Professor Justin Behrend Publishes New Book on Reconstruction

The department congratulates Professor Justin Behrend on the publication of here.
his book, Reconstructing Democracy:  Grassroots Black Politics in the Deep South after the Civil War.  Focusing on the lives of African-Americans in the Natchez District of Mississippi, Behrend's work reconstructs the ways that ex-slaves involved themselves in democratic actions in the years after the civil war.  Behrend's book is available from the University of Georgia Press, and more information can be found here.

Justin is Associate Professor of History at the College and has been at Geneseo since 2007.  He teaches courses on the Civil War era and African-American history.  In 2013, he was honored with a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching

Emilye Crosby: Ten Things You Should Know About Selma

Emilye Crosby's essay on the historical background to the new film Selma has been featured in a number of different places this month.  With commemorations of the Selma to Montgomery March and the 1964 Voting Rights Act coming up later this year, Emilye's work serves as a good critical introduction to the key issues and the ways that the civil rights movement is represented in contemporary American culture.

A short version of her essay, "Ten Things You Should Know About Selma Before You See the Film" is available here, and a longer discussion with curriculum materials and other resources for teachers in available here.