Department of History

FSU historian available to discuss 100-year anniversary of Rosewood massacre

Published: December 15, 2022 | 2:40 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches, University News

A state historical marker about the Rosewood massacre. (George Lansing Taylor Jr./University of North Florida)

A century ago, a mob destroyed the town of Rosewood in Levy County, Florida — racial violence that ended with at least eight people dead and erased what had been a thriving community.

FSU early American history scholar awarded prestigious humanities fellowship

Published: July 29, 2022 | 12:04 pm | Posted in: Education & Society

Florida State University · FSU history scholar awarded prestigious humanities fellowship When Florida State University Professor Edward Gray begins his research into the economic influence of one of America’s most famous founding fathers later this year, he’ll be commencing work thanks to Benjamin Franklin himself. Gray, a professor in the FSU Department of History, was […]

FSU expert: ‘Japan has not been immune to political violence’

Published: July 8, 2022 | 4:42 pm | Posted in: Education & Society, Expert Pitches, University News

The assassination Friday of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe happened in a country that boasts exceptionally low levels of violent crime. But Abe’s murder by a gunman in Nara, a city near Osaka and Kyoto, prompted recollection of a time when political violence ran rampant in Japan. “From a historical standpoint, Japan has not […]

Run for the roses: FSU professor reflects on history of the Kentucky Derby

Published: May 2, 2022 | 9:52 am | Posted in: Expert Pitches

All eyes are on Churchill Downs this week as the horse racing industry prepares for the 148th Kentucky Derby. Associate Professor of History Katherine Mooney is available to provide expert commentary to reporters covering the event. Mooney is the author of “Race Horse Men,” which examines the generations of Black men who built the racing […]

FSU expert available for context on early climate change research

Published: April 15, 2022 | 11:02 am | Posted in: Expert Pitches

Ron Doel, a Florida State University associate professor who researches the history of science and technology.

Earth Day marks a time to consider the environmental challenges facing humanity, including our changing climate. Through the efforts of scientists around the planet, the understanding of those changes is constantly being refined. A wealth of our knowledge about how the climate works is due to the interest of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), […]

World War II Institute partners with Florida Historic Capitol Museum for exhibit on Florida’s role in war

Published: December 7, 2021 | 1:20 pm | Posted in: Arts & Humanities

The exhibit includes artifacts such as a brochure loaned by the Tampa Bay History Center about MacDill Field, which was built near Tampa in 1939 and was critical in defending the Gulf of Mexico against Nazi U-boat attacks on merchant ships. To the right is an M1 helmet loaned from Camp Blanding Museum. The U.S. Army designed the manganese steel M1 helmet and started production in April 1941. Over 22 million of these helmets were produced during World War II. (Photo courtesy of Florida Historic Capitol Museum)

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Florida was a mostly rural and agricultural state, a relatively unpopulated place compared to the rest of the country. By the time the war ended, federal spending for military bases and an influx of service members had begun a transformation that continues to this day. […]

FSU expert available to comment for 80th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor

Published: December 3, 2021 | 2:55 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

Florida State University Associate Professor of History Kurt Piehler, director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience

The attack on Pearl Harbor 80 years ago spurred U.S. involvement in World War II, sending the country into a conflict that would change American society in profound ways. Among the many changes was making the country more tolerant of religious pluralism, said Florida State University Associate Professor of History Kurt Piehler, director of the […]

FSU experts available to comment on Thanksgiving traditions

Published: November 10, 2021 | 9:46 am | Posted in: Expert Pitches

As millions of people across the United States prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, Florida State University experts are available to talk with reporters working on articles about gratitude, the myth and reality of the holiday and the role turkeys have played for Indigenous peoples long before Europeans settled the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. Randolph Clarke, professor, Department […]

FSU expert reflects on US-UK relationship and 80th anniversary of Atlantic Charter

Published: August 10, 2021 | 1:00 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

In 1941, the United States and the United Kingdom were already preparing for the aftermath of World War II. In August of that year, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Canada for a series of discussions. Those talks became the basis of the Atlantic Charter, a statement from the […]

FSU expert available to comment on anniversary of first human in space, legacy of space race

Published: April 12, 2021 | 10:14 am | Posted in: Expert Pitches

It has been 60 years since the first human journeyed into space. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space on April 12, 1961. He completed a full orbit of the Earth in the Vostok 1 spacecraft, reaching a height of 203 miles above the surface of the planet. The event […]

FSU experts available for coverage of 19th Amendment anniversary

Published: August 13, 2020 | 12:04 pm | Posted in: Expert Pitches

Jennifer L. Koslow, associate professor of history

After decades of activism and political struggle, the 19th Amendment was adopted 100 years ago this month. The new amendment supplanted state-by-state suffrage laws and gave women across America the right to vote. Florida State University experts are available to speak about the history of women’s suffrage as well as contemporary issues related to women, […]

FSU-produced documentary featuring woman World War II photographer to air on WFSU

Published: July 20, 2020 | 2:58 pm | Posted in: Arts & Humanities

Soldiers playing cards in a photo from Charlotte Mansfield's World War II scrapbooks. Courtesy of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience.

A Florida State University-produced documentary will explore the contributions of a Women’s Army Corps photographer during World War II. “Charlotte Mansfield: A Woman Photographer Goes to War” uses unpublished military photographs and personal correspondence from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience at Florida State, as well as expert and family interviews, […]

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