UofL History

09/15/2026

Next week! UofL History faculty will be participating in this event on History, Memory and the US at 250

09/11/2026

Gottschalk Hall has lived many lives.
Built in the 1890s as part of Louisville’s House of Refuge and later the Louisville Industrial School of Reform, the building that now houses the University of Louisville Department of History once served as a segregated residence for Black girls confined within the city’s reform system. Today, the same space is devoted to studying, teaching, and interpreting the past—including the difficult histories embedded within the building itself.
Join the Department of History on October 1, 2026, from 5:30–8:00 p.m. for Bringing History to Life in Gottschalk Hall, an evening exploring the building’s transformation from an institution that housed young women under systems of confinement and reform to a center for historical scholarship and public history.
The program will include a screening of Future Histories of Emancipation (2025), documenting Vanessa German’s Speed Art Museum residency and her work engaging the histories of the young women who once lived here. Guests will also learn about Gottschalk Hall, the Department of History’s public history programs, and the new BA track in Public History beginning in 2027.
The event is free and open to the public, with light refreshments provided. RSVP is strongly encouraged.
October 1, 2026 | 5:30–8:00 p.m. | Gottschalk Hall 303

05/18/2026

Congratulations to UofL History Department's Chaz Yingling on the co-authored publication of a fascinating topic in the dynamic field of animal history, _The Once & Future Cow: Agency, Appetite, and the Anthropocene_. Dr. Yingling also has a forthcoming book, _Canine Power: A Violent History of Race and Resilience_

This groundbreaking book shows how cows' choices have influenced the economic, agricultural, and socio—political development of the Americas.Tracing the interconnected transformations of cattle, land, and labor from the 18th—century colonial Caribbean to the early...

04/15/2026

You’re sorry you missed this amazing event today! Three day smelting event in front of a red Barn

04/09/2026

Very cool event coming up next week -hands on smelting demonstration! Organized by History Department's Dr. Rebecca Devlin

April 9, 2026 | Students at the University of Louisville will have a rare opportunity to step back in time—and get their hands dirty—during an upcoming Bloomery Smelting Workshop led by Dr. Andrew Welton, Experimental Archaeologist and Specialist in Early Medieval Metallurgy.

04/08/2026

Don't miss next week's living history/experimental archaeology events! Interactive bloomery smelting workshop April 13-15 from 9-5; public lecture by Dr. Andrew Welton April 13 at 6pm. More info at

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