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By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

Kentucky may be horse-racing and basketball country, but when it comes to your taste buds, the Bluegrass State is a foodie haven with a rich culinary tradition. From the famed mint juleps of the Kentucky Derby to slow-smoked mutton in the western part of the state, bourbon and barbecue have deep roots in the Bluegrass State. Kentucky may be America’s first frontier, but its flavors and food traditions have lured a new wave of travelers to the region.

Three new books from the University Press of Kentucky explore the traditions and dining experiences of the Commonwealth. The Kentucky Barbecue Book by Wes Berry, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach, and The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey

By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

University Press of Kentucky author James C. Nicholson, an alumnus and part-time history instructor at the University of Kentucky, has been named as the recipient of the Southern Kentucky Book Fest’s Kentucky Literary Award for his book The Kentucky Derby: How the Run for the Roses Became America’s Premier Sporting Event. First awarded in 2003, the Kentucky Literary Award is a celebration of Kentucky literature.

Eligible books for the Kentucky Literary Award include those written by Kentuckians or books with a substantial Kentucky theme. The award

By Breanna Shelton, Mack McCormick, Whitney Hale

The Bluegrass State has long been touted as the Thoroughbred capital of the world, but that was not always the case. The once English-dominated horse racing industry was taken by storm in the 1950s, when a Kentucky-bred longshot with a curious connection to a myriad of famed figures won England’s premier horse racing event. For centuries, American Thoroughbreds were mocked as vastly inferior to European runners, but that was changing. Horse racing would forever be impacted by Never Say Die, a horse that made history across the pond and opened the door to Kentucky becoming the international epicenter of Thoroughbred breeding and sales.

In Never Say Die: A Kentucky Colt, the Epsom Derby, and the Rise of the Modern Thoroughbred

By Kelley Bozeman, Jay Blanton, Kody Kiser, Amy Jones.

From early childhood on, Alan Lowe thought he would be a doctor.

A few days on the University of Kentucky campus – and a little time in Chemistry 101 -- in the 1980s quickly taught him otherwise.

“But that’s where I step back and think about ‘What do you really like?’ Step back and really look at yourself,” Lowe says. “What I really liked was politics and history, that type of thing. So, I ran for the History Department. They were very welcoming and I absolutely loved it there.”

After bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, the Bourbon County native went to work for UK Libraries, where he worked for about 18 months before getting a call one day from organizers of the

By Jenny Wells. Video by Reveal Research Media.

The UK Office of Undergraduate Research, along with SPUR (the Society for the Promotion of Undergraduate Research), and the UK Student Government Association, will host the eighth annual Showcase for Undergraduate Scholars 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in the ballrooms of the UK Student Center. 

Each year, the showcase brings together undergraduates from all disciplines, their faculty mentors, and members of the community to learn about the various types of research being done by undergraduate students at UK. This occasion provides these students the opportunity to demonstrate and discuss their specific projects and the professional advancements the projects helped

By Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections will highlight the projects of its first full cohort of Learning Lab interns with an undergraduate panel presentation, exhibition and reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the Margaret I. King Building. The events and exhibition are free and open to the public.

Currently in its inaugural year, the Special Collections Learning Lab (SCLL) is a center of primary research, experiential learning, and training. Targeting undergraduate students in the humanities, social sciences and arts, the SCLL promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and

By President Eli Capilouto

Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to China with a delegation from the University of Kentucky to advance several partnerships growing between UK's colleges and departments and universities and industries in a country growing in economic importance.

One such partnership is between UK's Center for Applied Energy Research and the world's largest power company. During a meeting with industry representatives, we shared our exciting work in the development of clean coal technology and discussed partnerships, the exchange of students, and faculty collaboration as part of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center.

As we met, they described several multi-billion dollar research and development investments in their country’s energy sector. In comparison, the proposed

By Whitney Hale, Grace Liddle

The University of Kentucky Department of Theatre in collaboration with UK's Russian Studies Program and the Department of History will present Bulgakov's Dreams, a drama on the life of the Soviet writer. The performance will begin 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, at Reynolds Building No. 1.

Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov was a Soviet writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which has been called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century. Bulgakov's Dreams is a

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 52nd of 150 weekly installments chronicles a set of rules and guidelines of proper behavior given to women at the institution in 1918.

The Woman’s Self Government Association of the University of Kentucky was founded in 1918 to enact and enforce regulations to promote the welfare and further the best living conditions of the women of UK. Article II of their constitution stated that "all women of the University of Kentucky, residing in the halls of residence, fraternity houses and boarding houses were members of the Association until they proved themselves incapable of self-government." The association addressed rules and guidelines for lights out; absences from halls of residences; callers; entertainment; walking and automobiling; picnicking, lunching, and

By Whitney Hale, Breanna Shelton

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 12 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years. Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities.

