معرفی
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, where she has been a tenured faculty member since 1993. She chaired the Department of African and African American Studies from 2006 to 2013 and founded its innovative Social Engagement Initiative. Her prior appointments include Dartmouth College, the University of Maryland, the University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University Law School as the inaugural John Hope Franklin Professor of American Legal History.
Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Rochester, an M.A. from Howard University, and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Before entering academia, she taught in public schools in Milwaukee and Washington, DC.
A pioneering scholar in African American women's history and religious history, Higginbotham's research explores civil rights, racial and gender identity constructions, electoral politics, and theoretical intersections in historical analysis. Her influential work examines the Black Baptist Church women's movement and the metalanguage of race, reshaping understandings of African American experiences.
Her publications reveal a consistent focus on documenting African American history through comprehensive reference works and thematic monographs, emphasizing biographical approaches and social engagement to illuminate systemic racial dynamics across centuries.
Her distinguished honors include:
- National Humanities Medal (2014)
- Induction into the American Philosophical Society (2010)
- Carter G. Woodson Scholars Medallion (2008)
- Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising (2012)
- Living Legacy Award from ASALH (2012)
Professor Higginbotham is celebrated for exemplary mentorship of Harvard undergraduates, recognized by the Star Family Prize in 2012. She has secured significant grants including the Hauser Innovation Grant for the "Portraits in Multimedia" project, which integrates academic scholarship with community-based learning.
She founded and coordinates the Social Engagement Initiative and has been instrumental in Harvard's Hutchins Center for African and African American Studies, serving as Acting Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute in 2008 to advance research on African and African American life.
