Two Women Historians Honored With the National Humanities Medal

President Obama has announced that nine individuals will receive the National Humanities Medal at a White House ceremony on Monday July 28. Winners of the National Humanities Medal are honored for outstanding achievements in “history, cultural studies, filmmaking, cultural commentary, and historic preservation.” Among the nine individuals winners are two women with current ties to the academic world.

Darlene Clark Hine is a professor of history and professor of African American studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She is being honored for “enriching our understanding of the African American experience.” The citation accompanying the award states that, “through prolific scholarship and leadership, Dr. Hine has examined race, class, and gender and shown how the struggles and successes of African American women shaped the Nation we share today.”

Professor Hine is the author of many books including Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re-Construction of American History (Indiana University Press, 1996). Before joining the faculty at Northwestern University in 2004, Professor Hine taught at Michigan State University for 17 years. She is a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Kent State University in Ohio.

Anne Firor Scott is the W. K. Boyd Professor Emerita of History at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Professor Scott is being honored for “pioneering the study of southern women.” The citation accompanying her award says that “through groundbreaking research spanning ideology, race, and class, Dr. Scott’s uncharted exploration into the lives of southern women has established women’s history as vital to our understanding of the American South.”

Now 93 years old, Professor Scott is the author of numerous books including The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics, 1830–1930 (University of Chicago Press, 1970). Dr. Scott is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia. She earned a master’s degree at Northwestern University and a Ph.D. at Radcliffe College. She joined the faculty at Duke University in 1961 and retired from teaching in 1991.