The Department of History has been named the 2019 recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in recognition of its efforts to make engagement with the community a central aspect of its approach to student learning and scholarship. In his award letter, Chancellor Agrawal commended the department for "exemplifying the very best of UMKC's values."
The department has worked to establish relationships with cultural institutions and communities locally, regionally, and internationally and to produce and share historical knowledge. The department's community outreach initiatives include, but are not limited to, partnering with local institutions on public programming for a variety of audiences; helping to disseminate the history of African American, German, Latinx, and LGBTQ communities among many others both in Kansas City and Missouri and more broadly; and generating new historical research about the region through public symposia and edited volumes.
History Department students and faculty will be honored at the Leaders in Learning Faculty Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. More information about the department's work is available on its public engagement and community partners pages.
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In December 2018, Berghahn Books published RUPTURES IN THE EVERYDAY: Views of Modern Germany from the Ground in paperback. The lead authors of this jointly written work are UMKC Professor of History Andrew Stuart Bergerson and Leonard Schmieding.
Throughout the twentieth century, Germans underwent constant disruptions in their lives, and many struggled to integrate their experiences into coherent narratives. Ruptures in the Everyday brings together twenty-six interdisciplinary researchers in a collectively authored work of scholarship that explores how Germans conceived of the self, society, families, objects, institutions, policies, violence, and authority by investigating Alltag—everyday life.
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Medieval Times, a dinner theater experience loosely based on the 11th century Spanish court, featured a female ruler for the first time this year. Since its debut in the United States in 1983, the show, which includes a banquet, jousting, swordfights, and stunts on horseback, has been presided over by a king. This year, however, Doña Maria Isabella reigned.
Professor of History Linda Mitchell, who also serves as affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and as President of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, weighed in on this change in a recent Washington Post article. Check out her comments on women in the medieval world and the historical accuracy of Medieval Times here.
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