James J. Broomall, professor of history and William Binford Vest Chair in History, is serving as an academic advisor of and reviewer for the exhibition and book, The Soldier's Gaze: Picturing the Civil War. The Virginia Museum of History and Culture will premiere the exhibition in 2027, and Rizzoli Press will publish the book/exhibition catalog.
James J. Broomall, professor of history and William Binford Vest Chair in History, was invited to serve on the American Civil War Museum’s Historian Advisory Council, a standing body that advises on initiatives and projects to ensure the museum remains a leading resource on the American Civil War and its legacies.
Michelle Kahn, associate professor of history, won the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Prize for her book Foreign in Two Homelands: Racism, Return Migration, and Turkish-German History.
David Brandenberger, professor of history and global studies, published Stalin’s Usable Past, which analyzes Stalin’s role in rewriting Soviet history to emphasize a thousand-year legacy before the 1917 Revolution and reshape Soviet identity.
David Brandenberger, professor of history and global studies, published “‘Basically, it’s a History of the Russian State’: Russocentrism, Etatism, and the Ukrainian Question in Stalin’s Editing of the 1937 Short History of the USSR” in Nationalities Papers.
David Brandenberger, professor of history and global studies, presented “The Foundations of Russian Statehood: An Analysis of the New ‘Civilizationism’ Curriculum in Russia’s Higher Educational Institutions” at a conference hosted by the Polish Academy of Sciences’ Institute of History. The paper analyzes a new mandatory civics course taught today in all Russian colleges and universities.
Sydney Watts, associate professor of history and gender & sexuality studies presented a paper on the transatlantic migration of the Dupont household (1797-1830) at the "Stay or Leave: Family Survival Tactics during the Age of Emigrations, 1770-1830s" workshop at Goethe University.
Michelle Kahn, associate professor of history, was selected as a finalist by the German Studies Association for two book prizes, including the 2025 DAAD/GSA Book Prize for the Best Book in History and Social Sciences, and the 2025 David Barclay Book Prize for her book, Foreign in Two Homelands: Racism, Return Migration, and Turkish-German History.
Michelle Kahn, associate professor of history, was awarded the Community-Engaged Teaching Award by the Bonnor Center for Civic Engagement at the eighth annual Engage for Change Awards.
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.