Federated Department of History at Rutgers University-Newark and NJIT

Federated Department of History at Rutgers University-Newark and NJIT Welcome to the page of the Federated History Department at Rutgers University-Newark and NJIT!

The history faculty at Rutgers University-Newark and NJIT are joined in a single federated department that offers an integrated curriculum and joint undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The Federated Department of History offers its students a wide range of excellent resources for the study of history, including:

* an outstanding faculty with nationally and internationally known schola

rs and teachers

* a broad selection of undergraduate and graduate course offerings, with extensive coverage of major historical periods and regions, from the ancient Middle East to contemporary America, Africa, and China, and a unique undergraduate and graduate program in the history of Technology, Environment and Health/Medicine

* opportunities for original research and writing, with particular emphasis upon the craft of historical writing

* internships with local cultural institutions

* eligibility to participate in teacher certification programs offered by the Education Department at Rutgers University, Newark

* opportunities to share in the resources and facilities of both institutions, including the extensive library holdings of the Rutgers University system

Congratulations to Dr. Kristyn Scorsone on winning two teaching awards! In addition to receiving the Dean’s Undergradua...
05/29/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Kristyn Scorsone on winning two teaching awards!

In addition to receiving the Dean’s Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award for their “excellent and transformative” teaching, they also received the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance’s Teaching Award. The NJSAA award recognized their innovation and creativity in teaching New Jersey history - especially their use of and other oral history materials in teaching, and their emphasis on giving students hands-on experience in public history. The result has been that “students in Kris’ classes feel empowered both academically and personally”.

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Today's spotlight is on Rutgers-Newark Seminar-Research Paper Award recipient Aminah Young, a History major with minors ...
05/20/2026

Today's spotlight is on Rutgers-Newark Seminar-Research Paper Award recipient Aminah Young, a History major with minors in Legal Studies and Criminal Justice.

Aminah's paper, "Black and Puerto Rican Solidarity in Post-War Newark," examines the formation of political solidarity between African Americans and Puerto Ricans in Newark in the 1960s and 1970s. She approaches both groups as internal migrants who arrived in New Jersey at roughly the same time in search of brighter economic opportunities and aiming to escape oppressive conditions elsewhere in the United States. Through archival research in the Puerto Rican Community Archives at Newark Public Library, Aminah traces how leaders of these communities came together based on common experiences of police violence, racial exclusion, and the decrepit conditions resulting from urban disinvestment and abandonment. This alliance culminated in the election of Newark's first Black mayor, Ken Gibson, in 1970, but proved difficult to sustain during his administration. Aminah examines the emergence of new lines of inter-community tension and differing senses of collective identity to understand the challenging and persistent work of solidarity building. The thoroughness with which she situated this history in the wider sweep of the twentieth century, the nuanced way she navigated the complexities of the subject, and the creativity she brought to her archival research all earned her best paper of the year in Professor Lance Thurner's Latin American Lives Across Borders.

Congratulations, Aminah! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Congratulations to our Seminar-Research Paper Award recipients!Jonathan M. Hansell“A Tiny and True Corner of American Li...
05/20/2026

Congratulations to our Seminar-Research Paper Award recipients!

Jonathan M. Hansell
“A Tiny and True Corner of American Living: The Savoy Ballroom’s Effect on 20th Century Race Relations in the US”

Aminah Young
"Black and Puerto Rican Solidarity in Post-War Newark"

You can read more about Jon and Aminah's papers on our website, https://history.newark.rutgers.edu, or view their individual spotlights.

Our second Outstanding Achievement Award recipient is Payton Peterson, a History major with a minor in Political Science...
05/16/2026

Our second Outstanding Achievement Award recipient is Payton Peterson, a History major with a minor in Political Science, who was born and raised in Las Vegas and joined the Air Force at 19 for the free college benefit. Payton's seminar paper is a comparative analysis of Western European culture through the lens of pre- and post-French Revolution novels from France and England.

Payton's advice to incoming history students: "Rule number 1, have fun!"

Congratulations, Payton! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients, Jonathan Hansell and Payton Peterso...
05/16/2026

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients, Jonathan Hansell and Payton Peterson.

Up first is Jonathan Hansell, a major in History with a minor in Urban Education, who transferred to Rutgers-Newark from County College of Morris after a long hiatus from academia.

Jon is also a recipient of the Rutgers-Newark Seminar-Research Paper Award for his paper, “A Tiny and True Corner of American Living: The Savoy Ballroom’s Effect on 20th Century Race Relations in the US,” which explores the Savoy as a space of creativity, pleasure, and economic exchange, while also highlighting its role in challenging racial boundaries and ultimately positioning the Savoy Ballroom as an important site in the history of civil rights activism.

Jon's advice to incoming history students: "If you have the opportunity to take part in the Global Studies program – do everything you can to make it happen. The experience of placing your academic self in an entirely different context is so rewarding. You become immersed in a variety of new things at once, while building meaningful relationships, all while studying history. What’s better than that? Also, make sure you are getting the most out of your time as an undergrad. I wasn’t ready at the default college age of late teens, early twenties. I am so glad that I was able to be able to absorb as much as I did while attending RU-N. If you need to go part-time or take a break, which might add a few years to your journey, don’t hesitate. You can only take with you what you get out of the experience, and that’s based on how much effort you are able to put in."

