History in the public interest from the Lepage Center at Villanova University

Nieman Reports,  the magazine and website that covers thought leadership in journalism, recently  featured the ongoing collaboration  between The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest at Villanova University, and Drexel University's Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships in a story titled " What Happens to News When Journalists and Historians Join Forces ."

The  partnership , made possible by a grant from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, gives local journalists and historians more opportunities to work together, infusing more historical scholarship into local news. 

"B ringing history to bear on contemporary issues is part of the Lepage Center’s mandate," says Jason Steinhauer, the Lepage Center’s director in the Nieman Lab story. "Often that happens through the press, mediated by journalists."

Read about this crucial collaboration on the Nieman Labs website . A version also appears in the Nieman Report quarterly magazine.
Marking an anniversary by expanding the conversation

March 25, 2020
7pm, Driscoll Auditorium, Villanova Campus

Free and open to the public

The 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage offers an opportunity to shine light on historical scholarship that challenges familiar myths and draws our attention to people and stories that these celebrations often overlook. Join us for a discussion that revises how we think about this anniversary and what histories it comprises.

Featuring:

Margaret Washington , Professor of History, Cornell University
Lisa Tetrault , Associate Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon University
Marion W. Roydhouse , Retired Professor of History, Philadelphia University

With comment by  Shannen Dee Williams , Albert Lepage Assistant Professor of History, Villanova University

Moderated by Adele Lindenmeyr, Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Villanova University

A complimentary dessert reception immediately follows the event
The event will be recorded. Follow the conversation on Twitter at hashtag #LepageAtVU
The 2020 History Career Day was hosted by the Lepage Center in Villanova's Falvey Memorial Library. Photo by Genny Waldman.
The Lepage Center hosted its third annual  History Career Day on February 7th, 2020. A signature program of the Lepage Center, History Career Day showcases how history majors put their degrees to work in the history profession and beyond.

The program offers insights into career opportunities for students with history degrees. The event is open to undergraduates and graduate students majoring or minoring in history--as well as students in other humanities disciplines and students undecided about their majors.

This year's featured speakers were: 

  • John Brennan, a former team leader of FEMA Corps, an organization within AmeriCorps devoted to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and now a Masters student at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service (B.A. '17);
  • Beaudry Allen, Preservation and Digital Archivist at Villanova University Falvey Memorial Library (M.A. '13); and
  • Michael LaFlash, Junior Associate with Heritage Consulting Group (B.A. '15).

The speakers helped students see how the skills they gain through a history education translate into the workplace, as well as sharing the steps along their career paths that led them to where they are.

The American Historical Association is leading a nationwide initiative on  Career Diversity for Historians. Resources include:


Additional career resources for historians may be found on the websites of the  National Council on Public History and  American Association for State and Local History.
Workshop: How Academics and Journalists
Can Work Together
The Lepage Center welcomed Inquirer editor Charlotte Sutton on January 31, 2020. Photo by Genny Waldman.
As part of the Lepage Center's collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Center welcomed Charlotte Sutton, Assistant Managing Editor at  The Inquirer, for a conversation between editors, journalists and scholars. 

As a career-long reporter and editor, Mrs. Sutton has worked with hundreds of researchers and academics, as well as leading workshops for scholars on how to pitch their research to media members. During an intimate lunchtime conversation, she conversed with more than 20 Villanova faculty and staff on how scholars and journalists can best work together.

This is the third annual workshop hosted by the Lepage Center focused on the communication of historical scholarship among broader audiences. In 2018, the Center hosted award-winning podcaster Liz Covart for a podcasting 101 workshop. In 2019, the Center hosted historian and writer Jonathan Zimmerman for a workshop on op-ed writing. That event produced a resource on how to write op-eds.
Watch the Lepage Center on C-SPAN:
Saturday, Feb. 15th at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 16th at 6:20 a.m.
Our recent public event, "Revising the Holocaust: Deepening our Understanding of Nazi-directed Genocide" will air on C-SPAN's American History TV this coming weekend. The air dates are:

  • Saturday, Feb. 15th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
  • Sunday, Feb. 16th at 6:20 a.m. Eastern

Following the broadcast, the program will be available on the C-SPAN website.

The event was part of a six-part series on " Revisionist History " hosted by the Lepage Center. Our gratitude to C-SPAN's American History TV for their interest of the series.
Congratulations to our friends in Belgium
In April 2109, The Lepage Center welcomed our historian colleagues from KU Leuven in Belgium as they prepared to launch a new history center inspired, in part, by the Lepage Center.

That project recently launched and can be found online at arts.kuleuven.be. Follow them on Twitter @corvushc.
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Villanova, PA 19085