ASHP/CML congratulates Executive Director Joshua Brown on his 2010 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in U.S. history for Studies in the Visual Culture of the American Civil War. This new work builds upon Josh’s earlier book Beyond the Lines: Pictorial Reporting, Everyday Life, and the Crisis of Gilded Age America (University of California, 2002). The importance of studying visual cultural is one of Josh’s key contributions to the field of 19th century U.S. history and this fellowship acknowledges the significance of his past work and gives support to his ongoing scholarship. We wish him great progress during his six-month leave starting in March.

While Josh is on leave, Associate Director Pennee Bender will serve as Acting Director. Pennee came to ASHP in 1992 to produce video, CD-ROM, and Web projects and became Associate Director in 2000. She was supervising editor of the third edition of Who Built America? Working People and the Nation’s History Volume II. Her film and video credits include: Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire, Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl, The West Bank: Whose Promised Land, Bitter Cane, Missing Persons/Personas Ausentes, and Labor Produces. She has a Ph.D. in American History from New York University, is on the faculty of the Interactive Technology and Pedagogy Program at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and has taught history and media production to students from elementary school through college.