News & Events
Upcoming Events
March 6, 1:30PM in Gates Common RoomThis fun and interactive performance presents the ancient, mysterious art of traditional Indian street magic in a contemporary fusion style that entertains audiences while it teaches them too. The performance features classic Indian magic adapted for western audiences, and Shreeyash’s unique signature fusion magic blending and comparing Indian and western performance styles.
This engaging interactive presentation accompanied by a slideshow explores how traditional Indian magic—Jadoo—has influenced magic around the world, and created images of India in the western popular imagination that resonate even today. It begins by examining the ancient roots of magic in India, then considers how magic relates to the colonial encounter. It concludes by considering how images of Indian magic continue to be created and deployed today by many, including jadoowallas, the last living traditional street magicians, who call themselves madaris.
Gates Common Room, Palmer Hall
Thursday, April 3 @ 12pm in Palmer Hall 230.
In 1948, about 150,000 Palestinians remained in the newly-established, self-defined Jewish state. Even though they received Israeli citizenship, they found themselves as a marginalized, defeated minority, while 750,000 Palestinians were forced into refugeness.This paper explores how Palestinians who became citizens in Israel sought to safeguard their place in their homeland, within Israel, under the military regime that was imposed on them in its early years.
They attempted to create a meaningful citizenship in Israel, in struggles in which they claimed their social, political and economic rights while insisting on their distinct Palestinian national identity.
Thursday, April 10 @ 12:30 | Palmer Hall 223.
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Fall 2024 Events
In 1889, a doctor named AF King weighed in on a debate among his colleagues about whether or not childbirth was natural: “If we would understand natural parturition, pure and simple, we must study primitive woman – woman of the forest and the field.”
What did King and his contemporaries mean by natural? What did it have to do with race and colonialism?
This talk examines late nineteenth-century ideas about the naturalness – or not – of childbirth, focusing on how King’s contemporaries tapped into racist ideas of Indigenous birth, accumulated through settler politics of knowledge production about Indigenous people in the US West. By recognizing the politics of gender, race, nature, and reproduction at the center of settler colonialism as a dispossessive power structure, this history contextualizes contemporary debates about the naturalness of birth, biological motherhood, and other reproductive functions.
Tuesday, September 3rd at 4:30 PM in the Timothy Fuller Event Space.
This event will delve into the deep connections between Palestinian music and collective memory, exploring how song serves as a vessel for cultural identity, resilience, and the enduring relationship with the land. Drawing from the rich traditions of Palestinian folk music, we will examine how environmental motifs and sonic expressions encapsulate the essence of place, time, and community. As we reflect on the role of music in preserving the heritage of a displaced people, this event will offer a broader perspective on how these oral traditions transcend borders, ensuring that the legacy of Palestine continues to thrive through generations. Join us for an evening of meaningful dialogue, cultural reflection, and the powerful connection between sound and memory.
Thursday, September 12th at 5:30PM in the Tim Fuller Event Space.
Please join us for this live-streamed conversation on recent Supreme Court rulings including presidential immunity, Fischer v. United States, and Trump v. Anderson. with Noah Bookbinder, President and CEO, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Lunch will be provided.
Tuesday, September 17th at 12:30 PM in the Palmer Hall Gates Common Room.
This slide-illustrated talk explores the world as seen by a Colorado public school teacher who won a competition for a sabbatical opportunity with an application to travel the world for six months with his wife and two young daughters. His mission, with his family, was to see the world and its history through elementary and middle-school kids’ eyes, and to use that experience to frame topics and gather materials for curricular use.
Friday, October 4th at 4:30 PM in the Timothy Fuller Event Space.
Talk and book signing:
In their new book, two key leaders and former staff of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) --Rebecca Vilkomerson and Rabbi Alissa Wise--focus on the important role of anti-Zionist Jewish organizing within the broader Palestine solidarity movement, reflecting on their decade of leadership of JVP and drawing lessons especially relevant to those organizing from a position of solidarity.
Tuesday, October 29 at 3:00pm in the McHugh Commons.
