Published on January 07, 2019
The recent annual meeting of the American Historical Association (AHA), in Chicago over January 3-6, 2018, brought two firsts – for the first time, two students, Dana Meyer and Cassie Epes, presented posters at the Undergraduate Poster Session. In addition, three members of the department’s faculty attended: Professor Thomas Balcerski presented a paper as part of a panel, Dr. Anna Kirchmann both presented a paper and chaired a panel, and Dr. Joan Meznar attended several panels pertaining to teaching and career preparation.
The Undergraduate Poster session took place in the afternoon of Saturday, January 5. History major Dana Meyer presented his paper, “Connecticut Revolutionary War Deserters: An Experiment in Digital History,” while Cassie Epes presented her poster, “A Willing Audience: The Brown Book and the Enduring Power of Conspiracy Theory.” Both students received many questions and comments during the session. In addition, both students attended multiple panels and learned about possible careers in history.
The department’s faculty were also active. On Friday January 4, Prof. Kirchmann chaired a panel organized by the Polish American Historical Association (PHA), an affiliate of the AHA, titled “Conflicted Loyalties and/or Pragmatism.” On Saturday January 5, Prof. Kirchmann also presented her paper, “Urban Renewal and the Response of American Ethnic Groups, 1949–74,” as part of a PHA and AHA panel titled, “American Ethnics in the Post-World War II Decades.” Also on Saturday, Prof. Balcerski organized and participated in a panel titled, “Writing Early Queer Lives: Authorial and Biographical Imperatives before 1900.” The panel was a joint-session with the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History. Finally, Dr. Meznar attended several panels on teaching the World History survey, and also one on careers for History PhDs outside of academia.
Overall, the conference was a great success. The department looks forward to the next annual meeting in New York in January 2020.
** Editor’s Addendum (1/8/19) - In their path-breaking original research that led to the Undergraduate Poster Session, Dana worked closely with Dr. Tucker and Dr. Ostwald, while Cassie benefitted from the mentorship of Dr. Moore.
Written by Bradley Davis
