History Department - University of Texas at Austin

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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/uthistory
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Frontera Scholars Collective invites UT Austin Students & Affiliates:

"How Did We Get Here?: U.S. Immigration Historians Respond”

This panel is a public conversation featuring nationally recognized scholars of U.S. immigration history who will reflect on the current political moment through a historical lens. The event will explore the evolution of federal immigration law and enforcement from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting the structural forces that have shaped immigrant experiences in the United States. In addition to enriching student learning in Dr. Cortez’s undergraduate course Immigration and Ethnicity, this webinar seeks to foster campus-wide dialogue about the historical roots of contemporary immigration policy and its ongoing impact.

Featuring:

• Jonathan Cortez, Ph.D., Moderator
Assistant Professor of Borderlands History at The University of Texas at Austin
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/history/faculty/jc54459

• Sergio González, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History at Marquette University
https://www.marquette.edu/history/directory/sergio-gonzalez.php

• Deborah Kang, Ph.D.
John L. Nau III Associate Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy in the Corcoran Department of History and the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia
https://history.virginia.edu/people/s-deborah-kang

• Carl Lindskoog, Ph.D.
Professor of History at Raritan Valley Community College

• Maddalena Marinari, Ph.D.
Professor of History at Gustavus Adolphus College; President of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society (IEHS)
https://gustavus.edu/profiles/mmarinar

**Note, this online-only event is restricted to UT Austin Affiliates. Attendees must register using their UT Austin email address.**

- Wed. Sep. 10, 6:00-7:30pm, Zoom
- Info: bit.ly/HowWeGotHerePanel
- Sponsored by: Frontera Scholars Collective; Department of History; Center for Asian American Studies; Department of American Studies.

Kudos and many congratulations to Dr. Martha Newman, Professor of History, Mary Helen Thompson Centennial Professor in the Humanities, and founding chair of UT Austin’s Department of Religious Studies, who was recognized with the Civitatis Award from the UT President’s Office! Established in 1997, the award honors exceptional faculty citizenship—recognizing service that goes above and beyond teaching, research, and standard service duties. Dr. Newman was honored for her pivotal role in establishing the Department of Religious Studies. She received the award at the President’s Faculty Awards Reception this past April.

Read the full story at: bit.ly/4eZfejU


NOT EVEN PASTInstitute for Historical Studies College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin Religious Studies at The University of Texas at Austin UT Department of English Women's & Gender Studies, University of Texas at Austin Martha Newman

The Frontera Scholars Collective (FSC) at UT Austin, organized by Assistant Professor of History Jonathan Cortez, hosted its first Summer Institute in June. Five borderlands historians joined for a week of manuscript workshops and dedicated research time in UT archives. Read Dr. Cortez's summary at: bit.ly/FCS-SummerInst25!

Participants included:

• Dr. Priscilla Martinez (Assistant Professor, UT San Antonio)

• Dr. Alberto Wilson (Assistant Professor, Texas Christian University),

• Dr. Tiffany J. González (Assistant professor, University of Kansas), Dr.

• Kevan Malone (Postdoctoral Fellow, Clements Center for Southwestern Studies, Southern Methodist University)

• Leslie Torres (Graduate Student, Texas A&M University).

NOT EVEN PAST Institute for Historical Studies College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austint The University of Texas at Austin Latino Studies at UT Jonathan Cortez

Huge congratulations to Associate Professor of History Dr. Talitha LeFlouria, recipient of the President’s Associates Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award! The award honors exceptional undergraduate teaching and innovation—and Dr. LeFlouria’s inspiring work in the Department of History embodies both.