Gaines Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal consideration.

UK's 12

By Whitney Hale

The upcoming University of Kentucky Libraries Annual Dinner will feature and recognize this year's Award for Intellectual Achievement recipient, journalist  and author John W. Egerton. The dinner, which is open to the public, will be presented 7 p.m. Friday, April 19, at the Griffin Gate Marriott, located at 1800 Newtown Pike.

John W. Egerton is one of the nation’s most successful independent journalists and nonfiction authors. He lives in Nashville, Tenn., and writes broadly about social and cultural issues in his native South. More than 300 of his articles and columns have appeared

By Sarah Geegan, Derrick Meads

Education Abroad at the University of Kentucky recently awarded grants to five faculty members to develop innovative programs abroad. In addition, a graduate student was awarded a grant to support her research into education abroad experiences and possibilities for the future.

Faculty-Sponsored Program Development Grants recipients include:

·         The Nile River: A History of Water Politics in Africa. Awet T. Weldemichael, assistant professor, Department of History, UK College of Arts and Sciences — will establish a program in Uganda that will take students to the

By Sarah Geegan

UK history professor, Lien-Hang T. Nguyen recently received the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize, an honor awarded annually by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations. The prize recognizes the best book by a first-time author in the field of diplomatic history.

Nguyen's book, "Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam," examines the international context in which North Vietnamese leaders pursued war and American intervention ended. Using never-before-seen Vietnamese documents, recently declassified U.S. materials and archival collections in Europe, Nguyen's narrative takes the reader from the marshy swamps of the Mekong Delta

Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing.

By Jenny Wells, Sarah Geegan

Mark Summers, professor of history in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, shares his thoughts on remembering the accomplishments of U.S. presidents.

To view a transcript of the video, click here.

 

UK History professor Jeremy D. Popkin has been named the Christian Wolff Visiting Professor at the Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, for 2013. Popkin will be in residence in Halle in June 2013 and will deliver lectures on his research on the press during the French Revolution and on the French Revolution’s debates about slavery. 

“It’s a great honor to be invited to lecture at one of Germany’s most historic universities,” Popkin said.

During the 2012-2013 academic year, Popkin has been a fellow at the National Humanities Center in North Carolina. He also spent a month in Berlin as a guest scholar at the

 

by Sarah Geegan   The UK campus and Lexington community are invited to celebrate a different kind of Mardi Gras this year.   Russian Mardi Gras, or Maslenitsa, is the Carnival holiday that celebrates the pre-Lenten season before the traditional 40-day fast begins. As part of the College of Arts and Sciences' initiative, "Reimagining Russia's Realms," an event will offer the community a taste of this important Russian cultural tradition on Saturday,  Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Center.   Benefitting the UK Russian Education Abroad Scholarship Fund, the evening will include an arrangement of traditional foods, a silent auction, as well as a vodka tasting, for participants of

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences' year-long exploration into the culture and history of Russia, UK Libraries continues "Reimagining Russia's Realms" throughout the spring semester with an exhibit of Soviet Cold War-era military posters from the UK Libraries Scott Soviet  Military Collection. The free public poster exhibit will open with a Russian Tea at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the Hub at William T. Young Library.

The Scotts’ collection of Soviet propaganda posters includes striking large-scale images featuring the work of

By Gail Hairston, Amy Jones, and Kody Kiser

The University of Kentucky Alumni Association presented its 2013 Great Teacher Awards to six recipients last night at a recognition dinner,  followed by an appearance at Rupp Arena’s center court during halftime of the South Carolina vs. UK basketball game.

 

The recipients are:

•           Karen Badger, associate professor, College of Social Work

•           Roberta Dwyer, professor, College of Agriculture

•           Samuel Franklin, assistant professor, College of Medicine

The James S. Brown Award is given to honor the memory of Professor James S. Brown, a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Kentucky from 1946 to 1982, whose pioneering studies of society, demography, and migration in Appalachia (including his ethnography of “Beech Creek”) helped to establish the field of Appalachian Studies at U.K. and beyond.

The Award supports graduate student research on the Appalachian region. To be eligible, students must be actively enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at U.K. The Award must be used to meet costs of doing research relevant to social life in Appalachia including travel, lodging, copying, interviewing, ethnography, data collection, archival research, transcribing, and other legitimate research expenses. Except under special circumstances, awards will not exceed $1,500. The award does not cover registration or travel

By Sarah Geegan

A notorious feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky is once again making national news, but this time it is hitting a little closer to home.

A discovery of artifacts associated with patriarch Randall McCoy’s home and site of an infamous 1888 attack were confirmed by Kim McBride, a historic archaeologist with the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, a joint partnership with the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology and the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office.

McBride’s work is central to the story of the site, and what the artifacts and their context of recovery can contribute to our understanding