Department of History

Congratulations to Brian Davis, Ph.D. candidate in History at Florida State University, who was recently awarded a McKnight Dissertation Fellowship.

The McKnight Dissertation Fellowship is a prestigious award that provides a stipend to aid graduate students working on their dissertation. The McKnight Dissertation Fellowship is a program that seeks to “address the underrepresentation of African American and Hispanic faculty at colleges and universities in the State of Florida by increasing the pool of citizens qualified with Ph.D. degrees to teach at the college and university levels.”
This award will help cover research related expenses as Davis travels to different archives across the United States.
Well done, Brian!

Find out more about McKnight fellowships here: https://ogfa.fsu.edu/about-us/mcknight-fellowships

FSU History invites you to
Crucible of the Nation: How America's Internal Border Created the South

A Symposium in Honor of the Late Prof. Edward G. Gray
October 18, 2024
8am-4:30pm

Beth Moor Lounge
Florida State University

Sponsored by
The FSU Department of History
The FSU College of Arts & Sciences

Free and Open to the Public
Registration by September 16 required

For more information: https://sites.google.com/view/graysymposium/home
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/4fcpq8h

Please join us in giving an to Dr. Folarin Ajibade who will be joining the Department of History this fall as an assistant professor.
Dr. Ajibade is trained broadly as a historian of Africa and the African Diaspora. His current research interests are primarily informed by the everyday lives of Africans, by which he means the mundane and daily activities that Africans partake in. Ajibade sees these activities as consequential and revelatory rather than as trivial pursuits that should be taken for granted.
His book project builds on this premise. It explores the history of the practice and business of gambling in urban Nigeria from the colonial period to recent times.
This fall, Ajibade will be teaching a course on Everyday Life in African Cities, a class that centers his intellectual interests in everyday life and urban life. He is excited to hear why students decided to take the course and to see how they respond to the wide range of course materials. In the future, he plans to teach courses on Popular Culture(s) in Africa, Music in African History, Economic Life in Africa, and Cosmopolitanism in Africa and the African Diaspora.
Welcome to Florida State!
Photo credit: Devin Bittner, College of Arts and Sciences

Welcome to "Luckily I have Purse! The History of Some of Your Favorite Bags," where we investigate how bags that are classic and timeless have emerged and remained icons for many years.
These accessories are much more than just something to lug around on your arm, and today we'll look at the Birkin Bag to show why!

Why is it called the Birkin bag?
On a flight to Paris, Jane Birkin, an English-French “It Girl”, sat next to Hermès artistic director Jean-Luis Dumas. As Birkin spilled the contents of her wicker basket, she explained the difficulty she faced in finding a spacious, secure, and stylish bag. She then drew up the first sketches of the Birkin bag on an airplane vomit bag. One year later, in 1984, the first Birkin bag was released and retailed for about $2,000.

Early days of the Birkin bag
Initially, public response to the Birkin bag was underwhelming since Chanel bags were dominating the market. Despite the quality and interesting origin story of the bag, it didn't break through until the 1990s, with demand skyrocketing in 2001.

Why is it so expensive?
Birkin bags, made of heritage leather and metal hardware, take a single craftsman about 18 to 20 hours to make. Buying a Birkin bag directly from Hermès requires an extensive purchase history with the brand. Boutiques can only purchase a select number of bags on a bi-annual basis, rarely knowing the style of the bag beforehand. This makes the bag very limited and valuable.

The value of the Birkin bag
The Birkin bag’s reputation as a long-term investment item has grown with time. Their value grew faster than the price of gold, with a return on investment of more than 500% over the past 35 years. Compared to other luxury collectibles, Birkin bags have higher market volatility, making them comparable to a hedge-fund investment.

Role in Pop Cultures
I’m sure you’re still wondering what happened in 2001... When Samantha in the hit series “S*x and the City” made the iconic statement, “It’s not a bag — it's a Birkin!”, demand for the bag skyrocketed to unseen heights. Additionally, with appearances in TV shows and many celebrities owning the bag, it turned into a symbol of wealth, influence, status, and power in society.
Post credit: Hannah Bergman

Sources:
https://madisonavenuecouture.com/blogs/news/a-brief-history-of-the-birkin-bag-the-holy-grail-handbag
https://www.cnn.com/style/hermes-birkin-bag-origins-cost/index.html
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/everything-about-the-birkin-hermes-bag #:~:text=Brief%20History%20of%20the%20Birkin%20Herm%C3%A8s&text=The%20Birkin%20Herm%C3%A8s%20design%20is,for%20her%20fast%2Dpaced%20lifestyle
Image credits:
Hermès Ostrich Birkin Bag, Wen-Cheng Liu. License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
Jane Birkin at the American film festival in Deauville, Normandie, France, Roland Godefroy. License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
Birkin Bag by Hermès, Ohconfucius. License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
Hermes Birkin Purse, Yvette Religioso-Ilagan. This is a retouched picture. Modifications: Background replacement. Completed handle. Modifications made by Jorgebarrios. The original can be found on wikimedia.org: Pink Birkin Bag. License: Creative Commons
HBO Source: 'S*x and the City' - Season Six DVD - Episode 6x1: To Market, To Market.

Congratulations to FSU History alumna Cindy Ermus, Ph.D. 2014, who recently accepted a new position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ermus will direct the Humanities in Medicine program as Charles and Linda Wilson Professor in the History of Medicine. Well done, Dr. Ermus!

UROP in History: Digitally Archiving the Oliver L. Austin Photographic Collection

History major Vayeira Moshe worked as a Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program assistant researching and cataloging the Oliver L. Austin Collection of post-war Japan photos under the guidance of Dr. Annika A. Culver. The collection, held by Special Collections in the Florida State University Libraries, will be at the heart of a new illustrated book on Japan during the Allied Occupation era (1945-52). In this interview, Moshe talks about his surprising discoveries while working on the photographic collection. Tap fla.st/Q62EUBCT to start reading.