In 1980, 华体会 hosted the first national championship for women’s soccer, two years before the NCAA, and at a moment without a domestic professional league for competitive players. Students in the Rise of American Sport and Society courses proved with archival work that CC was central to organizing local, regional, and national tournaments for women players across the country at the onset of the sport. Institutional legends earned five Final Four appearances and two-national runner-up finishes, and were awarded roughly twenty-four All American honors from 1980-1991.
Join Prof. Jamal Ratchford for an inspiring discussion with our returning CC soccer legends as they share their experiences and insights. Panelists include the founder of our legendary program in Stephen Paul, M.D., All-Conference Player Judy Sondermann, and All-Americans Karen Willoughby and Charry Morris.
Thursday, October 31 at 4:30pm in the Cornerstone Screening Room (131).
The Department of History invites you to join us for the Homecoming Weekend Open House. Meet the department chair, network with alumni, and enjoy snacks and refreshments provided!
Friday, November 1 at 1:00 PM in the Palmer 208 Suite.
Join: Francie (Gallacher) Anderson ’86, Teddy Mattera ’88, Matt Case ’88, Annabel Lermer ’88, Pascal Gasirabo ’88, Kieran Hixon ’91 and Cat Finney (Tutt Library 1988-92) as they reflect on student activism and campus divestment efforts during the 1980s.
Saturday, November 2 at 4:00 PM in the Cornerstone Screening Room (131); Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerston Arts Center.
Since the 2022 Supreme Court Dobbs decision, elective terminations became illegal in Texas. Texas has 10% of all the reproductive age women in the US. Over these past two years, Texas abortion clinics have closed and certain towns have even tried to ban out-of-state travel to obtain a termination. Many women have come forward to share harrowing stories about delayed or even denied medical care because of confusion over Texas abortion-related laws. Before Dobbs, there were 4,000 voluntary terminations every month; there are now five or fewer. How are obstetricians and gynecologists on the ground handling this situation? Come hear an expert speak about the state of abortion-related care in Texas.
CC alumnus (’11) Dr. Nguyen Nguyen, DO, is an OB/gyn healthcare provider in San Antonio, Texas. She grew up in Denver, CO and earned her medical degree at Pacific Northwest University.
Monday, November 4 at 3:00pm in Gaylord Hall.
Sponsored by: Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Philosophy, REMS, and the Feminist and Gender Studies departments.
Social Christians and the Fight to End American Inequality
What if we could design a coin for a future where nations, regions, or communities reclaim their autonomy—or invent new ways to represent themselves? In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore the power of national imagery and collective identity through the lens of speculative imagination. Using collage techniques, we’ll cut, layer, and compose visuals for hypothetical coins that reflect the values, symbols, and aspirations of a people, place, or imagined community. Together, we’ll question: Who would use this currency? What stories should it tell? And how can we create designs that embody representation and pride for a shared future?Let’s mint possibilities and give form to the currencies of tomorrow!
This is a beginner’s workshop ideal for those with little to no tatreez experience. There is a 30 minute teaching portion in the beginning where brief Palestinian history is covered, followed by a demonstration on the mechanics of cross-stitching. The rest of the workshop is hands-on. Students will take home their finished piece.
In June of 2021, as the events that later became known as the Unity Uprising were unfolding, stories from a liberated Palestine began emerging on Twitter. Using the hashtag #غرد_كانها_حرة (#tweet_like_it's_free), people created 250-character stories from a desired future in which the military barriers and cement walls dividing Palestinian communities no longer existed. In this talk, Dr. Zidani will discuss her study of a dataset of 600 tweets from June 2021 that use the hashtag #tweet_like_it's_free. The study identifies the narratives of a liberated Palestine and unpacks the meanings of freedom. Drawing on her expertise in global digital media, Dr. Zidani explores the role of collective imagining as a futurist practice that holds power in undoing fragmentation, emphasizing relationship to the land, and disrupting a seemingly impenetrable status quo. She argues that playful and experimental practice like collective imagination are a necessary part of political practices that push towards a liberated future. 
