On May 14, 2012, 15 UAB students led by Professors Carlos Orihuela (Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures) and Pamela Murray (History Department) arrived in Lima, Peru for a crash course in the language, culture, and history of one of the most fascinating countries in the Western hemisphere. Over the next three weeks, students adapted to life with their Peruvian host families; learned new customs and the intricacies of navigating through Lima, a bustling city of eight million, by bus and taxi; improved their Spanish in daily lessons taught by instructors of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (oldest university in the Americas); became acquainted with numerous local historic and archaeological sites of interest-- including, for example, the winding catacombs of Lima’s famous Franciscan Monastery and eye-opening Museum of the Inquisition; and, not least, sampled some of the delights of traditional Peruvian folk music and dance, e.g. “La Marinera”.
A true highpoint of the program was our trip to Cuzco, ancient capital of the Incas, nestled high in the southern Andes at about 11,000 feet above sea level. From there, we toured the Sacred Valley and traveled by both train and bus to visit the magical “Lost City” of Machu Picchu.
Taken by Prof. Murray, the photos in this slideshow give viewers a glimpse of the variety of places we visited and the odyssey we experienced.
History Faculty New Publications
Beatlemania: Technology, Business, and Teen Culture in Cold War America (Johns Hopkins Introductory Studies in the History of Technology) [Paperback] André Millard (Author) Book Description Series: Johns Hopkins Introductory Studies in the History of Technology | Publication Date: May 10, 2012 The fame, talent, and success of the Beatles need no introduction. Nor does the world need another book exploring the band's skill and its influence on music and society in the United States, Britain, and the rest of the world. André Millard instead probes the phenomenon of Beatlemania from a distinctly original perspective, looking at the relationship among the music business, recording technologies, and teens and young adults of the era. Millard argues that no matter how indisputably skilled the Beatles were, they would not have attained the global recognition and had the impact that they did without the convergence of significant changes in how music was produced, recorded, sold, and consumed. As the Second Industrial Revolution hit full swing and baby boomers came of age, the reel-to-reel recorder and other technological advances sped the evolution of the music business. Musicians, recording studios and record labels, and music fans used and interacted with music-making and -playing technology in new ways. Listening to records and the radio became not only better with higher quality machines but also an experience that one could easily share with others, even if they weren’t in the same physical space. At the same time, the increase in cross-Atlantic commerce—especially of entertainment products—led to a freer exchange of ideas and styles of expression, notably among the middle and lower classes in the U.S. and U.K. It was at that point, Millard argues, that the Beatles rode their remarkable musicianship and cultural savvy to an unprecedented bond with their fans—and spawned Beatlemania. Refreshing and insightful, Beatlemania offers a deeper understanding the days of the Fab Four and the band’s long-term effects on the business and culture of music.
The Making of Urban America edited by Raymond Mohl: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 3rd Edition edition (December 16, 2011)
The revised and updated third edition of Making of Urban America includes seven new articles and a richly detailed historiographical essay that discusses the vast urban history literature added to the canon since the publication of the second edition. The authors’ extensively revised introductions and the fifteen reprinted articles trace urban development from the preindustrial city to the twentieth-century city. With emphasis on the social, economic, political, commercial, and cultural aspects of urban history, these essays illustrate the growth and change that created modern-day urban life. Dynamic topics such as technology, immigration and ethnicity, suburbanization, sunbelt cities, urban political history, and planning and housing are examined. The Making of Urban America is the only reader available that covers all of U.S. urban history and that also includes the most recent interpretive scholarship on the subject.
Sources of World Societies, Volume 1: To 1600 [Paperback] Denis Gainty (Author), Walter D. Ward (Author) Bedford St. Martins, Oct. 4, 2011 Designed to accompany McKay et al.’s A History of World Societies, each chapter of Sources of World Societies contains approximately six sources that present history from the perspectives of well-known figures and ordinary individuals alike. Now with visual sources and two more documents per chapter, this edition offers breadth and depth. Headnotes and questions supplement each document, while a new “Viewpoints” feature highlights two or three sources per chapter that address a single topic from different perspectives. Comparative questions ask students to make connections between sources and across time.
The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945-1970 [Hardcover] Andrew Demshuk Cambridge University Press, March 31, 2012 A fifth of West Germany's post-1945 population consisted of ethnic German refugees expelled from Eastern Europe, a quarter of whom came from Silesia. As the richest territory lost inside Germany's interwar borders, Silesia was a leading objective for territorial revisionists, many of whom were themselves expellees. The Lost German East examines how and why millions of Silesian expellees came to terms with the loss of their homeland. Applying theories of memory and nostalgia, as well as recent studies on ethnic cleansing, Andrew Demshuk shows how, over time, most expellees came to recognize that the idealized world they mourned no longer existed. Revising the traditional view that most of those expelled sought a restoration of prewar borders so they could return to the east, Demshuk offers a new answer to the question of why, after decades of violent upheaval, peace and stability took root in West Germany during the tense early years of the Cold War.
Thomas Jefferson and American Nationhood Brian Steele Cambridge University Press, June, 2012.
Information about History Capstone
Who has to take it?
All History majors who began taking courses at UAB after July 2009 are required to take HY 497, the History Capstone.
When do I take it?
You can take the Capstone either semester of your senior year. Please note that the Capstone is NOT offered in the summer.
How does it work?
The Capstone is a major research project done as an independent study course. You must get permission from a History instructor that he or she will direct your capstone project.
How do I register?
Once you have permission from the History instructor who will direct your project, send that permission WITH your name and B00 number (student I.D.) to
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. Within 48 hours you should get an e-mail telling you that the permission override has been processed so you can register.
What will my project be?
It could be a research paper or an annotated bibliography or a primary source analysis or another presentation of some sort. You and the instructor will decide what sort of research project you will do. He or she will also monitor your progress during the semester. A faculty committee will decide whether your final project is acceptable.
Still confused?
You can direct questions to
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or call the History Department at 934-5634.
Study Away Highlight
During the summer of 2010 John Van Sant taught a study away course in Japan and Pam King taught a study away course on Historical Preservation in the American South.
The Making of Urban America edited by Raymond Mohl: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 3rd Edition edition (December 16, 2011) 
Sources of World Societies, Volume 1: To 1600 [Paperback] Denis Gainty (Author), Walter D. Ward (Author) 