Congratulations, Jon! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Our second Sydney Zebel Award recipient is Ciera Calderin Vargas, a major in History with a minor in Philosophy, who, as...
05/15/2026

Our second Sydney Zebel Award recipient is Ciera Calderin Vargas, a major in History with a minor in Philosophy, who, as the daughter of a Cuban political refugee, is interested in exploring the interrelationship between efforts to combat the subversive campaign waged by the United States against the Cuban revolutionary government and its translation into terror and alienation for the Cuban people on the home front.

Ciera's advice to incoming history students: "[P]ut aside your convictions and explore varying historical narratives. There are so many sides to history that are not explored by mainstream sources, so really try to broaden your scope. Always be willing to engage with history. Just look at the Rutgers-Newark campus alone; there is so much history all around us every day! I know in this age of lightning-fast information how easy it is to get swept up in headlines and absorbed by trivial entertainment. I would encourage incoming students to look beyond all of that. Walk down a street that you have never paid attention to before. Read that tiny inscription on a bridge that you have driven past a million times. Let yourself be enchanted by the environment around you. I promise, you will be enthralled by all of the history hiding in plain sight!"

Congratulations, Ciera! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Sydney Zebel Award recipients, Nathaniel Atwan and Ciera Calderin Vargas. Up ...
05/15/2026

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Sydney Zebel Award recipients, Nathaniel Atwan and Ciera Calderin Vargas.

Up first is Nathaniel Atwan, a senior and graduate student at Rutgers–Newark, specializing in History and Secondary Urban Education, who appreciated the diverse range of course offerings at RU–N because the curriculum allowed him to align his elective choices with his specific research interests and core historical focuses. His favorite subject was Africana History with Professor Tegegne because the material was fascinating, and Professor Tegegne’s passion made the course incredibly engaging. According to Nathaniel, "Professor Tegegne is a patient, cooperative educator who is deeply invested in both the subject matter and the success of his students."

Nathaniel's advice to incoming students: "Be prepared for a significant amount of reading and writing, but know that the topics are deeply rewarding. The department is exceptionally supportive; there are always people looking out for history majors, so you will never feel lost or without guidance."

Congratulations, Nathaniel! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Edward H. Zabriskie Award recipient Donald Mason, a double major in History a...
05/14/2026

Today’s spotlight is on our Rutgers-Newark Edward H. Zabriskie Award recipient Donald Mason, a double major in History and Political Science witha minor in Psychology, who most enjoyed being the president of the History Club during his time at Rutgers. Some of his favorite History classes and professors include Perspectives in History: China’s Revolution taught by Professor Asen. Professors Thurner, Giloi, Pétursson, and Krasovic all helped Donnie fall even deeper in love with history. Islamic Civilization I, Ancient Greek Civilization, and History of Africa I, taught by Professors Varlik, Beck-Schacter, and Tegegne, respectively, were also some of the most enjoyable courses for him, since he knew so little about the subjects beforehand.

Donnie's advice to incoming history students: "JOIN THE HISTORY CLUB (linktr.ee/runhistory)!!!!!!! Academically, I would say to take advantage of the wide variety of courses the Department offers. Try to expose yourself to as many different topics as possible. If you know you have a gap in knowledge for a particular place or period, you have the opportunity to fill that gap. If you have a particular interest you want to focus on, pursue that, but try to fill in those gaps to become a more well-rounded historian in the process. Also, join the History Club."

Congratulations, Donnie! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Our second Graduate Award winner is Batuğhan Tatar, who received his B.A. in History from Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi/...
05/13/2026

Our second Graduate Award winner is Batuğhan Tatar, who received his B.A. in History from Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi/Middle East Technical University (METU) in Türkiye and completed his M.A. in History at Rutgers University–Newark. He has been involved in research projects such as SHIFA-ANA and NECRO-IST, where he explores themes of death, disease, and cemeteries as urban archives. One of his current works includes the digital modeling of an Ottoman cemetery in Istanbul, integrating spatial and textual analysis in a publicly accessible format.

His research focuses on Eurasian Turkic communities from the medieval period to the modern era, with particular emphasis on power, migration, mobility, and their role in shaping urban and sociocultural transformations. His work adopts an interdisciplinary approach, combining history and urban studies to examine cities as dynamic environments shaped by migration and close cultural and religious interactions. Starting in Fall 2026, he will pursue his PhD in Global Urban Studies at Rutgers University–Newark.

Congratulations, Batuğhan! We are all so proud of your achievements.

Today's spotlight is on our Graduate Award recipients, Pierfrancesco Giannini and Batuğhan Tatar.Up first, Pierfrancesco...
05/13/2026

Today's spotlight is on our Graduate Award recipients, Pierfrancesco Giannini and Batuğhan Tatar.

Up first, Pierfrancesco Giannini is a historian of global and transnational history whose work explores the intersections of culture, politics, labor, and power in the twentieth century, with particular attention to the Cold War and the international circulation of political ideas. His award-winning master’s thesis at Rutgers University–Newark, "Between Socialism and Capitalism: The Cold War Geopolitics of Bob Dylan in Italian Newspapers, 1965–1969," examined how Italian newspapers interpreted Dylan and, through him, negotiated competing understandings of America, dissent, and modernity during the Cold War. He teaches labor studies at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations and history and philosophy at Middlesex College. He holds an M.A. in History from Rutgers University–Newark, a Master of Labor and Employment Relations, a B.S. in Labor Studies, summa cm laude, from Rutgers University–New Brunswick, and an associate degree in philosophy from Middlesex College.

Congratulations, Pierfrancesco! We are all so proud of your achievements.

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175 University Avenue
Newark, NJ
07102

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Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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