History Colloquium Series

History Department Colloquia are an opportunity to preview works-in-progress by faculty and academics, engage with their ideas, and offer comments and constructive criticism in an open forum that is extraordinarily helpful to the authors as they shape their manuscripts into public-facing pieces.

A guest scholar more familiar with the specific subject matter is also invited to critique the work.

Colloquia are open to the public and welcome both in-person and "zoom" attendees.  Pieces under discussion are pre-circulated to attendees.

Fall 2023 Colloquium Committee members are: Prasenjit Duara, Dirk Bonker, Pete Sigal, and graduate student Ting‐YU Cai.

Upcoming Colloquia

There are no upcoming colloquia at this time.

Past Colloquia

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Jennifer Siegel, "She Was a Spy!"
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229 Classroom Building

Jennifer Siegel will read from a work-in-progress, tentatively entitled “She Was a Spy!  British Intelligence in Occupied Belgium during the First World War.” Siegel is the Bruce R. Kuniholm Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University.   She specializes in… read more »

"We All Fall Down" with Simon Miles
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Classroom Building 229

Dr. Simon Miles, Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, will be discussing a chapter from his forthcoming book, "International Security."  The piece under discussion explores the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the cold war in Eastern… read more »

"Researching Non-Archival and Rarely Asked Questions in Palestine"
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Classroom Building 229

Dr. Frances Hasso on the historian's methods and practices she brought to bear in producing her most recent book. Excerpts under discussion:  Introduction  |  Chapter 5 Frances Hasso is the author of, among other works, “Buried in the Red Dirt: Race, Reproduction, and Death in… read more »

"Made-Up Asians"
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Classroom Building 229

The first History Colloquium of the year saw Professor Esther Kim Lee discuss her book, Made-Up Asians: Yellowface During the Exclusion Era (University of Michigan Press, 2022).  The event occurred in Boyd Seminar Room (Classroom Building 229). Under discussion were the Introduction and… read more »

“The Police wore Pink: The Rajneeshee Peace Force and the Politics of (non) Violence in Rajneeshpuram"
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Classroom Building 229

Jessica Namakaal (International & Comparative Studies and History Depts., Duke University) Lunch will be available by 11:30 on the day of the Colloquium and will remain available afterwards.  In order to encourage maximum participation, we ask that everyone who is not speaking remain… read more »

"Sufism in the Secular Age"
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Classroom Building 229

Mustafa Tuna (Slavic & Eurasian Studies and History Depts., Duke University) Lunch will be available by 11:30 on the day of the Colloquium and will remain available afterwards.  In order to encourage maximum participation, we ask that everyone who is not speaking remain masked during the… read more »

"Money and the Remaking of American Electoral Politics, 1815-1840"
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Classroom Building 229

Reeve Huston (History Dept., Duke University) The article* under discussion is drawn from Reeve’s book manuscript, tentatively titled Democratic Aspiration, Democratic Discontent: The Triumph of Mass Politics in the United States, 1815-1840, which is currently under consideration at Oxford… read more »

Julia McHugh
"Art of the Ancient Americas at Nasher Museum"
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TBD

Julia McHugh , Ph.D., is the Trent A. Carmichael Curator of Academic Initiatives at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. read more »

Tsianina Lomawaima
“Land of the Free: Indigenous Land and U.S. Citizenship”
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TBD

Tsianina Lomawaima, is an interdisciplinary researcher of Indigenous Studies, anthropology, history, and political science. She is a professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. read more »

Waseem Kasim
"Demolition and Segregation in Interwar Accra and Nairobi"
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TBD

Waseem Kasim is an Assistant Professor at Elon University,  read more »

Victoria McAlister
"Agriculture and Settlement in Pre-Modern Ireland: Hybridity, Settler Colonialism, and Colonial Bias"
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TBD

Victoria McAlister,  Associate Professor of History, Southeast Missouri State University, is a 2021-2022 NHC Fellow. read more »

“Purified Citizens and Prayers for Nigeria: Nationalizing the Hajj, 1955–1965”
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Virtual - Zoom

We will be welcoming our postdoctoral fellow, Sara Katz, who will be presenting a paper entitled “Purified Citizens and Prayers for Nigeria: Nationalizing the Hajj.” The chapter deals with religion, law, welfare, emotion, and more. It promises to start a fascinating conversation, and will continue… read more »

Daly headshot
“Fela Kuti Goes to Court: The Spectacle of Inquiry in Postcolonial Nigeria."
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Virtual

