Department of History

College of Humanities and Sciences

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grainy photo of Alfred William Robinson, Bedford, VA, U.S. Army, Vietnam War with image of american flag

Shrine of Memory Digital Projects

May 12, 2022

Students in History 351: America Since 1945 completed a video project in cooperation with the Virginia War Memorial's Shrine of Memory in honor of Virginians killed in action in World War II, Korea, or Vietnam.

Melis Hafez

Inventing Laziness: The Culture of Productivity in Late Ottoman Society

May 2, 2022

In her first monograph, Professor Melis Hafez, a historian of the nineteenth century Ottoman Empire, worked on exploring the concept of laziness, and how it was perceived as a social disease.

Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground

Listing a Threatened Burial Ground on the National Register of Historic Places

April 29, 2022

Professor Ryan Smith details the collaborative efforts behind nominating Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground for the National Register of Historic Places.

professor sylvester johnson speaking at the podium

Blake Lecture Highlights Ethical Questions about AI

April 29, 2022

Professor Andrew Crislip provides a recap of April 7th's Blake Lecture, "Will Robots Feel Pain?" featuring Sylvester Johnson, Ph.D.

Michael Dickinson

Almost Dead: A story of resistance and survival

April 28, 2022

In “Almost Dead” Michael Dickinson, Ph.D. examines how the thousands of captives who lived, bled and resisted in the urban Atlantic survived to form dynamic communities and hold on to their humanity.

greg smithers

Writing Two-Spirit Histories

April 28, 2022

Professor Gregory Smithers reflects on an important conversation that led him to write Reclaiming Two-Spirits in a more thoughtful and deliberate way than he has ever written before.

ryan ohallahan

Helping Students with What Comes Next: Professional Development Course for History Majors

April 28, 2022

Professional development course provides history majors with the tools and skills they need to be successful in the job market after graduation.

Gregory Smithers, Ph.D. (Courtesy Gregory Smithers)

For centuries, Two-Spirit people had to carry out Native traditions in secret. Now, they’re ‘making their own history.’

April 25, 2022

History professor Gregory Smithers’ new book, “Reclaiming Two-Spirits,” centers the narrative of Two-Spirits in their role as keepers of knowledge.

Rocio Gomez

Fellow at Deutsches Bergbau Museum in Bochum, Germany

April 23, 2022

Professor Rocio Gomez reflects on her fellowship at the Deutsches Bergbau Museum in Bochum, Germany. The museum is a mining history research center that invites multidisciplinary insights into mining and mining history around the world.

Peter Stone

Effects of Climate Change on Historical Sites: A conversation with Peter Stone, Ph.D.

April 22, 2022

For Earth Day, VCU history student Nyah Graham spoke with history professor Peter Stone about the effects of climate change on historic sites.