History Newsletter
Season's Greetings from the Department of History at the University of Minnesota,
Our faculty, staff, and students have been busy, so rather than wait until the end of the academic year to share all the stories, we've decided to send out a mid-year newsletter. In particular, we're excited to feature some of the interesting research undertaken by members of our department.
Department of History Book Club
We continue to hear from faculty, students, and alumni authors about their fascinating books in Zoom webinars three times each semester. This fall, we featured Medieval and early modern books, and we have a diverse lineup for spring, including the history of biofuels, the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolution, and Jewish books in North Africa. You can view recordings of past meetings and sign up for upcoming Zooms at our History Book Club page.
Farewells & Welcomes
As I mentioned in the June newsletter, Andre Kobayashi Deckrow and Joo-hyeon Oh began appointments as tenure-track assistant professors this fall.
We celebrated the career of Daniel Schroeter, the Amos S. Deinard Memorial Chair in Jewish History, who retired at the end of last academic year.
And we mourn the passing of a professor emeritus and several alumni:
- Byron K. Marshall was a leading historian of Japan who published several books. He taught in our department as well as in East Asian studies for more than thirty years.
- Ann Pflaum (PhD '75) worked in a range of leadership and teaching roles at the University of Minnesota throughout her career. She also published The University of Minnesota, 1945-2000 in 2001 with Stan Lemberg. The Minnesota Daily wrote a lively feature about her in 2017.
- Quintard Taylor (PhD '77) wrote his dissertation on the history of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest. He held positions at California Polytechnic State University and the University of Oregon before finally being appointed the Dorothy and Scott Bullitt Professor of American History at the University of Washington. In addition to his books and academic articles, he founded BlackPast.org in 2007, which he discussed in an interview last year with CLA.
- William Garvelink (MA '74) had a distinguished career in USAID and the foreign service, including as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Warm regards (from the cold north),
Sarah C. Chambers
Celebrating Daniel Schroeter
A special thanks to a historian whose insight, research, and leadership we won't forget.
Professor Daniel Schroeter's tenure at the University of Minnesota has been defined by his generosity toward colleagues and students and his pathbreaking approach to researching Moroccan Jewish history.
Public Scholarship
Making history accessible and meeting others where they are.
What has student activism looked like on our campus throughout the years? A student-created exhibition on view in the West Bank Skyway and online highlights some of the many notable moments of student activism here at the University of Minnesota between the 1880s and 1980s, from petitions to establish physical education for women to South African divestment.
David Aiona Chang’s website invites viewers to learn more about the historical figure at the heart of the Apple TV series.
History staff member David Perry's op-ed in the Minnesota Star Tribune features American Indian studies faculty Nick Estes and Kim TallBear.
Read "Opinion | Concentration camps are not just part of our past, but our present and future"
Graduate Student Research
We are endlessly inspired by our graduate students, who continue to help us understand the past through research that looks to the future.
Joshua Althoff earned his PhD in History in spring 2025 with Professors David Chang and Jean O'Brien. He is a visiting assistant professor of history at Knox College for the 2025–26 year. In this piece, he discusses the major themes of his dissertation, "Vincennes in Myaamionki: Constructing and Contesting Indiana's Past in Miami Homelands."
Read "Joshua Althoff researches Indigenous Indiana and Historical Memory"
Ntombizodwa Mpofu reflects on how her one-month internship deepened her view of academic impact on real-world policies.
Read "Exploring Climate Policy Through Research"
Eliana Chavkin completed her PhD in history in spring 2005, working with Professor Saje Mathieu. For 2025–26, she was awarded Brown University's prestigious Pembroke Center Research Fellowship. She discusses the theme of her dissertation, entitled "'The Monument Does Not Remember': America's World War I Memorials and the Struggle to Create History from Memory."
