History/Art History Dept., Villanova University

Congratulations to the 2025 Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society inductees and our Paper Prize winners !

Check it out! Dr. Tim McCall’s new co-written book (with John Gagné, University of Sydney) was just published in Cambridge University Press’s Elements in the Renaissance series. Elements are short books available first as pdfs, and later in both paperback and hardcover. The Fabric of War pdf is available as a free download for the next two weeks (until July 30), and the books themselves follow soon after. Dr. McCall says, “feel free to download, everyone!"

The Fabric of War Cambridge Core - European History 1000-1450 - The Fabric of War

Check out the History Department's Dr. Judy Giesberg on NPR speaking on her latest book, Last Seen: The Enduring Search by Formerly Enslaved People to Find Their Lost Families. She is joined by local genealogist, Adrienne Whaley.

Congratulations, Dr. Giesberg!!

'Last Seen': searching for lost family after slavery - WHYY Historian Judith Giesberg, author of "Last Seen," and genealogist Adrienne Whaley on the families ripped apart by slavery and the search to find their loved ones.

Professor Timothy McCall, the Art History Program Director, joins historian, Jana Byars in a podcast to discuss his latest book, "Making the Renaissance Man, Masculinity in the Courts of Renaissance Italy."

Listen to it here: https://newbooksnetwork.com/making-the-renaissance-man

Ferdie has questions. The latest, "What line from a song or poem moves you"?

Congratulations to the new MA in History graduates! We are so proud of all of you and wish you great success in the future.
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat! ✌️💙🎓

The Graduating Class of 2023!
The History Department's undergraduate and graduate classes gathered together with faculty to celebrate this great event! Wishing each student all the best in the next exciting chapter of their lives!

1st image Graduate Class with Drs. Bailey and Hartnett
2nd image Undergraduate Class with Drs. Bailey and Hartnett

Check out what History major Alex Morrow (’19), has been up to!

He just completed his first year at East Carolina University’s Maritime Studies Program.

He went as part of a joint ECU-POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)-Task Force Dagger mission to Saipan. TFD is a non-profit that helps Special Forces veterans find a renewed sense of purpose and rehabilitation through service and SCUBA diving. They were in Saipan to excavate a submerged F6F-Hellcat that had been shot down during the battle. There they discovered fascinating aircraft wreckage that he will study as part of his thesis. They spent 2 weeks excavating the site with perfect diving conditions.

This June, he will be spending time in Antigua to study sunken vessels in English Harbor for their summer field school.

Tommy DeStefanis, a double Art History and Biochemistry major (May '23) presented at the Philadelphia-Area Undergraduate Art History Research Symposium at Temple University. The event included students from Temple, Bryn Mawr, University of Pennsylvania, St. Josephs', and LaSalle. His paper was titled "Constructing Public Consciousness: Representation and Authority in AIDS Visual Culture."

Congratulations to Gabriel Morbeck, MA '23 for publication of his article in 'Concept'! Great job!

Read Dr. Lynne Hartnett's piece in the Washington Post!

The article is titled “Navalny will miss the Oscars red carpet, but his courage is on display.” You can read it here:

Perspective | Navalny will miss the Oscars red carpet, but his courage is on display The Academy Award-nominated documentary “Navalny” situates his actions in a long tradition of self-sacrificial activism in Russian history.