In honor of the 200th anniversary of Tallahassee, we will look at the desegregation of schools during the 1960s in Leon county. Desegregation was not a swift process due to people's acceptance of the status quo, fiscal, and logistical issues. The desegregation of schools in Leon county started in 1963 and continued until 1970. After much pressure, Leon county allowed Black parents to make choices about their children's education.
Post credit: Stacy
Images: Florida Memory

Congratulations to Dr. Katherine Mooney on her promotion to full professor! Dr. Mooney is interested in the cultural history of inequality in the United States--how it is imagined and made into political and legal discourse, how it plays out in people's daily lives. She primarily works on the history of slavery and its legacies. She has published three books so far:

Isaac Murphy: The Rise and Fall of a Black Jockey (2023)
Isaac Murphy, born enslaved in 1861, still reigns as one of the greatest jockeys in American history. Black jockeys like Murphy were at the top of the most popular sport in America at the end of the nineteenth century.
https://bit.ly/3AcvlKy

Race Horse Men: How Slavery and Freedom were made at the Racetrack (2014)
Race Horse Men recaptures the vivid sights, sensations, and illusions of nineteenth-century thoroughbred racing, America’s first mass spectator sport.
https://bit.ly/3WKWKv0

Ruined By This Miserable War: The Dispatches of Charles Prosper Fauconnet (2013)
In March 1863, after Northern general Benjamin F. Butler demanded the recall of the French consul-general, an unabashed Confederate sympathizer, from Union-occupied New Orleans, Charles Prosper Fauconnet assumed the duties of acting consul.
https://bit.ly/3yz0NSR

Photo by Christopher T. Martin

Meet Hope Evans, a dedicated public history graduate student at Florida State University. In this week's spotlight story, learn more about Hope's work at The John G. Riley Center & Museum, which helps preserve African American history in Tallahassee. Read more here: fla.st/ZB8M5U5O

Congratulations to Huaqing Shi, Ph.D. 2024, who recently accepted a visiting professorship in Asian history at Loyola University New Orleans. Great news!

Navigating Dissertation and Career: Reflections on a Journey in History
Discover how Dave Lunger, Ph.D. 2024, navigated the path to earning his Ph.D. in Military History while balancing a job at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Tap fla.st/PDOVGWTL to read the article on the FSU History department's website.

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The Great American Outdoors Act was passed in 2020 which gave funds to improve and expand National Parks and other public lands.
To celebrate the anniversary of GAOA, the National Park Service invites people to visit any National Park site for free on August 4.
The following slides show Florida's National Parks.
Post credit: Stacy

Sources: National Park Service, Florida Memory, National Register of Historic Places (66000098), Department of the Interior

Congratulations to Ian Varga, Ph.D., who will start as a teaching assistant professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, this fall. Varga will be teaching a mix of world history, American history, and history of science courses.
Well done, Ian!

The Law School Experience: An Interview with FSU History alumnus Tyler Roy
After his undergrad at Florida State University, Tyler Roy decided to pursue a career in the legal profession. In this interview, he shares why he chose the University of Richmond for his law school and how this choice is shaping his future in criminal law.
Read the article at fla.st/R0UIZ36W

Congratulations to Chelsi Arellano, Ph.D. candidate in History, to whom the Massachusetts Historical Society has awarded the Samuel Victor Constant Fellowship from the Society of Colonial Wars in Massachusetts. This award will allow Arellano to conduct dissertation research in their archive. Her research focus is on the Bostonian Revolts of 1689 in response to the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Arellano plans to examine the diaries of Boston leaders, such as Samuel Sewall and Cotton Mather, and family papers, from the Winthrop Family and Jeffries Family, in order to investigate the degree to which those from the lowest classes of the empire were able to initiate change, whether intended or not, throughout the continued fight for the return of the original charter of Massachusetts.
Well done, Chelsi!

What's it like to be a social media intern for the FSU History department? Meet Alyssa who interned with FSU History in spring, summer and fall of 2023. Read about her experience and insights creating content for the department's social media channels: fla.st/S8TO7MBZ
Thanks for all your work, Alyssa!
Interview and graphics by Ana Luyanda

FSU History @ Nanzan University in Japan!
Recently, Emily Lu, Ph.D. candidate in History, met up with Takahito Moriyama, FSU History Ph.D. 2019, in Nagoya, Japan, for a talk about their respective research projects. While Lu holds a current Fulbright scholarship to Japan at Waseda University, Moriyama was a Fulbright recipient to the U.S. for his graduate studies at Florida State University.

With the help of a Fulbright-Hays grant, Lu is conducting fieldwork for her doctoral project on Japanese military music during World War II. Her specific focus is to investigate how the Japanese war-era music culture depicted non-Japanese people in the colonies and puppet state, namely in Northeast China, Taiwan, and Korea.

Moriyama is currently an associate professor of American Studies at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan. He teaches classes on U.S. history and culture and enjoys discovering his students’ perspectives on the topics they cover. In his own work, Moriyama is researching into U.S. minority conservatism. Asked what he missed most about Florida, Moriyama said: “Cajun food and Publix!”

FSU History invites you to

Crucible of the Nation: How America's Internal Border Created the South
A Symposium in Honor of the Late Prof. Edward G. Gray

October 18, 2024
8am-4:30pm

Beth Moor Lounge
Florida State University

Sponsored by
The FSU Department of History
The FSU College of Arts & Sciences

Free and Open to the Public
Registration by September 16 required

For more information: https://sites.google.com/view/graysymposium/home
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/4fcpq8h