Participants are invited to make their own petri dish artworks using a similar process as artist, Jude Abu Zaineh, combining foods, collage, and bioart. Workshop participants will be sent documentation of their petri dishes in a week or two, once invisible cultures are visible after incubation.
Join us for the Kuffiya Kite Club, a workshop where we’ll build kites from simple materials and explore the interplay of wind, chance, and balance as we take to the skies.
This practice honors the resilience and creativity of the children of Gaza, who set the world record for the most kites flown simultaneously on July 30, 2010, with 7,202 kites soaring along the beaches. Together, we explored embodied practices of resistance.
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Previous News and Events:
Be part of the first ever Lego build of the Asante Palace (Ghana) and learn about African history, design, and pop culture from historian and graphic novelist, Trevor Getz and historian Tony Yeboah. Plus explore the original Lego art of Ekow Nimako.
Lego Build: April 12th, 12:15 pm. Tutt Library 105/102.
- Construct the Asante Palace
- Watch Ekow Nimako's documentary Rebuilding the World
- Build Ekow Nimako's arofuturist Lego masks
- Freebuild famous African structures
- Eat pizza and salad!
Lecture: "Lego Histories from Above and Below: Racelessness, Globalization, and a World of Play" with Trevor Getz. April 11th, 5:30 pm. Timothy Fuller Event Space (Tutt Library).
What connects race, geogrpahy, and history?
From the early 1500s through to the era of the Haitian Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase, French empire in the Americas reshaped cultural, economic, intellectual and political life on both sides of the Atlantic. But the legacies of this experience, including its impacts on the history of the United States, are often overlooked. In this talk, Laurent Dubois will explore how the French empire was structured during this period, focusing on the interconnections between seven river systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas, and reflect on how it shaped the modern world
Dr. Dubois is the John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor in the History & Principles of Democracy and Director for Academic Affairs of the Democracy Initiative, University of Virgina.
April 4th, 6:00 pm. Gates Common Room - Palmer Hall.
Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan writer and activist, will share writing from his newly launched book, Nowhere to Call Home, which centers around the theme of "home." He will also share stories from his decades as an activist and explore the forms his resistance has taken over the years.
April 4th, 1:00 pm. Timothy Fuller Event Space.
Join us for a lecture, "The Composer in War Time: Ralph Vaughan Williams' Music of Conflict" with Eric Saylor of Duke University
War formed the backdrop to much of Vaughan Williams's life and career. His military service in the Great War and his contributions to life on the home front during World War II inspired both immediate creative responses—in works such as the Pastoral and Fifth symphonies, the chamber opera The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains, and Thanksgiving for Victory—and later ones powerfully informed by his experiences, including the oratorio Sancta Civitas, the cantata Dona Nobis Pacem, the Sixth Symphony, and Job: A Masque for Dancing. This talk will explore the nature of Vaughan Williams's military service at the front and at home, exploring how his experience with and understanding of conflict shaped his artistry.
Novemeber 4th at 12:00 in the Timothy Fuller Event Space (Tutt Library)
We welcome any requests for accessibility accommodations. Please contact Thecla at tshubert@coloradocollege.edu
As part of the McJimsey Memorial Seminar sister lectures are also being held at UCCS and Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. For more information view our event page.
Equality Labs and the National Academic Coalition for Caste Equity (NACCE) are very excited to announce the first national conference on caste in higher education. This conference features renowned and leading student activists, academics, community organizers, union members, higher education staff and administrators, and civil rights leaders on building caste equity across colleges, universities, and other higher education settings.
As the national civil rights movement for caste protections grows, this conference is a resource for college and university personnel to increase knowledge of caste, and gain resources on how to support caste oppressed students, staff, and faculty across higher education.
Dr. Cornel West (Also known as Brother West) and Thenmozhi Soundararajan are the keynote speakers. Soundararajan is the cofounder and executive director of Equity Labs, the largest Dalit civil rights organization in the West. Dr. West has taught at Harvard, Princeton, and Union Theological Seminary on topics of "Black history, Black freedom, and Black love" as well as courses in philosophy, religion, and African American critical thought.
