Celebrating Lulu Merle Johnson

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 26, at 6 p.m., and stay tuned for more details about a special presentation celebrating Lulu Merle Johnson, PhD. The historian Rebecca Conard, PhD,  and Dr. Johnson's great-niece, Sonya Jackson, will talk about Dr. Johnson's path-breaking life and career.

In 2021, the Johnson County (Iowa) Board of Supervisors voted to rename Johnson County for Lulu Merle Johnson. Dr. Johnson was a first-generation college student and the first African American to earn a PhD at the University of Iowa and in the state of Iowa (1941). She was also among the first African American women to earn a PhD in history in the United States. Dr. Johnson grew up in Gravity, Iowa. She earned all three degrees from Iowa. She had a long and distinguished career as an academic and educator, whose research helped to establish a more accurate understanding of slavery in the United States. 

Join the Hawkeye History Corps GroupMe for the latest information about this and other events for history students. 

Opportunities for Undergrads

Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States

Iowa City Foreign Relations Council would like to invite you to Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States, meeting at the Iowa City Public Library on Wednesday, February 21, at 12:00 PM. Registration is now open with lunch provided at no cost. We are asking that attendees RSVP in advance using the links provided below, so we know how much food to order.

Every semester for 40 years, the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council has presented expert speakers sharing about international topics the affect our local and global community. These events are opportunities for members of the community to meet around important issues while networking with leaders in fields from international relations and diplomacy to law and national security, among others. 

Get paid to do research!

Help researchers from around the world and get paid by becoming an independent researcher. 

Special Collections and Archives in the UI Libraries is seeking individuals interested in completing independent research for patrons. When Special Collections is unable to fulfill lengthy patron research or scanning requests due to staffing limitations, we recommend that the patron hire an independent researcher from a provided list. This is your chance to explore the archives at the university and earn extra money. 

If you wish to be added to the list of researchers, please email Special Collections Lead Public Services Librarian Lindsay Moen at lindsay-moen@uiowa.edu and provide your contact information. You may also wish to include a brief bio, listing of research specialties, and language skills if desired.

You can find more information concerning hiring independent researchers on their website. Please contact Lindsay Moen at lindsay-moen@uiowa.edu with any questions.

Racism and Education: A Discussion

Join a discussion on teaching about race and racism. Greg Wickencamp, one of our history graduate students, will serve on the panel!

History majors of any year, mark your calendars for Thursday, April 18, and plan to attend the 2024 Senior Send-off!

Submit your writing!

Publish in the Iowa Historical Review!

Are you ready to share that great history paper you’ve written with a wider audience? Publish with The Iowa Historical Review, a student-run publication dedicated to celebrating undergraduate historical scholarship!

We accept for consideration original articles submitted by anyone at the University of Iowa and beyond. Your peers will review your paper, offer feedback, and guide you through the publication process. Our deadline is March 1, 2024. 

Please contact Leighton Barnes leighton-barnes@uiowa.edu or Dr. Elizabeth Yale elizabeth-yale@uiowa.edu

You might also submit to other undergraduate journals:

The Undergraduate History Journal at Illinois is a fully student-run organization that provides students with the opportunity to gain legitimate publishing experience through a double-blind peer review editing process. Our previous issues can be found here. We are currently accepting submissions for our Spring 2024 edition which will be published in May. Our submission guidelines are as follows: 

Submissions from any discipline, as long as they focus on a historical topic or approach, are encouraged. The submission deadline is 11:59 PM on Sunday, February 11.

Submissions must be the original work of the author and should be 10-30 pages in length, excluding references. References should be in Chicago Style footnotes, with the bibliography separated into Primary Sources and Secondary Sources. The paper should be formatted as double-spaced text in 12pt Times New Roman font. The work submitted should not have been previously published or currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Submissions can be sent to Journal's email address (histjournal.uiuc@gmail.com) and all identifying information should be included in the body of the email, including home institution and academic year. All identifying information should be removed from the submitted text document to ensure an equitable review process.

Please reach out to histjournal.uiuc@gmail.com with any questions or comments. We would love to receive external submissions and would be extremely grateful if you could pass along our information to students!

The Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal is now accepting submissions for its Spring 2024 issue! 

The journal aims to allow undergraduate students the opportunity to engage with the academic publication process and to share original research on a wide variety of historical topics with our readers. We accept and encourage submissions from interdisciplinary perspectives, as long as the focus and approach remain historical. To learn more about our paper guidelines and submission process, visit our website.   The link to the submission page on the website is here.

The deadline for submissions is March 25, 2024.

If you have any questions, email swarthmorehistoryjournal@swarthmore.edu. We look forward to reading your submissions!