{"id":6772,"date":"2026-04-21T14:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/history\/?p=6772"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:08:29","slug":"marcus-allen-uncovering-overlooked-histories-through-research-and-teaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/history\/marcus-allen-uncovering-overlooked-histories-through-research-and-teaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Allen: Uncovering Overlooked Histories Through Research and Teaching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Professor
Professor Marcus Allen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee History Department welcomes Assistant Professor Dr. Marcus Allen, whose work brings new depth to the study of African American history through an economic lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Allen\u2019s path to UWM reflects more than a decade of persistence, movement, and scholarly growth. Over the course of his career, he has served as a lecturer, adjunct instructor, visiting professor, and postdoctoral scholar, gaining experience across institutions and refining both his research and teaching. Most recently, he held appointments at the National Humanities Center in North Carolina and Case Western Reserve University, where he continued to develop his work in African American history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the center of Dr. Allen\u2019s scholarship is his ongoing book project, which examines Black depositors in a white-owned savings bank in Baltimore between 1850 and 1900. Drawing from savings account records, personal inventories, and wills, he reconstructs the financial and material lives of African Americans during the antebellum and postbellum periods. His research offers a more expansive understanding of the 19th century, one that moves beyond narratives focused solely on hardship to also highlight financial strategy, resilience, and economic agency within Black communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of history that still needs to be uncovered,\u201d Dr. Allen explains. \u201cWe have to be careful about drawing strong conclusions, because there may be history out there that changes how we understand things.\u201d This perspective shapes his approach to both research and teaching, emphasizing the importance of continued discovery and critical inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Allen\u2019s work also extends beyond academic spaces. He was recently featured on Black Nouveau<\/em>, where he discussed his research on Black economic life and the importance of uncovering overlooked histories. In the interview, he highlights how examining financial records and everyday economic decisions can reshape our understanding of the past and reveal stories that have long gone unrecognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor Marcus Allen on Black Nouveau<\/a><\/blockquote>