History

Noor Zaidi wearing a coral red blouse stands outside in front of a bed of tall flowers.

Noor Zaidi, history, receives prestigious NEH faculty fellowship to complete book project

Noor Zaidi, assistant professor of history at UMBC, receives a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to research and write Translations of Zaynab: Gender, Sectarianism, and Citizenship in Shi’a Islam. The book will analyze how the seventh-century figure, Zaynab bint Ali, granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammed, has been used in 20th-century political contexts. Continue Reading Noor Zaidi, history, receives prestigious NEH faculty fellowship to complete book project

A young child works in a glass factory in a 1909 black and white historical photo by lewis hine

Historical lens—3 stories that scratch the surface of a 5,400 image archive

One of the most influential sets of historical photos in UMBC’s Special Collections is an archive of more than 5,400 images documenting the harsh conditions of child laborers in early 20th-century America. Recently the team in Special Collections—which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year—undertook a massive project to digitize and rehouse the photos in more protective sheaths to help safeguard the images and the hand-written details on them. The preservation effort gave UMBC student workers hands-on practice with handling the delicate photographs and allowed staff to dive deep into these historical records in order to comment on timely issues around… Continue Reading Historical lens—3 stories that scratch the surface of a 5,400 image archive

Meredith Power, left, and Susan Graham, right, handle the century-old photographs.

Handle with care—students help digitize and rehouse thousands of historical photos

A nine-year-old stands at the mouth of a coal mine covered in coal dust, wearing a small headlamp. A woman holds her baby on her lap as she packs boxes in a warehouse along with her 5-, 8-, and 12-year-olds. These are just two of thousands of evocative black-and white historical photographs handled by Special Collections interns Meredith Power ’21, history, a public history graduate student, and Gabe Morrison ’23, anthropology. Along with library staff members, these two worked diligently to ensure that the images of the families and children who lived through these harrowing work conditions are accessible to… Continue Reading Handle with care—students help digitize and rehouse thousands of historical photos

A person with short blond curly hair, wearing a black blouse and blue cardigan, stands outside in front of a brick building financial fraud

The Academic Minute: The Long History of Financial Fraud

UMBC’s Amy Froide, professor of history, discusses the Charitable Corporation’s financial disaster of 1732. “The Charitable Corporation was notable in having a high proportion of female investors—35 percent of the funders in the 1700s were women,” Froide explains. “When the financial scandal came to light, it was these women who led activist shareholders to call for government compensation.” Continue Reading The Academic Minute: The Long History of Financial Fraud

a group of people in Minnie Mouse ears jumps in front of an exhibit that says Mirror, Mirror

Embarking on ‘Happily Ever After’ 

By Roni Rosenthal For those who grew up—or still are—spellbound by movies like Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, and The Lion King, you are part of what some historians dub the “Disney Generation.” Your childhood joins forces with a collective nostalgia that weaves Disney’s enchanting tales into our very own identities. In a country with many competing cultural icons, Disney—for better or worse—remains a singular unifying brand for anyone who spent their childhood in the U.S. Smithsonian museum specialist and curator Bethanee Bemis ’09, history and anthropology, M.A. ’11, history, is an expert in weaving narratives with identity and… Continue Reading Embarking on ‘Happily Ever After’ 

National parks superintendent Jim Bailey poses with his family at the Booker T Washington Monument, a place that celebrates living history

Preserving history’s mark—one tree, one brick, one story at a time

Artillery booms in the distance as men hurriedly button up their scratchy wool uniforms and grab their muskets. The smell of campfires and horses intertwine with shouts, neighs, and gunfire. 

“It was a sensory overload,” remembers Jim Bailey ’03, M.A. ’07, history, of the recreated battles and camps he saw during 125th anniversary Civil War events. “At the age of eight, it wasn’t that I was reading books and studying history. It was something I could see. Smell. Hear. Feel.”
Exactly what Bailey would do with his early love for immersive history, however, wasn’t clear until a class during his first year at UMBC, when a park ranger from nearby Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine in Baltimore City gave a guest talk on volunteering for the National Park Service. By December of 1998, 18-year-old Bailey was signed up as a Volunteer-in-Parks, the first step in a long career that has led him to his current position as superintendent of both Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and Booker T. Washington National Monument.  Continue Reading Preserving history’s mark—one tree, one brick, one story at a time

A black and white photo of a Black Vaudeville troupe of seven dancers posing in a row while sticking their leg out in unison.

Michelle R. Scott illuminates the lives of Black Vaudeville performers and their broader social impact in Jazz Age America

“My new book explores the lives of the performers, theater owners, producers, managers, and audiences that were part of Black Vaudeville and the Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.),” says Michelle Scott, associate professor of history. “It’s a story about how these Black- and white-owned theaters fostered Black artistic exploration and development and the growth of Black-owned businesses.” Continue Reading Michelle R. Scott illuminates the lives of Black Vaudeville performers and their broader social impact in Jazz Age America

People hand over plastic bottles to be refilled with water

Calls for a ‘green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long tradition of sustainability and care for the planet

in recent years, Muslim communities around the world have used the period to rally around themes of social awareness. And this includes understanding the perils of wastefulness and embracing the link between Ramadan and environmental consciousness. As a historian of Islam, Noor Zaidi, assistant professor of history, sees the “greening” of Ramadan as entirely in keeping with the traditions of the faith, and in particular the observance of Ramadan. Continue Reading Calls for a ‘green’ Ramadan revive Islam’s long tradition of sustainability and care for the planet

Scroll to Top