Ninth annual History Across the Humanities Conference scheduled

The V.W. Starr History Across the Humanities Conference will held on the campus of Youngstown State University, Feb. 23 - 25.

Award-winning historian Marcus Rediker will deliver his address entitled “Freedom Ship: Escaping Slavery in Antebellum America,” 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24 and Megan Wood, CEO and executive director of the Ohio History Connection, will deliver a luncheon address 12 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25. 

Hosted by the YSU History Program and the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, the conference  features original research and class projects completed by undergraduate and graduate students on a variety of subjects from various humanities disciplines. Events also include the opening of a new exhibit at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, “Hear Our Voices: Discovering Black Youngstown.” This exhibit, produced entirely by YSU students,  will debut 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23 at 5:30 pm.

The conference is free and open to the public and all events will be held at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (151 W Wood St). 

The conference is named in honor of Valerie Waksmunski-Starr, who founded the conference while a student at YSU from 2013 to 2015. She died in June 2015 after a battle with breast cancer.