The American Historical Association (AHA) now offers many opportunities for undergraduates at its annual conference. Not only does the Association allow undergraduates to mingle with professors and historians across the discipline. It also allows them to present their work in the poster session and Undergraduate Lightning Round. This past January, the AHA held its annual conference in Chicago with the theme “loyalties.” Several students of Kean University presented their award-winning research projects at the conference. Both projects were related to William Livingston, governor of New Jersey during the American Revolution and signer of the United States Constitution. The AHA conference gave them an amazing opportunities to present at the highest level in the field.
In June 2019, Victor Bretones and Nicole Shalenko published a paper on William Livingston and eighteenth century propaganda on a Columbia University Libraries blog dedicated to the papers of John Jay. They also received the Undergraduate Research Award at the Humanities Education and Research Association (HERA) annual conference in Philadelphia. Later, Bretones and Shalenko, and classmate Christopher Thoms-Bauer, traveled to Chicago to present their research at the AHA annual conference. The trio presented a poster on The American Enlightenment in William Livingston’s Library. Using resources such as the John Jay Papers, the John Jay Homestead, and the Columbia Law Library, Skalenko gathered a comparative list of the personal libraries of William Livingston and other founding fathers Meanwhile, Christopher Thoms-Bauer focused on the overlap of Classical authors found in the libraries of Livingston and the founding fathers. The students’ faculty mentor was Kean University’s Dr. Elizabeth Hyde, Associate Professor in the Department of History.
Elizabeth Thorsen and William Corman presented a poster based on the Liberty Hall 360: Revolutionary Wedding short film. Liberty Hall 360 had won top honors at the international 2019 MarCom Awards in December 2019. The film, written and produced by history, design, communication and theatre students at Kean University, features 360° virtual reality formats and is set during the wedding of Sarah Livingston (William Livingston’s daughter) and John Jay, a future founding father. It is told from the perspective of Lucius, a wandering child who explores Liberty Hall and catches glimpses of the historic figures throughout the wedding. Liberty Hall 360 can be viewed on Michael Graves College’s website.
The AHA’s 2021 conference will be held in Seattle, Washington from January 7 to 10.
Need help making a poster or an abstract? CURAH is here to help!