This event will be held October 14th-15th on zoom. Student registration is $50. For registration or more information please visit
Join us October 4th at 12:15 in the Cossitt Amphitheatre for all things history (and lunch!).
We will:
- Introduce faculty and upcoming courses
- Discuss vital capstone deadlines
- Introduce new thematic tracks
- Go over student research and writing opportunities
- Elect history council
- And hand out history tshirts!
Please RSVP at
"Originalism and the US Constitution in the Era of Crisis" - a discussion with Professors Paul Adler and Bryan Rommel-Ruiz. This event will be held in recognition of Constitution Day. Join us Sept. 29th at 12:15 in the Timothy Fuller Event Space (Tutt Library). Lunch will be served.
20th Century Multilingualism in Palestine with Dr. Jaber and Dr. Horesh
During the 20th century, historic Palestine has seen a major shift in its linguistic configuration from a predominantly Arabic-speaking region to a multilingual one, where Modern Hebrew has assumed dominance, Arabic has been minoritized, and additional languages spoken by immigrants (e.g., Russian) have gained traction as well. This presentation offers a description and analysis of the sociolinguistic consequences of contact between Arabic and Hebrew as it is manifest today within this multilingual and multicultural setting. We highlight theoretical and practical implications of these developments for the understanding of the linguistic and sociopolitical developments in the region.
Dec. 5th at 1:30 in Palmer 233A
No Globalization Without Representation with Paul Adler and Joseph McCartin
We all know that to truly address the great challenges of our time, like climate change, will require international solidarity and cooperation. Assistant Professor Paul Adler's book, No Globalization Without Representation, examines an important precedent for such cooperation: the movements that, from the 1970s to the early 2000s, challenged neoliberal globalization. Professor Adler will discuss his book and its larger implications with Professor Joseph McCartin of Georgetown University, a labor historian and director of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor.
March 6th at 7:00pm. Timothy Fuller Event Space (Tutt Library)
For the Common Good: The Struggle for Workers Rights in Higher Ed and Beyond with Joseph McCartin
From Artificial Intelligence to Amazon warehouses, questions of labor are front and center in the national dialogue. This includes higher education. How can we think about the role of colleges and universities in providing a model of just and healthy relationships in the workplace? Professor Joseph McCartin, labor historian and founder of the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor has spent decades working on these questions. In this talk, he will discuss this work in the context of how Catholic social teachings have provided one powerful lens to analyze and take action.
March 7th at 12:30pm. South Hall Commons. Lunch Served.
Thenmozhi Soundararajan presents: "Caste in the United States: Dispatches from the Civil Rights Movement for Caste Equity in United States,"
Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a Dalit rights artist, technologist, and theorist. She is the co-founder and executive director of Equality Labs, a Dalit civil rights organization that uses community research, cultural and political organizing, popular education, and digital security to build power to end caste apartheid, white supremacy, gender-based violence, and religious intolerance.
Nov 10, 2021 04:00 PM MST.
This event is part of the year long lecture series: Forever Foreign: Asian America, Global Asia, and the Problem of Anti-Asian Racism.
Register in advance for this webinar:
Sponsored by: Asian Studies Program; Cultural Attractions Fund; National Endowment for the Humanities: MacLean Fund for the English Department; Department of History, Department of Political Science, the Butler Center; Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies; Center for Global Education and Field Study; and Feminist and Gender Studies.
Peter W. Marty, publisher of Christian Century and CC alumnus: "The Rise of Zero-Sum Thinking in American Political and Religious Life"
Partisanship and demonization of the other are huge problems in American public life today. But zero-sum thinking is what turns our divided society into a dysfunctional one. Once we convince ourselves that we’re dealing with a fixed quantity of prosperity or well-being, our approach to all kinds of societal issues turns competitive and ugly. The implications of zero-sum thinking affect how we approach racism, immigration, religion, poverty, and a host of other critical issues. Come and share in a conversation that looks beyond our most polarizing tendencies. This event is sponsored by the annual Robert D. McJimsey Memorial Seminar.
