Tag Archives: History Department

‘Curiosa Americana’

Cotton Mather, the Puritan minister whose name became synonymous with the phrase “witch hunt” for his connection to the notorious Salem Witch Trials of 1692-1693, is also known for his contributions to medicine and science, notably his advocacy for smallpox … Continue reading

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A critical look at suburban America

In his book Cracked Foundations: Debt and Inequality in Suburban America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025), Boston College Assistant Professor of History Michael Glass demonstrates how contemporary issues like the affordable housing crisis and school segregation have their origins in … Continue reading

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Eco-Consciousness in the Lives of Enslaved Black Women

Prize-winning historian Tiya Miles will present “Eco-Consciousness in the Lives of Enslaved Black Women” at Boston College on October 8 at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100. Miles is the author of eight books, including the highly acclaimed All That She … Continue reading

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Coercive Commerce

In 1842, the Qing Empire signed a watershed commercial treaty with Great Britain, beginning a century-long period in which geopolitical and global economic entanglements intruded on Qing territory and governance. Previously understood as an era of “semi-colonialism,” Boston College Assistant … Continue reading

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Landscaping Patagonia

In late 19th-century Latin America, governments used new scientific, technological, and geographical knowledge not only to consolidate power and protect borders but also to define the physical contours of their respective nations. Chilean and Argentine authorities, in particular, attempted to … Continue reading

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The Industrial Revolution as global environmental history

John McNeill, Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown, will present a talk on “The Industrial Revolution as Global Environmental History” at Boston College on April 2 at 7 p.m. in Gasson Hall 100. Recognized as a pioneer in the field of … Continue reading

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Honors for Eaton

Associate Professor of History Nicole Eaton has won honors for her 2023 book German Blood, Slavic Soil: How Nazi Königsberg Became Soviet Kaliningrad (Cornell University Press). The book offers a deep exploration of this port city on the Baltic Sea—the … Continue reading

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How gender politics broke a party and a nation

Lauren Haumesser, a 2010 Boston College graduate, conducts a fresh examination of antebellum politics by examining the ways that gender issues and gendered discourse exacerbated fissures within the Democratic Party in her book The Democratic Collapse: How Gender Politics Broke … Continue reading

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A Chernobyl guide to the future

Kate Brown, the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in the History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present “The Interminable Cycles of Chernobyl’s Catastrophes: War, Accident, and War Again” at Boston College on October 25. Brown is … Continue reading

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The future of American democracy

In her latest book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America (Viking, 2023), Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson, author of the popular daily newsletter “Letters from an American,” explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters … Continue reading

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