The Organization of American Historians (OAH) recognizes excellence in historical scholarship, teaching and service to the profession. 

Three University of Delaware faculty were honored at the 2025 conference in April. 

“The OAH awards are a testament to the research excellence of our faculty in the history Department,” said Wendy Bellion, associate dean for the humanities. “Their scholarship advances our understanding of the past and amplifies our interdisciplinary strengths across the humanities.”

Laura E. Helton, associate professor of English and history, received the Merle Curti Intellectual History Award for her book Scattered and Fugitive Things: How Black Collectors Created Archives and Remade History.

The award committee said, “This brilliant book challenges historians to think about the often revolutionary nature of the seemingly mundane intellectual practices that make our work possible.” 

Helton also received the Lawrence W. Levin Award honorable mention for the best book American cultural history for Scattered and Fugitive Things.

The late Peter Kolchin received the Civil War and Reconstruction Book Award for his book Emancipation: The Abolition and Aftermath of American Slavery and Russian Serfdom. 

Emancipation is a follow-up volume to Kolchin’s award-winning books Unfree Labor: American Slavery and Russian Serfdom and American Slavery: 1619-1877.

According to the award committee, Emancipation challenges the slavery-capitalism literature and puts tough questions to recent scholars.

Rebecca Davis, Miller Family Early Career Professor of History, was awarded the Japan Residency Program, cosponsored by OAH and the Japanese Association of American Studies (JAAS). Davis will travel to Sapporo, Japan, for the annual JAAS meeting and present talks at Shirayuri University and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.