AHA Directory of History Departments and Organizations

Institution Details


University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky Dept. of History
1715 Patterson Office Tower
Lexington, KY 40506-0027
Phone: 859.257.6861
Fax: 859.323.3885
Email: a.curwood@uky.edu
Website: https://history.as.uky.edu/


The Department of History of the University of Kentucky is a vibrant center of scholarship and teaching that has been training students for over 90 years. We are the only History Ph.D.- granting institution in Kentucky.


Chair: Anastasia Curwood
Director of Graduate Studies: Hilary Jones
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Melanie Goan
Degrees Offered: BA,MA,PHD
Academic Year System: SEM
Areas of Specialization: US political, premodern/early modern/modern Europe, religion, women and gender, culture/ideas/society, Appalachia, US South, Africa, African American, race and gender, memory studies, Atlantic world
Undergraduate Tuition (per academic year):
   In-state: $13212
   Out-of-state: $33406
Graduate Tuition (per academic year):
   In-state: $14330
   Out-of-state: $35459

Enrollment 2024-25:
Undergraduate Majors: 150
Students in Program: 110
New Graduate Students: 8
Full-time Graduate Students: 38
Part-time Graduate Students: 3
Degrees in History: 0 AA 33 BA 0 BS 6 MA 0 MS 4 PhD
Students in Undergrad. Courses: 3878
Students in Undergrad. Intro Courses: 3265
% of Online-Only Courses: 0.5
Undergraduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://history.as.uky.edu/history-admission
   Financial Aid: https://www.uky.edu/financialaid/
Graduate Addresses:
   Admissions: https://history.as.uky.edu/admission1
   Financial Aid: https://history.as.uky.edu/funding-0

Areas of Specialization: US political, premodern/early modern/modern Europe, religion, women and gender, culture/ideas/society, Appalachia, US South, Africa, African American, race and gender, memory studies, Atlantic world

Not applicable


Doctoral Program Information

A. Program Description. The Department of History of the University of Kentucky has been training students for over 80 years. Our 34 faculty members have earned national and international recognition. We offer course work and training for undergraduate and graduate students in the history of the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa. All faculty teach introductory, survey, and topical courses as well as seminars.

B. Special Programs. Members of the department are involved in a wide range of interdisciplinary programs, this includes Gender and Women's Studies, Africana Studies, African American Studies and Research, Appalachian Studies, Latin American Studies, and Social Theory. They also teach in the University Honors Program and the Gaines Center for the Humanities.

C. Financial Aid. The department awards 19 teaching assistantships, two or more research assistantships, and three or more fellowships. Some students hold assistantships in other departments or programs.

D. Degree Requirements. MA plus 18 hours of course work and written exams.

Directory of History Dissertations

Doctoral Program Statistics 2024-25:
PhD students currently enrolled: 34
PhD applications received: 35
New PhD students: 8
% of students receiving tuition waivers: 0
% of students receiving stipends: 70


