In an era of "don't say gay" laws, Dr. Pippa Holloway, chair of the University of Richmond's Department of History, believes in the relevance and importance of teaching LGBT history to students for what they learn about courts, the Constitution, civil rights, and America as a whole.
Dr. Jim Broomall joined us this semester as the William Binford Vest Chair in History. Professor Broomall is a cultural historian of Nineteenth-Century America. He specializes in American Civil War and Reconstruction, Southern History, and Public History. He is the author of Private Confederacies: The Emotional Worlds of Southern Men as Citizens and Soldiers, numerous articles and essays, and three major historic reports for the National Park Service.
For the past decade, Professor Broomall was on the faculty at Shepherd University, where he was the Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War and the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education. He has led tours of battlefields and historic sites across the country, and he delivers numerous public presentations each year. Professor Broomall earned his M.A. at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his Ph.D. at the University of Florida.
For spring semester 2025, Dr. Broomall is teaching HIST 204: The Civil War and Reconstruction.
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Co-hosted by the History Department and Journalism Department, this event is a public talk and Q&A with Molly Conger, a journalist and activist based in Charlottesville, VA, who is one of the country’s leading authorities on alt-right, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi movements in both the past and present. Conger gained national prominence while covering the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, during which neo-Nazis and white supremacists marched with tiki torches, shouting “Blood and soil!” and You will not replace us!” She also has a highly acclaimed public history podcast called “Weird Little Guys,” with each episode focusing on the story of a different male rightwing extremist in U.S. history. She conducts her own historical research for each podcast episode, digging into old newspapers and court cases and weaving them into an accessible “true crime” story for a broad audience.
The event will be co-moderated by Professor Michelle Kahn and Maria Byrnes, a sophomore who is majoring in History and minoring in Journalism. Professor Kahn is writing a book about the history of neo-Nazism, and she recently testified as an expert witness in the criminal case against one of the organizers of the Charlottesville riots. Maria worked as Professor Kahn’s research assistant for the Charlottesville case, and last summer she completed an A&S Summer Research Fellowship investigating the radicalization of far-right extremists on mainstream social media sites.
Michelle Kahn, associate professor of history, has been awarded a fellowship from the American Jewish Archives for 2025-26 to support research for her book tentatively titled Neo-Nazis in Germany and the United States: An Entangled History of Hate, 1945-2000.
Eric S. Yellin, associate professor of history, participated in the American Historical Association’s Congressional Briefing, offering historical perspectives on the federal civil service.
Michelle Kahn, associate professor of history, has been awarded a National Humanities Center Fellowship for 2025-26 to support writing her book tentatively titled Neo-Nazis in Germany and the United States: An Entangled History of Hate, 1945-2000. Learn more.
Pippa Holloway, Cornerstones Chair in History, won the A. Elizabeth Taylor Prize from the Southern Association of Women Historians for her article, “Virginia Penny’s ‘State of Desperation’: Anger, Insanity, and Struggle for Justice in Nineteenth-Century Kentucky,” which was published in Ohio Valley History.
Ryan Doherty, a 2025 University of Richmond graduate, was selected by the Legal Defense and Educational Fund as part of the fifth and final cohort of this program.
Eight UR students have been offered Gilman Scholarships to support their study abroad experiences in Costa Rica, Germany, Spain, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Junior Will Iboshi has been selected as a Key into Public Service Scholar by the Phi Beta Kappa Society, a recognition for exceptional arts and sciences students pursuing careers in government service.
Historian and president emeritus Edward Ayers is quoted.
History professor Michelle Lynn Kahn is interviewed.
History professor Eric Yellin is quoted.
President emeritus and historian Ed Ayers is interviewed.
Mailing address:
History Department
Humanities Building
106 UR Drive
University of Richmond, VA 23173
Phone: (804) 287-6041
Fax: (804) 287-1992
Department Chair: Dr. Pippa Holloway
Academic Administrative Coordinator: Catherine Hash