SIGNATURE EVENTS
The Department of History regularly hosts lectures on topics of current interest to students and the general public.
CAMPUS LECTURES AND EVENTS
Guest Speakers and Department-Sponsored events
The History department regularly invites renowned speakers to campus with expertise in a variety of historical eras, peoples, regions and more. For example, the department recently hosted David Wilkins, PhD, for the Mary M. Birle Lecture. Dr. Wilkins, the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, spoke about the political and legal experiences of African Americans and indigenous peoples in the US. Many of our events are recorded and accessible on YouTube.
Lectures with the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest
History Department faculty collaborate with the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest, speaking and presenting at many events.
Lore Kephart '86 Distinguished Historians Lecture Series
Established in memory of Lore Kephart '86 through an endowment to the University by her husband, the late Horace L. Kephart, The Lore Kephart '86 Distinguished Historians Lecture Series ran from 2009 through 2021, until it was redirected to support the Lore and Kep Kephart Student Enrichment Fund. After raising a family, Lore returned to college and graduated from Villanova with a major in History and Political Science. She believed a vigorous engagement with ideas should be a lifelong process, extending beyond the classroom.
2021: Seth Koven, PhD, Rutgers University
2019: Nancy MacLean, PhD, Duke University
2018: Robin D. G. Kelley, PhD, UCLA
2017: Craig Harline, PhD, Brigham Young University
2016: Sven Beckert, PhD, Harvard University
2015: Richard White, PhD, Stanford University
2014: Isabel Hull, PhD, Cornell University
2013: Ray Takeyh, PhD, Georgetown University
2012: Greg Grandin, PhD, New York University
2011: Jill Lepore, PhD, Harvard University
2010: Andrew Bacevich, PhD, Boston University