2026 News and Events
Fall 2026
As the fall 2026 semester begins, the History Department celebrates the promotions of two faculty: Professor Abby Chandler and Associate Professor Jane Sancinito. Professor Chandler, the department’s expert in early American history, was promoted from associate to full professor. In 2023, Professor Chandler published "Seized with the Temper of the Times: Identity and Rebellion in Pre-Revolutionary America," a monograph exploring political rebellions in the British colonies before the American Revolution. She is co-lead editor of H-Net's "Remembering the American Revolution at 250" journal, and also serves as the History Department’s faculty advisor for Phi Alpha Theta (the national history honor society). Professor Sancinito, the department’s expert in ancient history, was promoted from assistant to associate professor. In 2024, she published a book called “The Reputation of the Roman Merchant,” which examines the strategies Roman retailers, craftsmen, and other workers used to succeed and develop good reputations, despite the stigma associated with their work. Professor Sancinito’s research on ancient coins resulted in the donation of a collection of Hellenistic and Roman coins to UMass Lowell in 2025. She is also the coordinator of the annual Zamanakos Lecture in Hellenic Studies.
Summer 2026
In late August 2026, an article that Professor Emeritus Bob Forrant wrote was published in a journal collection entitled "Tools and Toolmaking in New England." Professor Forrant's article, “Amongst the Onions and Tobacco, a Nineteenth-Century Anomaly Grew: The Porter-McLeod Machine Works,” considers the history of a machinery builder in Hatfield, Massachusetts, that started after the Civil War and, through the early 1970s, exported its precision lathes all over the world. The company’s papers survived its closure and the building's sale and came into the possession of the Hatfield Historical Museum, which asked Professor Forrant if he wanted to write a history of the firm. The issue of the journal is based on papers presented at the 2022 Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, This issue explores the history, craftsmanship, and cultural significance of tools across New England from the colonial era to the present. The volume examines the lives of artisans, inventors, and craftspeople; the evolution of woodworking, clockmaking, and other trades; Indigenous and African American contributions to material culture; and the preservation of historic tools and traditions. The collection reveals how tools shaped work, innovation, identity, and everyday life throughout New England’s history.
On Sunday, August 16, The Lowell Sun published an article written by Professor Emeritus Bob Forrant and History alum Deirdre Hutchison, who is now an advisor at the UMass Lowell Honors College. This article, "Lowell Bicentennial: Greater Lowell Native American history," which explores Lowell's Indigenous history, appeared on the front page of the newspaper. While writing, Professor Forrant and Hutchison were assisted by Professor Christoph Strobel, the History Department's expert in Native American history.
From Thursday, July 9, through Sunday, July 12, UMass Amherst will be hosting the "Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution" conference. Professor Daniel Broyld will be one of the keynote speakers. Marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this conference assembles scholars and graduate students who will present papers that examine the cultures, events, and experiences of the American Revolutionary War across the liminal borders (regional and proto-national) of British North America. Please register for the "Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution" conference to attend.
Spring 2026
In April, Professor Christoph Strobel published a new book: "Settler Colonial Culture and Thought in the Northeastern United States." This monograph provides the first comprehensive work that examines the intellectual impact of New English narratives about Indigenous peoples, colonization and the cultural influence they had in the northeastern United States.
In spring 2025, the UMass Lowell History Department received a donation of thirty-eight ancient Hellenistic and Roman coins from David Menchell, a notable coin collector and philanthropist. On Friday, April 24, he visited UMass Lowell, and Professor Jane Sancinito organized an event to honor him. After Professor Sancinito spoke about the history and pedagogical importance of the collection, five of her students gave brief presentations about the iconography (both obverse and reverse) of coins they had studied. Gabriela Manduca Oliviera discussed a coin depicting Mercury and a ship's prow; Lauren Torpey, Janus and a ship's prow; Owen Schultz, Emperor Vespasian and Victory; Gabriela Mejia, Emperor Commodus and Providentia; and Anthony Avoglia, Emperor Gordian III and Pietas. The coin collection was on display for the event, during which refreshments were served.
On Wednesday, April 15, there was a discussion on campus about the draft: "What is the Draft? Then, Now, and the Future: History and Politics of Conscription in America."Professor Shawn Driscoll and faculty in the Political Science Department spoke during this event, addressing questions related to potential drafting in 2026, the history of conscription, and the politics surrounding Selective Service in the United States. This event began at 10 a.m. in the Health and Social Sciences Building, Room 140.
