Hettie V. Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of African American history in the department of History and Anthropology, has been elected president of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS), with a two-year term beginning on January 1, 2022.
The society is a leading scholarly organization that aims to foster dialogue about researching, writing, and teaching Black thought and culture, and publishes the popular blog “Black Perspectives.” The AAIHS also supports the research of scholars in the field through an array of fellowships, awards, and prizes, including the Pauli Murray Book Prize and the C.L.R. James Research Fellowships.
“I look forward to leading one of the most cutting-edge associations in existence dedicated to the study of African American history, thought, and culture,” Williams said.
Williams’ teaching and research at Monmouth focuses on African American intellectual history, gender in U.S. history, and race/ethnicity studies. She is the author or editor of five books, most recently, “Bury My Heart in a Free Land: Black Women Intellectuals in Modern U.S. History.” In 2020 Williams was appointed to the New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites.
Chris DeRosa, Ph.D., chair of Monmouth’s department of History and Anthropology, said “Professor Williams is a creative force in intellectual history, and I’m excited for her to be taking on a role that she will find so stimulating. The society will benefit enormously from her drive, just as Monmouth has.”
Williams succeeds Keisha N. Blain, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh. Blain served as the first senior editor of “Black Perspectives” from 2015 to 2019, and is the author of “Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018), which won the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Prize and the Darlene Clark Hine Award from the Organization of American Historians.