Tag History
New history course on U.S. ‘grand strategy’ reaches out to modern military leaders
If ignorance of history makes one more likely to repeat it, as the saying goes, then the stakes of historical knowledge are at their highest when involving military strategy and war. Read More
Reason or faith? Darwin expert reflects
This is going to be a big year for evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin: 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book “On the Origin of Species,” and Feb. 12 would be his 200th birthday. Throughout the year, Darwin Day events are planned around the world to celebrate the man and his work, and to explore Darwin’s legacy of science and reason. On the top of many Darwin Day speakers lists is Ronald Numbers, Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine. Read More
Free cake to celebrate UW–Madison’s 160th birthday
This year, the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) is feeding students' minds as well as their bodies during the University of Wisconsin–Madison's birthday celebration. Read More
National magazine honors UW historian as an emerging scholar
Ned Blackhawk, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of history and American Indian Studies, has been recognized by "Diverse" magazine this month as one of ten emerging scholars nationally who are taking their disciplines in exciting new directions. Read More
Author examines relationship between Enlightenment, religion
In researching the relationship between Judaism and Enlightenment thought, David Sorkin found significant misunderstanding about the relationship between the Enlightenment and religion in general. Read More
Curiosities: What food was served at the original Thanksgiving celebration?
Plucked from his own time in the autumn of 1621 and deposited at a “traditional” Thanksgiving dinner today, a Plymouth, Mass. Pilgrim would have gawked… Read More
Ancient mounds make UW–Madison a unique landscape
The UW–Madison campus includes 38 effigy and burial mounds in six groupings. Read More
UW historian’s interview with PBS canceled
William (Will) Jones, an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will be a guest on the PBS television series "Bill Moyers Journal" at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7. Read More
Study debunks myth that early immigrants quickly learned English
Joseph Salmons has always been struck by the pervasiveness of the argument. In his visits across Wisconsin, in many newspaper letters to the editor, and in the national debates raging over modern immigration, he encounters the same refrain: Read More
Exhibit exploring Nazi persecution of homosexuals comes to campus
The Madison Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (GSAFE) is hosting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum traveling exhibition, Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945, at the Memorial Library between Oct. 10 and Dec. 10. Read More
Loos Chuck Wagon to make Oct. 1 stop at UW Stock Pavilion
To chronicle the journey of America's food, self-styled modern-day cowboy Trent Loos, host of the nationally aired radio program "Loos Tales," tours the country in an authentic chuck wagon. Read More
‘Digital Commons’ aims for increase in library access
A proposal for a “digital commons,” developed by the UW System Libraries, would give students and faculty across the UW System a more expansive set of keys to the “gated Web,” linking them to online commercial databases that are indispensable for serious scholarship and research. Read More
UW-Madison historian predicts the end of science ‘superpowers’
Is the sun beginning to set on America's scientific dominance? Much like the scientific superpowers of France, Germany and Britain in centuries' past, the United States has a diminishing lead over other nations in financial investment and scholarly research output in science and engineering. Read More
Book details provocative, sometimes gruesome history of organ, blood donations
Today, a "blood drive" is a cheerful community event, featuring cookies and chats with the neighbors in the high school gym. But a century ago, the first successful blood donations occurred when two people were sewn together by their blood vessels as blood flowed from the donor to the recipient. Read More
‘Life During Wartime’ will build innovative curriculum around American war history
A new Wisconsin project funded by the U.S. Department of Education will feature an unprecedented partnership among public school teachers, university and technical college faculty, and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to invigorate the teaching of American history. Read More
UW to host symposium on Melvin Laird’s legacy
On Tuesday, April 22, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will host a symposium on the career and legacy of Melvin R. Laird, a longtime member of Congress from Wisconsin and Secretary of Defense. The event will take place at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum on the Capitol Square. Read More
Writing tribal histories: Class mines archival treasures
UW–Madison historian Ned Blackhawk would argue that there has never been a more fertile time to be a researcher of Native American history, with a surge in scholarly interest and a deep well of subjects “literally waiting to be written.” Blackhawk is inspiring a new generation of historians to seize this opportunity through his unique research seminar, “Writing Tribal Histories.” Read More
Seven honored with Romnes awards
Seven of UW–Madison’s rising faculty have received H.I. Romnes Faculty Fellowships. The award, supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), recognizes great potential in faculty who have earned tenure within the last four years. Award-winners receive a $50,000 award to be used in support of research. Read More
Abigail Adams biography adds to popular interest in American Revolution
"John Adams," a major HBO mini-series debuting this Sunday, is bound to generate renewed public interest in the era of the American Revolution and the founding of the nation. A University of Wisconsin–Madison chapbook series has been mining that rich historical territory for some time. The latest chapbook, a biography of Abigail Adams, fits very closely with the mini-series' focus on John and Abigail's long and storied relationship. Read More