History Faculty Research Interests and Areas of Specialization
UWM’s designation as an R1 institution indicates robust research activity, and the History Department fills a critical role in research that crosses the social sciences and humanities. Our faculty have a broad range of research areas. Prospective graduate students should browse the faculty pages to identify a good fit between our research areas and their interests.
UWM prides itself on our undergraduate research programs. As early as freshman year, students can build their resume through hands-on research experience. Prospective and current undergraduate students can reach out directly to faculty to inquire about research opportunities in their area or work through the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Immigration; immigrant rights; transnational cultural politics of the Cold War; diasporic cultural citizenship
Medieval social and economic history (especially urban, food, daily life, correspondence, shopping, inns)
Mixed race identity and representation; Racial science; Popular culture
Modern Central Europe; German-Polish borderlands; Empires; national minorities; diasporas
Buddhism; Tibetan Buddhism; Tibetan History, Culture, and Language; History of Contemplative, Ascetic, and Eremitic Traditions.
Gender, Women, & Sexuality in 19th-Century France & Empire; Race; Histories of Feminisms & Radical Movements; The Paris Commune; New Caledonia; Politics of Names & Naming.
Modern Russia and Eurasia; History and theory of mass communications; Socialist cultures in comparative perspective; Play and leisure; Consumer culture
Sub-Saharan African history (especially Benin); Environmental history; History of development
History of Information Technology; Business History; History of Work; History of Technology; Media History
- Associate Professor, History
- Public History Co-Director, History
- Affiliated Professor, Anthropology
- ynkp@uwm.edu
- 414-251-7670
- Holton Hall 365
Trauma and memory; Korea in global history; Social movements and participatory democracy; Inclusive peace processes; Contemporary history and the anthropology of politics; Public history
Media History; US Cultural History; 20th Century US; Consumer Culture; History of Capitalism
- Associate Professor, History
- Affiliated Professor, Urban Studies
- renlex@uwm.edu
- Holton Hall 316
United States Political and Legal History; Nineteenth-Century United States
U.S. Latino history; U.S. urban history; urban studies
- Professor, History
- Acting Associate Vice Provost for Research, Office of Research
- rothfels@uwm.edu
- Bolton Hall 192
History of Animals; Nineteenth Century German and European History; European Colonial History
- Professor, History
- Affiliated Professor, Urban Studies
- seligman@uwm.edu
- 414-229-4565
- Holton Hall 390
Urban; Chicago and Milwaukee; Public Policy; Graduate School
- Associate Professor, History
- Director of Graduate Studies, History
- Affiliated Professor, African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS)
- shumwayr@uwm.edu
- 414-229-4361
- Holton Hall 342
Precolonial Africa; West Africa and the Slave Trade; Africa and Racism; Comparative Slavery; African Roots of American Culture; African Intellectual History
Modern European Jewish history; German and Austrian cultural history; Photography and Visual Culture; Gender
- Vice Chancellor, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Professor, History
- Affiliated Professor, Urban Studies
- vangcy@uwm.edu
- 414-229-1101
- Holton Hall 314
20th century US-Asia relations; Cold War politics; Asian America history; refugee migration; transnational and diaspora communities
Early Modern and Modern China; East Asian history; Kinship, family, gender; Lineage and genealogy; Book history, print culture, and printing technology; Rural society, everyday life, and local politics