Emilie Raymond, Ph.D., professor in the department of history on March 25. 

February 23, 2021

VCU alumna and chair of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project, Ana Edwards, received the VCU history department’s highest honor for graduate alumni on March 18 at the Annual Blake Lecture. In case you missed it, check out the video of her acceptance speech. 

Also see Ana Edwards is preserving Black history — and sharing it with others.

March 29, 2021

Audrey Spann, B.A. History 2020, earned praise from Professor Carolyn Eastman for a paper she wrote on female shoplifters in the 19th century. Sianna Westley, a junior in VCUarts and student worker for the history department, reached out to Audrey to ask her about what inspired her to become a history major, the inspiration behind her capstone paper, and her thoughts on the significance of Women’s History Month. 

March 12, 2021

John C. Powers, Ph.D., of the Department of History has been reappointed to department chair for a second three-year term.

February 24, 2021

Since the tragic, high profile murders of numerous African Americans by police in the past year and in recent years, there is aptly a growing national conversation about systemic racism in the American criminal justice system. To grapple with some of the questions surrounding this important and timely topic, we were fortunate to host Professor Carl Suddler of Emory University virtually for a Black History Month event on February 19, 2021. 

February 12, 2021

Toneisha Brown graduated from VCU in 2019 with a B.A. in history. She had her heart set on doing an internship at the Maggie Walker house for her senior year, but the government shutdown due to the pandemic caused her to change course. Not deterred, she has found fulfillment through becoming a volunteer at the house. Sianna Westley, a junior in VCUarts and student worker for the history department, reached out to Toneisha to ask her about the Maggie Walker house, her goals for the future, as well as the significance of Black History Month.

February 9, 2021

In “The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States' First Forgotten Celebrity,” Virginia Commonwealth University history professor Carolyn Eastman, Ph.D., tells the story of the meteoric rise and subsequent fall of James Ogilvie, whose oratory performances made him a household name in America’s founding era. VCU News sat down with Professor Eastman to ask about the book. Read the interview. 

December 14, 2020

In an interview with VCU News, history graduate Alex Criqui discusses the work he and artist Dustin Klein have put into Reclaiming the Monument — a project they hope brings people together.

November 16, 2020

Richard "Elliot" Martin is a history major with a creative writing minor at VCU. Elliot is the recipient of an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) fellowship in which he is researching the use of music to combat trauma in Civil War soldiers. Sianna Westley, a junior in VCUarts and student worker for the Department of History, reached out to Elliot to ask him about his UROP fellowship and the challenges of being a student and doing research during a pandemic.  

November 4, 2020

Professor Michael Dickinson writes "2020 has been a challenging year, but for African Americans, in many ways it has been much of the same---another year populated with news reports and videos of racial violence. However, the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery did spark widespread protests and outrage across the country including in Richmond." Read more in “Protests, Monuments, and Healing the Wounds of Racism."

November 12, 2020

Professor Leigh Ann Craig writes about the challenges posed by COVID-19, and how, with the resiliency, we have found ways to carry on with minimal interruption. She writes, "As Director of Undergraduate Studies, I have been fortunate to watch the VCU History community rise to these challenges with remarkable grace." Read more in "VCU History: A Resilient Learning Community."

November 10, 2020

Few students sign up for a history class with the idea of ending up in a cemetery. But for the past ten years, Professor Ryan Smith has taught courses where the students do just that.

September 21, 2020

VCU Department of History alumnus ​Marc Noble​ (BA ‘72/H&S) generously established the Marc Noble Scholarship in the History of Technology award in 2013. As a student, Marc recalls the frustrations of navigating financial aid, student loans and tuition payments while balancing schoolwork and a job in a bustling metropolitan city.

“I know all too well what it feels like to be a struggling student, trying to balance working to pay for school and hours spent studying.”

April 24, 2020

Alumnus Fred Wayne recently established the Dr. Ruth Douglas See Scholarship to support students who, like Dr. See, have an academic interest in or work on issues of social and economic justice.