USF Department of History

Spotlight on our amazing students!

Perched atop a pile of dirt, we find a group of archaeologists casually resting in their natural habitat.

Our team of archaeologists for this season's dig includes field students from the University of South Florida, GWF interns, and GWF archaeology staff. Sadly, our field students will be returning home next week. Today's is a quick reminder to come stop and say "hi" while you can still find them out in the field!

The defense is over, and the title is official! Massive congratulations to Angela Costello on passing her PhD defense today! Raising a glass to you and to your supervisor, Dr. Davide Tanasi, for helping guide the way. Now go celebrate this amazing achievement!

Our doctoral candidate Lisa Nunez Shorts and M.A. student Madison Fidler are currently on the ground in Sicily, excavating with USF IDEx at the spectacular Roman Villa del Tellaro.

Directed by Dr. Davide Tanasi, this archaeological project aims to bring the discovery of this incredible 5th-century CE complex full circle, nearly 50 years after it was first uncovered in 1977. Stay tuned for more updates as the team uncovers the past!

Propaganda is everywhere—so why is it so hard to see?

If you want a truly eye-opening look at how modern soft power, media narratives, and "democracy promotion" shape public perception, check out this brilliant piece by our Ben Thomason on Dr. Matt Alford’s Substack.

Ben does a masterful job breaking down the subtle mechanics behind how public consent is manufactured for foreign interventions, unpacking how money, institutional power, and polished media narratives can obscure complex geopolitical realities. It’s an essential, thought-provoking read for anyone looking to sharpen their critical media literacy in the 21st century.

Propaganda Is Everywhere. Why Is The Field That Studies It So Unstable? Even supposed experts clash over everything from covid to war to the moon landings

USF George Washington's Ferry Farm Field School students visited the Octagon House in Washington DC for a special insider tour. The Octagon is a unique 1799 home build for John Tayle III at Washington's urging. The home had quite a history going from being a country estate when it was new to being rented out tenement rooms in the early 20th century. The home has the distinction of being where President Madison lived following the British burning of the White House. History majors Rebekah Greer and Rainey Skobal pick up the pen at the desk where Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812.

Nothing gives us more joy than to see our undergraduates thrive and excel! A huge shout-out to our amazing students who received department awards for their outstanding academic accomplishments.

Please join us in congratulating this year's winners:

- Nicholas Sponolios – Lawson-Hewitt Award
- Olivia Horn – Rosemary Moore O’Hara Award
- Jonathan Zizak – Fraser Ottanelli Award
- Elizabeth Hines – Rosenkranz Award

We are so proud of you all!!!

One of the standout highlights from this past Spring semester was undoubtedly the grand re-opening of our Ancient Studies Center. Originally founded in 2008 by Professor Emeritus William Murray, thanks to a generous donation from Michael Garcia, the Center has entered a new chapter under the direction of our own Jesse Obert. The updated space boasts a beautifully rearranged physical and digital library, offering students and scholars a revitalized hub for studying and researching ancient history.

Congratulations to our faculty Davide Tanasi, our doctoral candidate Angela Costello, and our alumna Kylie Dillinger for this new digital humanities paper just published on journal The Historian!

Preservation of Fading Memories: The Three-Dimensional Digitization and Visualization of the Second-World-War-Era Amache Japanese-American Internment Camp (Granada, Colorado) Published in The Historian (Vol. 88, No. 2, 2026)

We are incredibly proud to spotlight our very own History major, Arielle Kessler!

Thanks to the Mellon Humanities Internship Program, Arielle recently completed a powerful internship at the Florida Holocaust Museum right here in the Tampa Bay area. During her time there, she gained hands-on archival experience by cataloging documents related to the life and legacy of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.

For Arielle, the work was deeply personal, a meaningful way to honor her great-grandmother’s experiences in Nazi-occupied Europe and ensure these vital stories are preserved for future generations.

Internship grant opens doors for humanities students University of South Florida

Congratulations to our freshly minted doctorate holder Madeleine Kraft and PhD student Angela Costello who will both be presenting at the Annual Meeting of the North American Patristic Society (NAPS) in Chicago from May 21–23".
Madeleine will present on “Religious Co-Production in the Catacombs of Santa Lucia: The Formation of Funerary Religion and the Materiality of Syncretism in Sicily, 3rd-6th Centuries CE”, and Angela on “The Daughters of Eve: Assessing the Writings of the Church Fathers to Better Understand Women’s Dress in Late Antiquity”.

We couldn't have asked for a better representative for our ancient history program!"