UMass Graduate History Association

03/08/2019

Here is the schedule for the conference!

03/01/2019

With just a week to the conference, we have some exciting news! The conference will include a feature workshop at 12.00 PM, on Saturday March 9.
WORKSHOP TITLE:
Feature Workshop: Using the Past to Empower Future Youth Activism with Maria Salgado-Cartagena, People's Historian of the Puerto Rican Diaspora
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
The Puerto Rican Community in Holyoke has a long history of storytelling. Holyoke's industrial history has been documented in many forms--books, film and even theater productions. However, the rich activist history of Puerto Ricans in Holyoke is rarely represented. Long-time activist and people's historian Maria Salgado-Cartagena has served as a consultant to Holyoke's Ethnic Studies Initiative and the Pa'lante Restorative Justice Program out of Holyoke High School to use "history storytelling" to inform this work. She captures the long history of resilience and activism to inform and empower youth. Many of the youth have never heard of these stories and take incredible pride of themselves as Puerto Ricans but even more about being Holyokers. In this workshop, Salgado-Cartagena will demonstrate how moments in Holyoke's past help youth discover their place in the present
BIO
Maria Salgado-Cartagena, People's Historian of the Puerto Rican Diaspora, is working to ensure the visibility of Puerto Ricans in the city’s vibrant past and present. A longtime resident of Holyoke, she has been involved in community organizing since high school, and has worked in the nonprofit sector of Holyoke for more than 20 years. Currently, as the program coordinator for Hampshire College’s Community Partnerships for Social Change program, she prepares Five College students for work with community groups and helps the colleges place students with community partners. Her trainings are focused on contextualizing history of local communities through the lens of race, gender and class, elevating moments in time when the "people" created change. She has served on the boards of several organizations in Holyoke including Wistariahurst Museum and Nueva Esperanza. In 2013 she was recognized by the Latino Scholarship Association as the Carlos Vega Community Champion in 2013 and in 2015 was recognized by the South Holyoke Neighborhood Association with the Maria Berrios activist award.

02/21/2019

Thank you to all who attended the roundtable discussion on Monday, February 19. A special thanks to the speakers present: Prof. Diana Becerra, Brittany Frederick (Ph.D candidate), Jessica Johnson (Outreach Director), Perri Meldon (M.A. student) and Prof. Sigrid Schmalzer. 🌍🌎🌏

02/21/2019

History in Action
This is meant to be a panel that brings faculty, staff and students together to discuss relevant questions that concern us as historians and members of the university. These concerns stem primarily, but not solely from the anti-Semitic and racist incidents that occurred last semester, not just in UMass but across US universities. Further, the AHA conference and the NEMA conference took place in contexts of impending labor strikes. This led to discussions of how historians (PH, alt ac and academic) deal with work and labor questions in organizing events in academia.

02/18/2019

Hope the snow today was not too bad for everyone. A reminder that tomorrow February 19 we are having our roundtable discussion at 4 PM in Herter Hall 601. Be there!😁📗🖊

02/13/2019

As the GHA Conference approaches, it is our pleasure to announce that Dr. James Young, Founding Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of English and Judaic & Near Eastern Studies at UMass Amherst will be giving the keynote address. The keynote will be based on his new book, Stages of Memory, on 8th March, Friday, at 6 pm, in IHGMS. All are welcome!

02/05/2019

Hello Everyone,

Just a reminder that we are going to meet this Thursday 7th, at noon, in the Herter lobby, seventh floor. We have much to discuss with the conference coming up, we are very excited. Of course, pizza will be provided🍕! We will not be talking on an empty stomach. Thank you and see you then. 😁🌎🌍🌏

Best,
Your, GHA

02/04/2019

The UMass Graduate History Association invites all History Department members to a roundtable discussion in the aftermath of anti-Semitic and racist incidents that occurred last semester, but also labor issues surrounding the past AHA and NEMA conferences. It will held on February 19th at 4 PM in Herter Hall 601.
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This roundtable aims to bring together faculty, staff and students in the department to discuss questions of what our role and relevance may be beyond academics, in dealing with questions of racism, and labor practices within departmental and university contexts, and in political and community outreach.
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The speakers are Prof. Diana Becerra, Brittany Frederick (Ph.D candidate), Jessica Johnson (Outreach Director), Perri Meldon (M.A. student), Prof. Sigrid Schmalzer.
Open to all.

02/02/2019

https://popula.com/2019/01/31/my-hometown-florianopolis-brazil/
Yuri Gama, doctoral student in our dept., writes about his relationship to his hometown, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil in Popula:

"For years I felt my life in Florianópolis was boring. These days, I live in Massachusetts, whose silent frozen lakes and mountains of snow both terrify me and make me think back on all the hours I spent complaining about endless traffic jams and expensive bus fares. All this makes me want to send Floripa a postcard sometimes, one with a photo of a snowstorm on the front. On the back, I’d tell the city that I remember all of it: the riots and the beaches and the ghosts, too."

E então segue toda vida reto.

02/02/2019

Our panel on the subject of Race, Labour and Capital was a fantastic success with a great turnout and fascinating discussions. Thank you so much to our panelists Professor Iyko Day, Professor John Higginson and Professor Traci Parker for speaking on the subject of Race, Labour, Capital with great depth and knowledge. Let's keep this momentum going, do not forget that this panel was part of a 2-part series. Our next panel will be held on Tuesday, February 19th in Herter Hall 601 at 4:00 pm.