On Tuesday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the History Department and Medieval and Renaissance Studies were among those sponsoring a one-day conference: Thomas Hobbes and his "Leviathan." This interdisciplinary workshop explored the English philosopher and political scientist Thomas Hobbes and his masterpiece, "Leviathan" (1651). The UMass Lowell Library showcased its rare first edition of this text, which includes marginal notes and glosses from prior owners. Together with John Locke and later French philosophers like Voltaire and Montesquieu, Hobbes offered critical ideas about state power, the social contract and democracy—topics that continue to resonate in 2026. The conference featured brief contributions from UMass Lowell faculty and students across a range of departments, including Art History, English, History, Philosophy and Political Science. The conference took place at University Crossing, Room 260 (Moloney Hall). It was also the subject of a university article published online: "Students Get Hands-On With 17th-Century Classic."
This year, UMass Lowell's Student Research and Community Engagement Symposium took place on Tuesday, March 31. History major Declan Reidy won a prize for the best undergraduate oral presentation for his project "A History of the Arlington Soccer Club, 1977-2027."
Professor Christine Su organized the recent Khmer Diaspora Conference: "The Next 50 Years: Evolving from Surviving to Thriving in the Khmer Diaspora." The conference took place from Friday, March 27, through Sunday, March 29, at Middlesex Community College. The keynote address, "Memory, Healing, and the Work of Becoming," was given by Kara Uy Has on March 27. More than 350 people were in attendance from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, and Thailand. Professor Su's students contributed to the conference by creating posters about the Khmer American experience that were displayed at the conference and will also be exhibited in the lobby of Lowell City Hall in May, which is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage month.
This year's Zamanakos Lecture took place on Thursday, March 26. The guest speaker was Konstantinos Nikoloutsos (Saint Joseph’s University). His lecture, "1956 is Greek to Filmmakers:' Recreating the Ancient Battlefield in Cold War Hollywood," examined the sociohistorical conditions that led to the emergence of Greek antiquity as a cherished theme in American cinema during the early Cold War years. It traced Hollywood’s fascination with armed conflict in the classical world and explored how cinematic re-creations of ancient warfare reflect, and refract, the geopolitical tensions of the modern era. The lecture took place from 6-7 p.m. in Coburn Hall room 255 and was followed by a reception from 7-8 p.m.
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, Professor Abby Chandler has been editing an essay collection for H-Net called "Remembering the American Revolution at 250." The first issue was published in October 2024; the second issue of "Remembering the American Revolution at 250" was published on Monday, March 23, 2026. "Remembering the American Revolution at 250" is bringing together historians, public historians, and other practitioners from around the world to consider this moment in American history in an ongoing collection of research essays, reflective essays, and lesson plans that will be published over a multi-year period.
Professr Daniel Broyld was featured in the Ruth E. Carter Afrofuturism in Costume Design Exhibit Booklet at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Here, you can read his reflection on how Afrofuturism allows him to address the Underground Railroad by examining the intersections of race, technology, and liberation. This exhibit will be open to the public until September 6, 2026.
On Thursday, March 19, History alum Kate DiTullio ('13) visited UMass Lowell to give a talk as part of the History Department's "Life After a History Major" series. She discussed her trajectory from high school teacher in schools ranging from here in Lowell to Morocco to graduate school at Yale. The talk began at 4 p.m. in Coburn Hall, room 110. Kate also gave the keynote speech, "Let Our Stories Breathe: The Usefulness of Reception History," during the Phi Alpha Theta (the national history honor society) induction that began at 6 p.m. in the Allen House.
February is Black History Month. As part of the Dean's Speaker Series, on Monday, March 2, Harvey Amani Whitfield gave a lecture: "From Slavery in America to Slavery in Canada: Ca. 1760s to 1810." This lecture discussed the lives of four enslaved African American women who remained slaves in Canada after the Revolutionary War and explored how enslaved people in Canada navigated their new surroundings, fought to keep their families together, and resisted slavery. "From Slavery in America to Slavery in Canada" began at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom.
The year 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of Lowell's foundation as a city. In honor of this significant anniversary, University Professor Emeritus Bob Forrant will be writing history essays once a month for "The Lowell Sun." His first two articles were published on Sunday, January 25: "Lowell Bicentennial: Sharing Lowell’s important place in history" and "Lowell Bicentennial: The Irish in the new mill city."