By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- After years of military rule and devastating war, women in Japan led the effort in promoting peace. During the Cold War, peace activism was considered a communist activity, but the women’s identities as mothers enabled them to avoid the label. The struggle of these women fascinates Akiko Takenaka so much that she wrote a book about it. 

“They said, ‘We are mothers, we produce lives, and therefore we are the protectors of lives. We care about children the most, and we must protect our children,’” said Takenaka, associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky and inaugural director of the Global Asias Program.  

Takenaka’s book, “Mothers Against War: Gender, Motherhood, and Peace Activism in Postwar Japan,” is due out in 2024 from the University of Hawai’i Press.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 26, 2023) — Growing up in Winder, Georgia, a historic suburb northeast of Atlanta, Norina Samuels discovered that the quality time she spent with her family differed from that of her peers. While others reveled in exhilarating amusement parks and lavish beach getaways, Samuels' single mother, Karen, defied convention as she loaded Samuels and her brother into the family car and visited cemeteries.

“All my classmates asked, ‘Where did you go for Spring Break?’” Samuels said. “They all went to Myrtle Beach, and I answered, ‘I was looking up dead people.’ That’s what my mom enjoyed — she was really interested in genealogy. We spent a lot of our off-school time just traipsing along to the graveyards, so I got into looking at the headstones and all that stuff.”

By visiting cemeteries scattered

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Dorian Cleveland likes history — so much so he made it his major.  

“It's always been a passion of mine,” said Cleveland, a University of Kentucky senior from Lexington. “I’ve liked it since I was a little kid. A lot of my elders would tell us that history is one of those things that is always impacting the present, no matter how you interpret it. And I had really good history teachers in high school. I would say that's where my passion for it comes from.” 

Cleveland graduated from UK in spring 2023 with a history major. Over the summer, he finished an internship with the Lexington History Museum, and started studying for a master’s in history at UK this fall.  While an undergraduate, he translated his passion for history into a potential career through internships with

Amber Sergent, a Woodford County High School social studies teacher, was named Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year for 2023. Sergent received her doctorate in history from the University of Kentucky in 2012. In an interview with UK undergraduate Grace Yi, she discusses what led her to her degree at UK, her rural upbringing, and her teaching philosophy.

Yi: How did you get into history?

Sergent: I have a background in animal science. I was here at UK going into AG education, and I took a History of Kentucky class and loved it. For whatever reason, I decided to transfer during my undergrad years to Morehead State. I earned my history and government degrees there with a minor in animal science. I was heading to the Peace Corps; I got my placement and everything, but instead, I opted to go

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- History can be as exciting as live drama, as Abigail Mortell has found. Mortell, a recent University of Kentucky history major and Lewis Honors College student, took her research into the history of indigenous peoples in Brazil and turned it into a play, which received first place for Humanities: Creative in the annual Oswald Research and Creativity Competition in UK’s Office of Undergraduate Research.

The play, “Surviving the Sertão: A Play in Two Acts,” originated as a creative assignment in a class taught by Erik Myrup, associate professor of history.

"I submitted a play in two acts, which has a historical basis, but it’s also fictional,” Mortell said.  "I intended to provide the historical perspective from the native side, which we don't actually have in real life. But it had to be rooted in

By Robby Hardesty 

UK Libraries has recognized seniors Seth Garcia and Anna Watrous with the 2023 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship. The annual prize celebrates exceptional and original scholarship in a traditional paper and a media or digital project, and is awarded to students whose research makes substantive and creative use of UK Libraries’ collections, services and resources.

Garcia, a history, anthropology, and secondary social studies education major, was awarded for “A Peculiar Institution: White Supremacy and the Black Guides of Mammoth Cave.”

Analyzing mid- to late-19th century diaries, guidebooks and travelers’ accounts, Garcia examined the white perspective of

In the United States, World War II is often regarded as a time of unrivaled national unity and optimism. In reality, however, this traumatic period tested the American resolve in the most significant way since the Civil War. How did the nation rise to the occasion? Author and historian Tracy Campbell examines the critical year of 1942. Campbell is the E. Vernon Smith and Eloise C. Smith professor of American history in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts & Sciences. The program is "History With David Rubenstein."

​By Lindsey Piercy 

​LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 3, 2023) — When’s the last time you asked yourself, what’s next?

As children, we’re encouraged to ask questions — to think, explore and be curious. But as we become adults, sometimes, that curiosity diminishes.

Not for Mario Maitland. From the time he could walk, Maitland remembers being on a court.

“We’re a basketball rich family,” he said. “I grew up watching and playing basketball.”

When Maitland wasn’t dribbling a ball, he was still watching, learning and appreciating the game. Originally from Long Island, New York, and growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, Maitland had a surprising love for the University of Kentucky.