Nov. 5th at 1:00pm in the Timothy Fuller Event Space
This event will be in person and available to watch on Zoom.
See event page for more information
Professor Tyler Stovall Visits 华体会
In this talk, Professor Tyler Stovall developed several of the underlying arguments made in his recent book, White Freedom. Dr. Stovall argued that in America, France, and other Western societies in the modern era, freedom is central to white racial identity, and whiteness is an essential component of freedom. Building on his research, Professor Stovall explored how societies based on liberty, like the French and American republics, could without contradiction also practice racism against peoples of color because those who were not white by definition could not be free. He demonstrated how the clarion call of liberty in those societies derived its force in part from its appeal to race.
Professor Stovall is dean of the graduate school of arts and sciences at Fordham University and former president of the American Historical Association. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles, including Transnational France: The Modern History of a Universal
Nation, Black France/France Noire: The History and Politics of Blackness, and Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light. This year, he published White Freedom: The Racial History of an Idea. This talk was the inaugural lecture in a lecture series brought to you by European Studies and an interdisciplinary program. Dr. Stovall’s visit to 华体会 was also made possible by support from the History Department, Africana Studies, the President’s Office, the Dean’s Office, and the Hochman Chair in History.
History majors also had the great privilege of meeting with Dr. Stovall in a more intimate setting for lunch and a discussion of his book White Freedom.
Please join Prof. Amy Kohout for a "Teach In" about the Sand Creek Massacre. On November 29, 1864, 675 Colorado militia killed more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho People, mostly women, children, and elderly in southeast Colorado. This event will be held December 1st from 3:00-4:00pm at the Sacred Grounds (near Shove Chapel).
A screening of the documentary film Somewhere Between, a film on Chinese adoptions, with a discussion lead by professors John Williams and Jason Weaver following.
Thursday, December 2nd at 3:00pm in the Cornerstone screening room.
Film synopsis:
In profiling Chinese adoptees in contemporary America, Linda Goldstein Knowlton [The World According to Seasme Street] has created a deeply moving documentary illustrating that even the most specific of experiences can be universally relatable. Of the roughly 80,000 girls who have been adopted from China since 1989—a decade after China implemented its One Child Policy—the film intimately follows four teenagers: Haley, Jenna, Ann, and Fang. These four wise-beyond-their-years, yet typical American teens, reveal a heartbreaking sense of self-awareness as they attempt to answer the uniquely human question, “Who am I?” They meet and bond with other adoptees, some journey back to China to reconnect with the culture, and some reach out to the orphaned girls left behind. In their own ways, all attempt to make sense of their complex identities. Issues of belonging, race, and gender are brought to life through these articulate subjects, who approach life with honesty and open hearts.
This event is part of an ongoing series: Forever Foreign: Asian America, Global Asia, and the Problem of Anti-Asian Racism. Sponsored by: Asian Studies Program; Cultural Attractions Fund; National Endowment for the Humanities: MacLean Fund for the English Department; Department of History, Department of Political Science, the Butler Center; Race, Ethnicity and Migration Studies; Center for Global Education and Field Study; and Feminist and Gender Studies.
Join us April 15th at 1:00pm in the Timothy Fuller Event Space for a lecture with Cony Marquez - "Voices of Women in the Mexican Army: 1936-2018"
In the lecture, guest professor, Cony Marquez, will describe the important gender-oriented changes that are happening within the Mexican Army. She will detail her study about the women’s role in the army and in the construction of national identity and the modern Mexican State, analyzing their contributions with their own words. Enrollment of women in the military has seen unprecedented growth and Marquez will describe this phenomenon while discussing gender inequality and the challenges to adapting to a predominantly male institution highly scrutinized and yet still exclusionary. Current conditions demand a redefinition of the role of the army as this institution fights a War on Drugs causing citizens to experience constant insecurity, particularly in the Mexican border region.
