UMass Lowell History Department

Dr. Jane Sancinito was interviewed for public radio this summer. She was interviewed about the history of the alphabet for GBH Boston’s Curiosity Desk, which aired on June 4. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/live/rYCSZ4Ugzm0?si=Q2LtnlDN24d8_39i

Dr. Sancinito's research answers the question asked at timestamp 2:48:00 to 2:53:00.

Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live Thursday, June 4, 2026 Today on Boston Public Radio: Political analyst Chuck Todd, and Kay...

Join Prof. Bob Forrant and others in Lowell for an upcoming reading of Frederick Douglass's historic speech "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?"! Douglass, one of the leading abolitionists and fighters for racial equality during the nineteenth century, gave this speech at Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852.

The reading will take place on Thursday, June 11, starting at 6 p.m., in the Luna Theater at the Lowell Community Charter Public School. Light refreshments will follow.

Scan the QR code in the flyer to reserve FREE TICKETS!

For any questions, please contact Prof. Forrant via email at [email protected].

Congratulations to the History students who graduated on Saturday!

Chandaranee Khoeun, Owen Fryns, and Samuel Almeida are three of our History Department and Commonwealth Honors College graduates this year. Congratulations!

In April, Prof. Christoph Strobel published a new book: "Settler Colonial Culture and Thought in the Northeastern United States" https://www.routledge.com/Settler-Colonial-Culture-and-Thought-in-the-Northeastern-United-States/Strobel/p/book/9781032640518

This monograph provides the first comprehensive work that examines the intellectual impact of New English narratives about Indigenous peoples, colonization, and the cultural influence they had in the northeastern United States.

Last night, we celebrated the upcoming graduation of NINETEEN of our students!

Samuel Almeida
Molly Braley
Morgan Burns
Ingryd Dantas
Ben Doyen
Tanner Hume
Daranee Khoeun
James Lake
Alex Lee
Ullysses Logan
Courtney Markham
Peter McCallion
David Nguyen
Christopher Pelletier
Jack Petersen
Jacob Schiller
Michael Shank
Richard Silvio
Nicholas Solt

Three students spoke during the party to reflect on their experiences studying history at UML: Jack Petersen, Daranee Khoeun, and Samuel Almeida.

There was pizza from Broadway Pizza and cake!

Congratulations, students!

In spring 2025, the UMass Lowell History Department received a donation of thirty-eight ancient Hellenistic and Roman coins from
David Menchell, a notable coin collector and philanthropist. On Friday, April 24, he visited UMass Lowell, and Professor Jane Sancinito organized an event to honor him.

After Professor Sancinito spoke about the history and pedagogical importance of the collection, five of her students gave brief presentations about the iconography (both obverse and reverse) of coins they had studied. Gabriela Manduca Oliviera discussed a coin depicting Mercury and a ship's prow; Lauren Torpey, Janus and a ship's prow; Owen Schultz, Emperor Vespasian and Victory; Gabriela Mejia, Emperor Commodus and Providentia; and Anthony Avoglia, Emperor Gordian III and Pietas.

The coin collection was on display for the event, during which refreshments were served.

An online student profile was recently created for History major Daranee Khoeun. It highlights a research project she completed with Prof. Emeritus Bob Forrant on Cambodian refugee children in Lowell and their families’ struggle to get them an equal education.
You can read Daranee's profile here:

Daranee Khoeun | Profiles Year: 2026 Major: History Activities: Honors College, Honors Information Peer, Asian American Center for Excellence and Engagement

Last month's "Thomas Hobbes and His 'Leviathan'" conference was the subject of a university article published online by Ed Brennen on April 17:

Students Get Hands-On With 17th-Century Classic | News History Professor Christopher Carlsmith shows first-year students Tea Pucillo, left, and Selina Budu a work from the university's rare book collection during the recent "Thomas Hobbes & His Leviathan" conference at University Crossing.

Prof. Christine Su organized the recent Khmer Diaspora Conference: "The Next 50 Years: Evolving from Surviving to Thriving in the Khmer Diaspora." The conference took place from Friday, March 27, through Sunday, March 29, at Middlesex Community College.

The keynote address, "Memory, Healing, and the Work of Becoming," was given by Dr. Kara Uy Has on March 27.

More than 350 people were in attendance from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, and Thailand!

Professor Su's students contributed to the conference by creating posters about the Khmer American experience that were displayed at the conference and will also be exhibited in the lobby of Lowell City Hall in May, which is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage month.