“All the stars go to UK, so I watched

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- When Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) became the first Black woman to serve the U.S. Congress, she helped change how the chamber was run and contributed to bringing sides together to pass legislation. Her background in education — and her ability to see bills from different angles — gave her the skills and the boost she needed to represent her Brooklyn, New York, constituency effectively. 

“Chisholm was not just Black. She was not just a woman. She was both,” said Anastasia Curwood, Professor of history in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. “She recognized these intersections, and she recognized the importance of putting coalitions together. She knew that people are stronger and in numbers, and if they hang together, they can bring more pressure. She learned where the power is and where

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 12, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently announced the 21 undergraduate winners of the 58th annual Oswald Research and Creativity awards. Chad Risko, faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and Research Ambassadors were on hand to congratulate the winners and distribute the awards.

Established in 1964 by then-President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Competition encourages undergraduate research and creative activities across all fields of study.

Categories are:

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Emily Mokros, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky, will serve as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, in spring 2023.  

Founded in 1930, the institute is one of the world’s leading centers for basic research. The institute has four areas of study: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Science. Past IAS members include 35 Nobel Laureates. 

Mokros studies late imperial and modern China with foci in cultural, urban and political history. Her first book was “The Peking Gazette in Late Imperial China: State News and Political Authority,” which the University of Washington Press

LEXINGTON, Ky, -- Amber Sergent, a social studies teacher at Woodford County High School in Kentucky, was named the 2023 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year during a ceremony Sept. 20.

Sergent earned a master’s degree and doctorate in American history at the University of Kentucky. She has taught in Woodford County since 2017. 

“In working with Dr. Sergent, I have had the opportunity to witness firsthand how fair and equitable she is with students, in every instance demonstrating compassion and care,” said Morgan Howell, principal of Woodford County High School. “She takes time to truly understand and listen to student concerns both in and out of the classroom while working to establish strong relationships. The love and care she has for her students is exceptional. It is hard to put into words and quantify the difference someone can make in another person’s

By Micha'la Hood and Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 12, 2022) — It’s been 157 years since the end of American slavery, but the journey to telling the true history of that era has only just begun.

University of Kentucky’s Amy Murrell Taylor helps tell that critical story in two upcoming PBS documentaries — "Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom" and "Becoming Frederick Douglass."

Murrell Taylor is the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences and the author of two award-winning books, “

CHSS Workshop Series Grants

The Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ Workshop Series Grants are supported by generous donors and the College of Arts and Sciences.  These grants offer funding for faculty and graduate students to create a series of workshops for reading, writing, and discussion of a particular theme across disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.

During the Spring Semester of 2022, CHSS supported four Workshop Series Grants. These workshop events presented new pedagogical and research ideas within A&S and across other UK Colleges as well. Below, we spotlight each series of workshops. We would like to thank our donors and everyone who participated in these workshops, and to congratulate those who planned and executed these innovative events.

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 17, 2022) — Stephen Davis, an associate professor in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a 2022 ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Grant Program is designed to promote and provide resources for digital humanities projects that aim to diversify the

By Danielle Donham

Looking to learn more about the history of Juneteenth and civil rights in Kentucky? The University Press of Kentucky’s Civil Rights catalog has you covered.

With titles spanning the topics of African American studies, race and sports, and the struggle for Black equality, there are plenty to choose from.

Several of the titles in the catalog are authored and edited by University of Kentucky faculty members and community members, including Gerald L. Smith, Derrick E. White, Crystal Wilkinson — all faculty in the UK College of Arts and Sciences — and former

By Lindsey Piercy

Stephen Davis, an associate professor in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a 2022 ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Grant Program is designed to promote and provide resources for digital humanities projects that aim to diversify the digital domain, advance justice and equity in

By Kody Kiser and Ryan Girves

Sunday, June 19, 2022, will mark the second year of the federally celebrated holiday, Juneteenth. 

Long celebrated in the Black community, Juneteenth marks the day U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Galveston, Texas, that slavery was over — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

In recent years, we as a country have pushed for more. More discussion, more acknowledgment, more reform. With that has come more recognition of African American history that has been largely marginalized.

As the country continues to progress, so does the University of Kentucky, who made Juneteenth an academic holiday in 2020. The announcement came after the release of a multi-step action plan to increase the commitment to — and investments

by Jenny Wells-Hosley

This week, the University of Kentucky and surrounding communities will celebrate Juneteenth — the federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans — with a variety of community events.

While the Emancipation Proclamation was issued Jan. 1, 1863, declaring more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states free, it was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, two years later, on June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved U.S. populations were informed of the proclamation. Since then, the date has served as a symbol for freedom and celebration for Black communities. This year marks the second time Juneteenth will be observed as a federal holiday in the U.S., as well as the second year the University of Kentucky will be closed in observance (Monday, June 20).  

Below is a list of