The William Hochman Prize in War, Peace, and Human Values is awarded every year to honor student work on the experiences of war. Professor William Hochman was a World War II veteran, antiwar advocate, and tireless proponent for peace and human rights. The History Department welcomes student submissions, which include essays, poetry, photography, videos, and other media, for this prize in memory of Bill Hochman. Please send materials to Thecla Shubert (tshubert@coloradocollege.edu) by 18 April 2022. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Professor Tip Ragan (bragan@coloradocollege.edu) or Professor Jake Smith (jpsmith@coloradocollege.edu)
The prize will be presented at the Honors Convocation in May.
History Major Ben Gellman '22 and Deksyos Damtew ’22 Project for Peace Winners
华体会 students Ben Gellman ’22 and Deksyos Damtew ’22 have been awarded a award for their project, “Cultivating Youth Advocacy: Civics Education in Colorado." Learn more about Ben Gellman and Deksyos Damtew's project here.
HISTORY COUNCIL 2020 - 2021
The CC History Council are history majors/minors who meet each block and put on history-themed events that speak to and inform our modern day problems.
History Council 2020-2021:
Danny Corrigan, Grace Wade-Stein, Arielle Gordon, Patrick McGinnis, and Hope Moodey
Kaimara Herron, graduated from CC in 2016 major in history, was awarded the 2018-2019 Tennin-Alexander Prize for the best non-thesis graduate history paper for her work on "'In the Hands of Responsible Persons': Social Services, Memory, and Politics in the Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, 1904-1942."
Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society
Induction Ceremony
April 23, 2019
Left: Myca D. Ste ey-Bean, Amy Kohout, Claire Derry, Caitlin E. Laurence and Jane Murphy
Left: Kevin P. Merrigan, Sara J. Fleming, Folke C. Egerstrom, and Catherine E. Luchars
Left: Jake Smith, Theodore C. Adams, Ricky R. Yates, and Daniel H. Feder-Johnson
New Inductees
Ray Barrie-Kivel*
Eric Dallesasse Catherine E. Luchars* Hailey E. Dennis*
Sara J. Fleming*
Kevin P. Merrigan* William Truett Davis* Ricky R. Yates* Theodore C. Adams* Folke C. Egerstrom*
Ian R. O'Shaughnessy* Lily W. Fitzpatrick Daniel H. Feder-Johnson Caitlin E. Laurence Paul Adler (faculty)
*Cords
Inductees in Absentia
Shelby M. Patrick Anna M. Stern
Graduating Seniors Inducted in 2018 to receive cords:
Claire Derry
Sam Z. Fesshaie
Abe L. Lahr
Jaysha A. Schwindt Myca D. Steffey-Bean
Alpha-Pi-Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society
April 27, 2018
New Inductees
Aaron R. Blinderman*
Mark K. Foreman*
Sam Z. Fesshaie
Mateo Gospic*
Valerie M. Hanna*
Clara R. Houghteling*
Abe L. Lahr
Will T. MacEwen
Sarah M. Reeve*
Henry M. Rigsbee*
Myca D. Steffey-Bean
Mostafa H. Zaki-Taha*
Ulices Piña
Jake Patrick Smith
*Cords
Inductees in Absentia
Claire Derry*
Stephanie A. Kelly*
Isaac L. Rubinstein
Jaysha A. Schwindt
Graduating Seniors Inducted in 2017 to receive cords
Brittany Camacho
Madeleine D. Engel
Eviva I. Kahne
Rachael A. Maxwell
Shiying Cheng
Michael R. Sorensen
Sandor Z. Teleki
Ian H. Carey
Bonjour from Paris!
Tip Ragan, Professor of History, and Gale Murray, Professor of Art, are co-teaching a summer course in Paris. Here, the professors join their 10 students to discuss "Huysmans' Against Nature," the most famous decadent novel of the 19th century. Following their intense discussion of this strange book, Ragan says the group collectively made a French picnic-style meal. "It was a huge amount of fun." Photo by Sandy Kinnee.
