faculty

UConn Today Article “Curating the 250th: History Professors Mark Country’s Anniversary with Museum Exhibitions” features Professors Sinha and Horowitz

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Manisha Sinha curated the “The Second American Revolution” exhibition at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and Andy Horowitz was part of the team behind the “Connecticut’s Revolution” exhibit at the Museum of Connecticut History.

Incredible pieces of American history, from the actual 13th amendment document to the original Connecticut copy of the Declaration of Independence, and a piece of a statue of King George III that was mostly melted down into ammunition for the Revolutionary Army are among the impressive array of items that the public can engage with as we consider 250 years of American history. But each exhibit drew on details and smaller moments that were part of these stories to engage the public to think about not just the past, but the people that lived and shaped it.

Full article here.

Connecticut State Historian Andy Horowitz presents talk “Why Connecticut 250 Matters” at New Haven Museum’s new exhibition, “New Haven’s Unfinished Revolutions”

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The immersive exhibit features some innovative tech that museum goers can use to interact with primary sources to get glimpses into the lives of people that were central to (but not always centered in) the Revolutionary War efforts. Horowitz’s talk emphasized how individuals’ various roles and actions led to things like the creation of the Connecticut Compromise, or enslaved people paving new paths to freedom for themselves, and how the ways in which we define important places, circumstances, and people are vital to examine as we explore the voices of these stories.

You can read more about the opening gala talk and the exhibit here in the New Haven Independent article covering this event.

History Draper Professor Emeritus Robert Gross’s book still part of American revolution conversation at 50 years since original publication

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“The Minutemen and Their World” celebrated 50 years as America celebrated its 250th this year.  The book is a Bancroft Prize winner and has remained integral to understanding what the American Revolution was like for the people of Concord, Massachusetts as they navigated day to day life leading up to and in the midst of a war against the British. Gross himself lives in Concord and this connection to the first battleground of the revolution and other iconic moments in early American history was one of the factors that led to his book taking shape the way it did. By focusing on people and stories it was an early and unshakable example of writing history for more general audiences and making history accessible to a wide audience without watering it down.

The 50th anniversary of the book’s release was also featured on July 21st in UConn Today. Read the UConn Today article here.

UConn History Professor Jeffrey Obgar Named as One of Three New Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors

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Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar is a Professor of History with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music. He joined the UConn History Department in 1997.  Dr. Ogbar is a scholar of African American history and Black social movements, and his teaching and graduate advising have supported numerous students in developing their understanding and research of social movements, race, and music in American history and the present. He has authored four monographs, the latest of which, Land of Our Own: Malcolm X and the Evolution of Black Nationalism, is being released later this year.

Read more about the 2025-2026 Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors here.

“The Second American Revolution” exhibit curated by Manisha Sinha to open at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on June 5th

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Professor Sinha will give a talk on the exhibit and her work as a Reconstruction Historian on June 4th at a special preview of “The Second American Revolution”. The exhibit will be open from June 5 through January 17 and explores the Reconstruction era’s early efforts to give newly freed and free Black Americans full citizenship and rights, and the ways in which this mission was largely eroded leaving America with consequences that have followed the nation into the 21st century. 

You can read more about this exhibit on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum website here:

New exhibit on Civil War’s aftermath coming to ALPLM

Liberation Summer by Professor Micki McElya Published to Rave Reviews

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liberation summer by Micki McElya cover showing women holding up a large caricature figure of a pageant contestant

Professor McElya’s 2026 book Liberation Summer, about a key moment in the women’s liberation movement surrounding the 1968 Miss America pageant and the reactions and protests it was surrounded by, has been widely recommended by the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Kirk’s reviews. Her last book about the history of Arlington National Cemetery was a finalist for the Pulitzer.

The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer – The New York Times

75 favorite books and best summer reads to check out this season

Micki McElya | Kirkus Reviews

Department Head Mark Healey Receives Academic Leadership Award

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Staff Faculty

The annual CLAS Faculty and Staff Awards recognize outstanding achievement across several categories.

The Academic Leadership Award honors exemplary leadership by an individual who oversees a CLAS department, school, center, institute, or program. At this year’s CLAS Faculty and Staff Awards, Department Head Mark Healey was recognized for his leadership in strengthening departmental climate, transparency, and academic success. 

For the complete citation and list of award recipients, please see the UConn Today coverage at “CLAS Honors Faculty and Staff for Excellence in 2026.”

The Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era awards 2026 President’s Book Prize to Manisha Sinha for The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic

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he prize was awarded at the Organization of American Historians meeting in Philadelphia on April 17, 2026. The prize citation reads:

Following a multi-tiered selection process, the committee selected The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860–1920 by Manisha Sinha as the recipient of the SHGAPE President’s Book Prize.

 Manisha Sinha’s The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic offers a sweeping and compelling reinterpretation of Reconstruction, significantly expanding both the temporal and geographic boundaries traditionally associated with the period. Sinha provides a major new synthesis of Reconstruction scholarship—one that will stand alongside the seminal works of Eric Foner and W. E. B. Du Bois as a benchmark for a new generation of historians. The book will serve as a central text in graduate seminars on nineteenth-century U.S. history for years to come. Grounded in extensive archival research but driven by a clear and persuasive argument about the broader scope and significance of Reconstruction, it will shape how historians and their students understand this critical era. It is a powerful and important work and fully deserving of the SHGAPE President’s Book Prize.