Join us for a  colloquium seminar with Prof. Samuel Fury Childs Daly (Duke University, African and African American Studies, History, and International Comparative Studies).   Sponsor History read more »

Colloquium: Graduate Student Workshop
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Virtual

Join us for the a Welcome Back Event on Wednesday, 9/8.  The Colloquium will feature a Graduate Student Workshop.  More details to come! read more »

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Thavolia Glymph in Conversation with Jessica Marie Johnson, author of "Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World.”
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Virtual - Zoom

Join us for a virtual conversation between Thavolia Glymph, Professor at Duke University, and Jessica Marie Johnson, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University. Johnson is the author of author of "Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World". Register here: https… read more »

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Careers for Historians: A Conversation with Alumni
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Virtual - Zoom

Join us for a virtual conversation with Duke History PhD alumni. Jess Malitoris, PhD. '19, Exhibits Manager at Duke University Press Ashley Young, PhD. '17, Historian, American Food History Project Heidi Scott Giusto, PhD. '12, Consultant, Career Writing Solutions (co-sponsored by History… read more »

Silvio Almeida - "Societal Participation in Affirmative Action Supreme Court Rulings"
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via Zoom

Silvio Almeida, last year's Mellon Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies, will share his work on affirmative action and Brazil's Supreme Federal Court rulings. read more »

Dr. Jesús Ruiz - "'I Burn My Nation': Black Royalists and Monarchical Thought in the Haitian Revolution"
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via Zoom

Dr. Jesús Ruiz, ACLS Emerging Voices Fellow for the academic year 2020-2021, will present a paper from his manuscript in progress. read more »

Kidd, Crumpler, & Ramos - "Black Lives Matter, Brazil and USA: From a Duke Classroom to the World"
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via Zoom

Gray Kidd, Courtney Crumpler, and Marcel Ramos will moderate a discussion about the new Black Lives Matter/Vidas Negras Importam Brazil-USA exhibition. We will hear from undergraduate student curators who contributed to the project last semester and this summer. read more »

Jessica Johnson & Thavolia Glymph - "Sex, Gender and Slavery"
Jessica Johnson & Thavolia Glymph - "Sex, Gender and Slavery"
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229 Classroom Building

Jessica Marie Johnson, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and our own, Thavolia Glymph will present "Sex, Gender and Slavery" at the March 18th colloquium. read more »

Jonathan Schlesinger - "Always Already Global: A History of Ivory Carvers, Taste, and Global Interaction in Early Modern China"
Jonathan Schlesinger - "Always Already Global: A History of Ivory Carvers, Taste, and Global Interaction in Early Modern China"
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229 Classroom Building

Jonathan Schlesinger, an Associate Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, will be presenting his paper,  "Always Already Global: A History of Ivory Carvers, Taste, and Global Interaction in Early Modern China". Co-sponsored by: Global Asia Initiative read more »

Keisha Blain - "East Unites with West": African American Women's Visions of Japan in the Early Twentieth Century
Keisha Blain - "East Unites with West": African American Women's Visions of Japan in the Early Twentieth Century
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229 Classroom Building

Keisha Blain, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, will be presenting at our first History Colloquium of the Spring 2020 semester. She will be sharing a chapter that connects her first book, Set the World on Fire, to her new book project, tentatively entitled "East Unites With… read more »

2019-2020 Colloquium Series - Assistant Professor Adam Mestyan
2019-2020 Colloquium Series - Assistant Professor Adam Mestyan
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229 Classroom Building

Prof. Adam Mestyan will present on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. Lunch will be provided. read more »

2019-2020 Colloquium Series - Associate Professor Anna Krylova
2019-2020 Colloquium Series - Associate Professor Anna Krylova
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229 Classroom Building

Prof.  Anna Krylova will present on Wednesday, October 16, 2019. Lunch will be provided. read more »

"Commanding an Army of Peons: The Origin of the Future Brazilian President Lula's Charisma, 1978-1980."
"Commanding an Army of Peons: The Origin of the Future Brazilian President Lula's Charisma, 1978-1980."
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229 Classroom Building

Prof. John French will be the department's first presenter for the 2019-2020 Colloquium Series.  He will be speaking from his new book, forthcoming from UNC Press in the fall of 2020 as "Lula's Politics of Cunning: From Trade Unionism to the Brazilian Presidency and Beyond." Lunch… read more »