Bravo to Professor LeFlouria on this well-deserved recognition! Learn more about her award-winning courses and scholarship at: bit.ly/4o1YVXy & talithaleflouria.com

NOT EVEN PAST Institute for Historical Studies College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin University of Texas African and African Diaspora Studies Department Art Galleries at Black Studies
Women's & Gender Studies, University of Texas at Austin Talitha LeFlouria

Josiah M. Daniel III's latest article, "The Historiographical Problem of Municipal Bankruptcy Law," was published on May 13, 2025, and is available now on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5253527. The piece was also featured on the Legal History Blog: https://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2025/05/daniel-on-birth-of-municipal-bankruptcy.html.

This groundbreaking study offers the first archival history of the creation of U.S. municipal bankruptcy law (1933–1938), reframing the narrative by identifying Congressman Hatton Sumners—not Mark Wilcox—as the primary architect of its development and constitutional design during the Great Depression. Daniel argues that the emergence of Chapter IX is best understood through the lens of legal history, rather than the dominant law-and-economics approach. His work sheds new light on the origins of municipal debt relief and the foundations of today’s Chapter 9.

Mr. Daniel earned his MA in History from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986 and his JD in 1978. He is currently a Visiting Scholar in UT Austin’s Department of History and serves as a member and former Chair of the department’s Visiting Committee. A retired Partner in Residence at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., he delivered the History Department’s 2015 commencement address, sharing the resonant message: “History is our best guide to the future” (bit.ly/3H6TqGe).

A historian of law and lawyering, Daniel is currently at work on a biography of Hatton Sumners. Follow his ongoing research and publications at https://blog-josiahmdaniel3.blogspot.com/.

SSRN
Legal History Blog
Josiah M. Daniel III
College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas at Austiniberalartsut
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas School of Law

PhD Student Sylvester Abedi Akyea delivered a guest lecture at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee on the topic "Partition and Conquest of Africa: General Explanation (Motivation and Timing)" on February 17, 2025 via Zoom. The invitation was extended to him by Ms. Matilda Ansah (UW-Milwaukee History PhD Candidate), the instructor for the course "History of Modern Africa."

TODAY! Dr. Peniel Joseph presents his latest work 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 1963 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘊𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (bit.ly/FreedomSzn) at the Harry Ransom Center. Register to attend the in-person talk and conversation moderated by Evan Smith, at: bit.ly/JosephBookLaunch.

Yesterday, Dr. Joseph was honored at a reception at the UT Tower hosted by the Department of History and The LBJ School of Public Affairs to celebrate his two recent prestigious recognitions: a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship for research focused on political polarization and a 2025-2026 fellowship at the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

Join us for this very special book discussion this evening:

🗓 Tuesday, May 13
⏰6:30-7:30pm (Doors: 5:30pm)
📍 Harry Ransom Center, 300 West 21st Street Austin, TX 78705
🏛Co-sponsored by the Texas Book Festival

PhD Candidate Clifton Sorrell III was recently awarded several grants and fellowships to support his last year of dissertation writing and supplementary research. For the 2025-2026 School year, Clifton will hold short-term research fellowships at both the The Huntington Library, and the The John Carter Brown Library. In addition, he has been selected as a Dissertation Fellow at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies (MCEAS) in Philadelphia. This nine-month residency will allow Clifton to complete the remaining chapters of his dissertation project entitled “Surviving the Frontier in the Early Caribbean: Black Freedom Politics, Sovereignty, and Empire in Spanish Jamaica, 1585-1690.”

Dr. Erika Bsumek's "Glen Canyon Dam, Rainbow Bridge, and Hole-in-the-Rock: Environmentalism and the Struggle over 'Sacred' Landmarks in the American West," was published in 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦: 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, edited by Mary Mendoza and Traci Brynne Voyles (University of Nebraska Press, 2025). Read more: https://bit.ly/NotJustGreenWhite

PhD Candidate Ahmed Deidán de la Torre was awarded second place in the 2025 Randolph B. "Mike" Campbell Award for his entry on the lynching of Allen Brooks, published in the Handbook of Texas by the Texas State Historical Association. You can read his entry here: https://bit.ly/TSHABrooksAllen