UMass Lowell History Department

09/01/2026

As the Fall 2026 semester begins, the History Department celebrates the promotion of Prof. Jane Sancinito!

Prof. 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. Prof. 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.

Congratulations, Prof. Sancinito!

09/01/2026

As the Fall 2026 semester begins, the History Department celebrates the promotion of Prof. Abby Chandler!

Prof. Chandler, the department’s expert in early American history, was promoted from associate to full professor. In 2023, Prof. 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).

Congratulations, Prof. Chandler!

08/31/2026

Prof. Emeritus Bob Forrant’s “Amongst the Onions and To***co, a Nineteenth-Century Anomaly Grew: The Porter-McLeod Machine Works” has been published in the "Tools and Toolmaking in New England" collection. This study is a history of an amazing machinery builder tucked away in Hatfield, MA, 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 Prof. 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, titled “Tools and Toolmaking in New England.” The 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.

08/22/2026

This past Sunday, August 16, "The Lowell Sun" published an article - front page! - written by Prof. Emeritus Bob Forrant and History alum Deirdre Hutchison, with the assistance of Prof. Christoph Strobel. You can read this article that explores Lowell's Indigenous history, "Lowell Bicentennial: Greater Lowell Native American history," below:

Editor’s note: Former UMass Lowell Professor Robert Forrant wrote this column in conjunction with Deirdre Hutchison, an academic advisor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Honors College. She has a 2023 degree in history from …

07/14/2026

07/14/2026

Welcome to our Archives Spring Intern Summer series! In the spring semester, we welcomed a handful of undergraduate students from UML's Intro to Archives class to help us do some processing at the Center for Lowell History. Three students worked with the International Institute (II) of Lowell collection, a large collection documenting the work of the Lowell branch of II, which has helped immigrants settle into the city since 1918. Each student picked a story from the archive that interested them and did a write-up to be shared on social media.

Today's pick is from Henry K., who was able to consult with his own family to translate this letter that was written in Ukrainian. Henry writes:

This letter was written in 1950 by Iwan Szmatko. Szamtko was a Ukrainian man who was a Holocaust survivor and was in a refugee camp in Germany. Szmatko was stateless and had no family, meaning he had nowhere he could go back to. So, he wrote this letter, addressed to a friend in America. He describes how the conditions in the camp aren’t very good, and how he wants to move to America. A chunk of this letter is him making a case for why he should be allowed to immigrate, saying he is a hard worker and how he wouldn’t be a burden when he arrived.

06/16/2026

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.

Prof. dann 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.

Go here to register for the conference: https://slaverynorth.com/rrr-conference/ !

Rebellion, Resistance, and Refuge: Slavery and Border-Crossing during the American Revolution Slavery North Academic Conference On the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, join Slavery North for a conference that rethinks the cultures, events, and experiences of the A...

06/05/2026

Dr. Jane Sancinito was interviewed for public radio this summer. She was interviewed about the history of the alphabet for GBH Boston’s Curiosity Desk, which aired on June 4. You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/live/rYCSZ4Ugzm0?si=Q2LtnlDN24d8_39i

Dr. Sancinito's research answers the question asked at timestamp 2:48:00 to 2:53:00.

Today on Boston Public Radio: Political analyst Chuck Todd, and Kay...

06/01/2026

Join Prof. Bob Forrant and others in Lowell for an upcoming reading of Frederick Douglass's historic speech "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?"! Douglass, one of the leading abolitionists and fighters for racial equality during the nineteenth century, gave this speech at Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852.

The reading will take place on Thursday, June 11, starting at 6 p.m., in the Luna Theater at the Lowell Community Charter Public School. Light refreshments will follow.

Scan the QR code in the flyer to reserve FREE TICKETS!

For any questions, please contact Prof. Forrant via email at [email protected].