Department of History

College of Humanities and Sciences

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Now in its third year, the VCU Breakthroughs Fund has supported more than 30 projects through investments totaling nearly $6 million. (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU Breakthroughs Fund provides grants to 10 more faculty-led projects that pursue transformative innovation

July 2, 2024

Health, equity, sustainability and the human experience are the driving forces for transdisciplinary teams that target society’s grand challenges.

Andrew Crislip

Andrew Crislip appointed chair of history

July 1, 2024

Crislip currently serves as the Blake Chair in the History of Christianity within the Department of History.

Rebecca Guest

Conversation with History Alum Rebecca Guest

June 14, 2024

Rebecca Guest's journey from VCU history student to Mariners' Museum philanthropy coordinator reflects on her lifelong passion for museums and artifacts, driven by a desire to engage the public and preserve history.

kent schull

Making Sense of the Current Situation

May 9, 2024

On April 17, VCU history’s Alexandrian Society welcomed Kent Schull, Ph.D. of Binghamton University to VCU for his presentation of, “The Question of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention in Israel-Palestine: Making Sense of the Current Situation."

rebecca rose standing in front of the doors to the library of congress

Rebecca Rose: From History M.A. student to working at the Library of Congress

April 18, 2024

Rebecca Rose speaks with Mel Sheehan about her time as a student in the VCU History M.A. Program and her new role at the Library of Congress.

National Endowment for the Humanities grants will help to establish a health humanities minor and support a professor’s book project. (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

National Endowment for the Humanities awards two grants to VCU projects

April 18, 2024

One will establish a health humanities minor, while the other supports a professor’s book project on visual images of African Americans in leisure contexts from slavery through the Jim Crow era.

zena hitz

God and the Search for Happiness Blake Lecture Recap

April 11, 2024

On March 19, Zena Hitz, Ph.D., was the guest speaker at the annual William E. and Miriam S. Blake Lecture on the History of Christianity. Hitz discussed how monks and nuns are called and driven by a desire of fulfillment and happiness to a life of religious service.

bill blake at the podium talking about the portrait

The Historian: A gift by William E. Blake Jr.

March 20, 2024

On March 19 we celebrated a gift made by VCU history professor emeritus, William E. Blake Jr.

VCU alum Nathan Vernon Madison is a scholar of both comic book history and Virginia’s economic and industrial past. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

With expertise ranging from comics to economics, VCU alum earns honor from History Department

March 1, 2024

Nathan Vernon Madison, who has explored expansive interests, is the author of several books and has worked on documentary films.

Michael Dickinson, Ph.D., a professor in VCU’s Department of History, will discuss his book, “Almost Dead: Slavery and Social Rebirth in the Black Urban Atlantic, 1680-1807,” on Feb. 24 at St. John’s Church. (Contributed photo)

In Feb. 24 address, VCU history professor will highlight early America’s urban slavery in human terms

Feb. 19, 2024

Drawing from narratives of the enslaved and his book ‘Almost Dead,’ Michael Dickinson will discuss resistance, survival and modern legacies.