Bucknell History

In October, Prof. Kasimova participated in the Symposium on the cross-cultural heritage of Uzbekistan titled “The Craft of Mending” as part of the inaugural Bukhara Biennial.
A three-day symposium’s main aim was to position Uzbekistan as a site of rich transregional exchange, highlighting cultural continuities and innovations that traverse Central, East, and Southeast Asia, the broader Middle East and North Africa, as well as post-Soviet countries. The symposium was held in English, in the inner courtyard of the Gavkushon madrasah, and was open to public, with simultaneous translation to Uzbek and Russian. Three days of presenting and attending talks at one of the historical centers of Islamic learning, among historians and art curators from thirteen countries, as well as exploring dozens of contemporary art installations (all envisioned as collabs between local craftspeople, expats, and foreign artists) created a one-of-a-kind experience of discovery and synthesis.

Prof. Kasimova gave a talk on a complex history of the Soviet-era art museum not far from the Aral Sea, which famously houses an eclectic collection of Russian avant-garde, Karakalpak applied art & Khorezmian ancient artifacts. Titled “National in Form, Hybrid in Content? Creation of the Savitsky Museum in Nukus,” Kasimova’s talk contended that the museum’s idiosyncratic collection compiled in the 1960s-1970s, was far from random, and signified the convergence of two “halted” experiments of the early-Soviet era, that of the Russian avant-garde art of the 1920s, and the Karakalpak nation-building “from below,” paused by the Stalin’s political purges of the 1930s.

Check out more on the Bukhara Biennial here: https://www.bukharabiennial.uz/programme/the-craft-of-mending-a-symposium-on-the-cross-cultural-heritage-of-uzbekistan

Pictures: Courtesy of Davron Madiev () from the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation and Zukhra Kasimova.

Getting ready for Hallowe'en? Some inspiration from the school mascot over the years:

Bucky the Bison from 1936 and 1950, with Becky the Bison - wait, we had a Becky? - in 1989.

Bucknell University Archives .scua

P.S. Whether there were bison here is .... a complicated question. Take a history class to find out more.

Spring 2026 course Registration starts Monday!!
See a full list of History courses on our blog!
🔗 in our bio and story.

Which course are you most excited to take?

Bucknell Humanities Center themed-programming event.

🗓️ Oct. 21
⏰ 7 to 8:30pm
📍 Gallery Theatre, ELC 3rd floor.

All are welcome.

Professor Campbell will guide a walking tour today for the Bucknell Institute for Lifelong Learning - Hidden Waters and Hidden Histories if Lewisburg.

📷 1: Do you know where your water comes from? 
These were the 'standpipes' located in what is now Soldiers' Park on Water Street. The first one was completed in 1883, the second in 1898; they pulled water from the Susquehanna to pipe through the town. They were torn down in 1923.Bucknell University Archives https://jstor.org/stable/community.23909287

📷 2: Article from the Lewisburg Chronicle, December 20, 1883

For Indigenous Peoples Day, respectfully acknowledging the histories and presence of numerous nations in the Susquehanna Valley over the centuries.

Note the "Council House" at the village of Shamokin (now Sunbury) in “Mr. Armstrong’s rough draft of the country to the west of Susquehanna” (1755) LOC

Professor Campbell will discuss the history of the local timber industry as part of the Tree Time Series.

🗓️ Oct 9th
🕰️ 4:30 pm
📍Samek Art Museum, ELC 310

Class of 2027 and 2028 don't forget to RSVP!

🎉🎉 Congratulations to Professor Osei!
Dr. Cassie Osei and co-author Dr. John Mundell, received Honorable Mention for the Toni Cade Bambara Article Prize through the Black Women's Studies Association for their article "Gayl Jones's Afro-Brazil: Hemispheric Black Feminisms and (Mis)Readings of Marronage."

🔗 In our Bio

Students from HIST 215: Mapping History try to use techniques from 17th-century New England to map the quad.

Bucknell recently announced this year's 30 under 30. The list includes artistic visionaries, changemakers, entrepreneurial innovators, and industry standouts. An outstanding list of young alumni including Amy C. Collins ’18, Esq. a history major. Amy, an industry standout, is a White Collar and Criminal Defense Attorney. Congratulations Amy in this well deserved honor! 👏👏

See the link in our bio for the full list of Bucknell's 30 under 30.

Happy 1st Day of Classes
Stop by the History Department (Coleman Hall) and snap your 1st Day Photo 📷