Benson, Devyn Spence (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2009; ; assoc. prof.) 20th-century Afro-Latin American and Caribbean, politics and culture; devyn.benson@uky.edu
Brown, Nikki Lynn Marie (PHD, Yale, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) African American and Africana studies, 19th-century African American visual cultures, Afro-Turks of Turkey; nikki.brown@uky.edu
Campbell, Tracy (PHD, Duke, 1988; ; E. Vernon Smith Prof.) 20th-century US, Kentucky; tracamp@uky.edu
Clark, Joseph M.H. (PHD, Johns Hopkins, 2016; ; assoc. prof.) Atlantic slavery, Latin American studies; jmhclark@uky.edu
Curwood, Anastasia C. (PHD, Princeton, 2003; ; Hallam Prof. and chair; African American and Africana Studies) African American, diaspora; a.curwood@uky.edu
Davis, Stephen R. (PHD, Florida, 2010; ; assoc. prof.) precolonial Africa, South Africa, digital; srda227@g.uky.edu
Diaz, Monica (PHD, Indiana, 2002; ; assoc. prof.; Hispanic Studies) international studies, social theory, Latin America and Caribbean; monica.diaz@uky.edu
Diaz, Maria Angelina (PHD, Yale, 2024; ; asst. prof.) Latinx, urban culture, race and gender;
Firey, Abigail A. (PHD, Toronto, 1995; ; prof.) early medieval, canon law; afire2@uky.edu
Gargola, Daniel J. (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1988; ; prof.) ancient, Rome; djgarg01@uky.edu
Goan, Melanie Beals (PHD, Kentucky, 1999; ; prof. and dir., undergrad. studies) Kentucky, US, gender; melanie.goan@uky.edu
Hamilton, David E. (PHD, Iowa, 1985; ; assoc. prof.) recent US, political; dehami01@uky.edu
Holden, Vanessa M. (PHD, Rutgers, 2012; ; assoc. prof.) African American, black Atlantic, Africana studies; vanessa.holden@uky.edu
Jones, Hilary Janet (PHD, Michigan State, 2003; ; assoc. prof. and dir., grad. studies) Africa/Europe/Americas, West Africa, African urban, colonial studies, French Atlantic, francophone African diaspora; hilary.jones@uky.edu
Mokros, Emily (PHD, Johns Hopkins, 2016; ; assoc. prof.) China, political culture and authority, late imperial and modern China; emily.mokros@uky.edu
Musoni, Francis (PHD, Emory, 2011; ; assoc. prof.) Africa; francis.musoni@uky.edu
Myrup, Erik Lars (PHD, Yale, 2006; ; assoc. prof.) Atlantic world; erik.myrup@uky.edu
Newfont, Kathryn (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2001; ; assoc. prof.) Appalachia, US South;
Petrone, Karen (PHD, Michigan, 1994; ; prof.) modern Russia and Soviet, gender; petrone@uky.edu
Smith, Gerald L. (PHD, Kentucky, 1988; ; prof.) American urban, African American; glsmit01@uky.edu
Summers, Mark W. (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1980; ; Clark Prof.) 19th-century US; msumm2@uky.edu
Takenaka, Akiko (PHD, Yale, 2004; ; prof.) modern Japan; a.takenaka@uky.edu
Taylor, Scott K. (PHD, Virginia, 2001; ; prof.) early modern Europe; scottktaylor@uky.edu
Taylor, Amy Murrell (PHD, Virginia, 2001; ; prof.) 19th-century US South; amtaylor1@uky.edu
White, Derrick E. (PHD, Ohio State, 2004; ; prof.) African American and Africana studies, civil rights, sports, intellectual, race, gender and sexuality; derrick.white@uky.edu
Whitlock, Tammy C. (PHD, Rice, 1998; ; assoc. prof.) Victorian, early Britain; hrhwhitlock@uky.edu
Wright, George C. (PHD, Duke, 1977; ; Dist. Univ. Research Prof. and sr. adviser to the pres.; vice pres., Institutional Diversity) America, African American and US South, race/violence/civil rights; gcwright@uky.edu
Clark, Claire Ducharme (PHD, Emory, 2014; ; assoc. prof.; Behavioral Science) medicine and addiction; claire.clark@uky.edu
Giancarlo, Matthew (PHD, Yale, 1998; ; assoc. prof.; English) medieval English literature/history/culture, Old English literature/history/culture, Renaissance and 17th-century literature and culture, literary theory, critical pedagogy, English language; matthew.giancarlo@uky.edu
Stein, Melissa N. (PHD, Rutgers, 2008; ; assoc. prof.; Gender and Women's Studies) gender studies, race and ethnicity, women and gender, science and medicine, US African American, cultural and intellectual, sexuality, LGBT, queer studies, critical race studies; melissa.stein@uky.edu
Vivian, Daniel J. (PHD, Johns Hopkins, 2011; ; assoc. prof.; Historic Preservation) 19th- and 20th-century US, public; daniel.vivian@uky.edu
Voogt, Ryan (PHD, Kentucky, 2017; ; lect.; Lewis Honors Coll.) western Europe, Holocaust and other genocides in Europe, agriculture, environment, society and culture; ryan.voogt@uky.edu
Welch, Eric (PHD, Penn State, 2015; ; lect.; Lewis Honors Coll.) Hebrew Bible, archaeology, ancient Mediterranean studies; eric.welch@uky.edu
Williams, Elizabeth W. (PHD, Minnesota, 2017; ; asst. prof.; Gender & Women's Studies) race/gender/sexuality, imperialism, post-/decolonial studies, queer theory; e.w.williams@uky.edu
Albisetti, James C. (PHD, Yale, 1976; ; prof. emeritus) Germany, European intellectual, social and women; jcalbi01@uky.edu
Chassen-Lopez, Francie R. (PHD, Nacional Autónoma, Mexico, 1986; ; prof. emeritus) Latin America, Mexico, gender; frclopz@uky.edu
Christianson, Eric H. (PHD, Southern California, 1976; ; prof. emeritus) US, science and medicine; ehchri01@uky.edu
Eastwood, Bruce Stansfield (PHD, Wisconsin, Madison, 1964; ; prof. emeritus) ; bseast01@uky.edu
Eller, Ronald D. (PHD, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1979; ; prof. emeritus) American social, Appalachia; eller@uky.edu
Harling, Philip (PHD, Princeton, 1992; ; prof. emeritus) modern Britain; harling@uky.edu
Ireland, Robert M. (PHD, Nebraska, 1967; ; prof. emeritus) ; rmirel00@uky.edu
Kern, Kathi (PHD, Pennsylvania, 1989; ; prof. emeritus) American studies, gender and women's studies; kern@uky.edu
Kornbluh, Mark Lawrence (PHD, Johns Hopkins, 1988; ; prof. emeritus) ; mark.kornbluh@uky.edu
Melish, Joanne Pope (PHD, Brown, 1996; ; prof. emeritus) ; jmelish@uky.edu
Olster, David M. (PHD, Chicago, 1986; ; prof. emeritus) Rome and Byzantine; dmolst01@uky.edu
Popkin, Jeremy D. (PHD, California, Berkeley, 1977; ; prof. emeritus) Europe 1700-1870, French Revolution, historical method and theory; popkin@uky.edu
Rowland, Daniel B. (PHD, Yale, 1976; ; prof. emeritus) ; hisdan@uky.edu
Willard-Kyle, Danielle (PHD, Rutgers, 2020; ; vis. asst. prof.) Jewish studies, modern Europe;
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