From the New Jersey Historical Commission:
The New Jersey Historical Commission has announced its 2012 Award recipients. NJHC honors individuals and organizations for their efforts to promote the state’s historical legacy. The New Jersey Historical Commission will present the awards at the 2012 New Jersey Forum on November 17 at Georgian Court University in Lakewood.
Marc Mappen will receive the Commission’s highest honor, the Richard J. Hughes Award, for his lifelong contributions to New Jersey history. After receiving a Ph.D. in American History from Rutgers University, Dr. Mappen went on to serve at the University in various positions, culminating his distinguished career as an associate dean at University College in New Brunswick. In 2000, he retired from Rutgers to become the executive director of the New Jersey Historical Commission, a position he held until 2010. Dr. Mappen still teaches an occasional course at Rutgers University while speaking extensively across the state on New Jersey history. In addition, he has also garnered a reputation as an author and columnist of distinction and today is widely considered one of the preeminent voices on the history of the Garden State. Dr. Mappen authored a series of columns for the New York Times that later became Jerseyana: The Underside of New Jersey History (1992), co-edited the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (2004), and most recently authored There is More to New Jersey than the Sopranos (2009). He is currently at work on a book about gangsters in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Over several decades, Dr. Mappen has amassed an impressive portfolio of achievement in practicing and promoting New Jersey history as an educator, writer, lecturer, and public servant that has left residents of all ages richer and more aware of the state’s vibrant and diverse past.
Greg Walsh (Boston College) will receive the Alfred E. Driscoll Dissertation Prize for his work, Splintered Loyalties: The Revolutionary War in Essex County, New Jersey. The well-researched study builds on other examinations of New Jersey’s war-torn eastern region, one that was distinctive because of its proximity to the British, divided loyalties, and numerous skirmishes. His dissertation focuses on popular commitment to the Revolution and argues that loyalties were more fluid than scholars have typically shown. His analysis rests on an impressive dataset of over 3,000 Essex men and women, including elites and ordinary folk, patriots, loyalists and neutrals. This broad base supports a careful reconstruction of Essex County’s revolutionary political, legal, social, economic, and military history. His examination of military service, and the treatment of Loyalists and smuggling are particularly insightful.
Awards of Recognition for outstanding contributions to New Jersey history will also be given to the Newark History Society, the Chinkchewunska Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Burlington County Historian Joseph M. Laufer, and David Kimball, longtime National Park Service historian and former head of the Historic Burlington County Prison Museum Association.
Launched in 2006 and designed to advance scholarship in New Jersey history, the New Jersey Forum provides an opportunity for established and emerging scholars to present new research. Continuing the five-year tradition of presenting a diverse array of topics, the 2012 Forum will also offer presentations featuring everything from revolutionary African-Americans, changing gender roles, to Civil War military leaders, and mobsters.
Register for the 2012 New Jersey Forum. Due to the disruption in registration due to Hurricane Sandy, the fee to attend is now only $35.00 through November 17!