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History Matters Fall 2014

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In June alumnus Dorothy Bullitt ('76) delivered the keynote address at History's convocation. Her heartfelt remarks focused on two themes that, I feel, resonated deeply with the life of the Department over the past year. First, Dorothy spoke of how her dual degree in History and English honed her skills in critical reading, thinking, and writing, and prepared her exceedingly well for a variety of career opportunities. Second, she spoke about how in the years since she graduated, she learned how to "surf" the unexpected challenges and trag - edies that life inevitably tosses our way. Explaining that surprise "waves" cannot be controlled and frequently have cascading effects, Dorothy extolled the virtues of being generous, flexible, and caring with oneself and with others, and pointed out that oftentimes, when one door closes, others open. Just as when Dorothy was a student in our Department, we continue our mission to expand students' intellectual horizons by deepening their understanding of the relationship between the past and the present, and by making them better thinkers and writers. We believe that through studying history, our students gain skills and knowledge that enable them to build better futures for themselves and for others. scholar of African American history, and the history of race and gender. She was also a dedicated and imaginative teacher, and beloved friend. Moving forward, we will pay tribute to the joy Stephanie felt in her work and life and shared so generously with others through an annual lecture series established in her name. In addition to Stephanie's passing, we mourn the loss of Professor Emeritus Lewis Saum, former faculty member Professor Howard Kaminsky, and two friends of the Department, Colonel Donald W. Wiethuechter and Mrs. Muriel Williams. We honor and celebrate their lives by continuing to study and learn from the past, an endeavor they all held in the highest esteem. As we reflect on both our achievements and losses of the past year, we look forward to a new academic year filled with fresh courses, engaged students, and exciting scholarship. On behalf of the entire Department of History, I thank you for your interest and support, all of which makes an enormous difference in our classrooms and far beyond. We very much hope to see you at this autumn's History Lecture Series, "The Great War and the Modern World" or another of our Departmental events. Sincerely, Lynn M. Thomas CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Dear Friends of History, New Courses The Department of History's curriculum was enriched this year by the results of three course development grants. Charity Urbanski developed the course HSTAM 290 "Tudor England," which she taught in the fall of 2013. The course focuses on the social and economic order in Early Modern England, the Wars of the Roses, the English Reformation and Counter- Reformation, the spread of heresy accusations and witch-hunts, the development of government institutions and a constitutional monarchy, the evolution of the concept of the state, and the English Renaissance. Adam Warren taught HIST 247 "Before Global Health: The Histories of Public Health and International Health in the Global South" in Winter 2014. Part of the UW's new interdisciplinary Minor in Public Health, this course ranged from ancient Roman, Aztec and Inca notions of disease to the twenty-first century rise of the Gates Foundation. It provides students with an understand - ing of the complex historical origins of the modern global health movement. Glennys Young taught HIST 340 "The Cold War: Myths, Realities, Legacies" in Spring 2014. This course examines the Cold War as an international system and way of everyday life that affected people around the globe from the years after World War II to the early 1990s. To further that goal, this year we inaugurated an exciting program called "History Fellows," that helps juniors and seniors prepare for post-graduation life on the job market. Through workshops, Fellows develop professionalization skills and then serve as interns with History alumni and Seattle-based businesses, organizations, and affiliates that seek employees with strong research and writing skills. This year's Fellows reported that the program was highly effective in helping them to articulate and apply the skills and forms of knowledge they had gained as History majors in work - place settings. We also continue to excel in our teaching mission. Our Department has won the Distinguished Teaching Award more times than any other unit on campus and this past year brought additional honors. Professor Moon-Ho Jung became the eleventh member of the Department to receive this honor and Professor Margaret O'Mara became the inaugural winner of the UW Distinguished Teaching Award for Innovation with Technology. In addition, Professor Emeritus Jon Bridgman, one of the earliest recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award, received the Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award. Through their passionate teaching and deep commitment to student learning, Moon, Margaret, and Jon embody the very best traditions of our Department. This April the Department was hit hard by one of the surprise "waves" that Dorothy discussed in her convocation address. Our dear colleague Professor Stephanie M. H. Camp passed away from cancer at the age of 46. Stephanie was a highly regarded WE CONTINUE OUR MISSION TO EXPAND STUDENTS' INTELLECTUAL HORIZONS BY DEEPENING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT, AND BY MAKING THEM BETTER THINKERS AND WRITERS. 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