During a recent class session, students visited the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s Retrocomputing Lab, located in Holton Hall 402. The lab, created and maintained by technology historian and professor Thomas Haigh, offers a special hands-on opportunity to explore the machines, software and materials that shape the digital world. 

The Retrocomputing Lab is one of only four of its kind in the United States, and the only one operated within a history department, making it a unique resource for both teaching and research.   

A Lab Built for Experience, Not Just Observation 

Unlike a traditional museum, the Retrocomputing Lab is designed as a working collection of everyday machines. Students don’t just look at the past, they interact with it. The lab includes around 20 fully functional computer systems, along with printers, storage devices, manuals and software spanning from the late 1970s through the early 2000s.  

Much of the collection comes from Haigh’s personal archive, combined with donations, university surplus, and carefully selected additions. This approach reflects the lab’s central goal: not to collect rare or exotic artifacts, but to recreate what it actually felt like to use computers in different eras.

Why Hands-On History Matters 

As highlighted in a recent feature by Fast Company, one of the biggest challenges in teaching the history of computing is that today’s students have no lived experience with older technologies. 

For many undergraduates, devices like the Apple II, early IBM PCs, or even floppy disks were already obsolete before they were born.   

Haigh created the Retrocomputing Lab in part to bridge that gap. By giving students the chance to load programs from disks, navigate early operating systems, or play vintage games, the lab makes abstract history tangible. 

As the article explains, this kind of experience cannot be fully replicated through emulators or modern devices. The physical interaction, the keyboards, the delays, and the trial-and-error process are essential to understanding how computing actually worked.   

Inside the Classroom: HIST 399 

In HIST 399, students examine how computers evolved from niche tools into universal technologies. The Retrocomputing Lab plays a central role in that process. 

During the recent class visit, students explored early personal computing systems such as the Altair 8800, TRS-80 Model I and Apple II, machines that introduced programming, gaming and personal productivity into everyday life. 

They also examined a mechanical teletype terminal, which printed computer responses onto paper, offering insight into how people interacted with computers before modern screens and interfaces. 

Through these experiences, students gain a clearer understanding of both the technical limitations and the cultural expectations surrounding early computing. 

Looking Back to Understand the Future 

The Retrocomputing Lab is not only about preserving the past, but also about helping students think critically about the future of technology. 

As the Fast Company article notes, modern computing increasingly relies on cloud services, online infrastructure, and constantly updated software. This raises important questions about what aspects of today’s technology will be preserved, and what may be lost.   

By contrast, many of the systems in the Retrocomputing Lab are fully self-contained, allowing them to be restored, studied and experienced decades later. 

The lab also reflects a growing interest among students in tangible, understandable, and not constantly connected technology, a contrast to today’s always-online digital environment.   

A Resource for the 51ÁÔĆć Community 

The Retrocomputing Lab is open to members of the 51ÁÔĆć community by appointment or during scheduled open house sessions. Students interested in technology history, restoration work, or hands-on experimentation are encouraged to get involved. 

As the lab continues to grow, it remains a unique space where past and present intersect, allowing students to understand not just how computers work but how they became essential to everyday life. 

The post Inside 51ÁÔĆć’s Retrocomputing Lab: Where Students Experience the Digital Past Firsthand  appeared first on History.

Sadique Oddoye, current MA student, will be attending the PhD program in African History at the University of Miami. Congratulations Sadique!

Patrick Hall, PhD student in History with a Public History minor, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, “Generational Remix: Restorative Amplification in Sansei and Yonsei Interpretations of the Japanese American Incarceration.”  Great job, Patrick!

Three of our PhD students, Jim Olmsted, Ken Bartelt and Matilda Ansah, have all been accepted as “OLLI Scholars” for the 2026-2027 academic year. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute offers classes for students in the Milwaukee area. They have raised funds for a great opportunity for 51ÁÔĆć’s graduate students to offer classes based on their research. OLLI Scholars receive mentoring about their presentations, teach a class, and are also provided a stipend. Very impressive!

Vitalis Nwashindu has been honored with the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship for the 2026-2027 academic year. This incredibly competitive fellowship recognizes Vitalis’ hard work and dedication to our program and the University. Well done and well deserved!

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At the heart of the lecture was Connolly’s great-grandfather, William â€śSmiley” Connolly, a multilingual Caribbean intellectual. writer and activist whose life unfolded across the British Empire and the United States in the early twentieth century. Although widely respected in community and intellectual circle, Smiley Connolly never held a formal academic position, noting how many Black scholars and thinkers existed historically outside traditional institutions. By tracing Smiley’s life through scattered documents, letters, and family stories, Connolly demonstrates how personal archives can help to explain larger histories of colonialism, migration and economic struggle.  

Connolly described the process of reconstructing these histories as working through what he calls a “demented archive” a mix of official documents, fragmented letters, oral histories and family memories shaped by illness, migration and generational storytelling. These materials, he argued, reveal how families navigate systems that often deny them stability or recognition. 

As Connolly explained during the lecture, 

“What we need is not men who will make the world safe for democracy, but men who will make the world unsafe for autocracy.” 

The lecture highlighted several key themes, including how family archives can help us understand the development of racial capitalism, the ways working-class families navigated racism and financial instability and how family narrative, particularly those surrounding women, can obscure the structural causes of economic hardship. Connolly challenged audiences to rethink how inherited stories shape our understanding of responsibility, success and failure within capitalist systems. 

“Letters from the Ancestors” invited attendees to reflect on how personal histories intersect with larger political and economic structures. By connecting his family’s experiences in the Caribbean and the United States to contemporary inequalities, Connolly encouraged listeners to consider how we engage with institutions today and how the stories we tell about our past influence the futures we imagine. 

The post Nathan Connolly Delivers 6th Annual McGaffey Lecture on Family History and Capitalism appeared first on History.

The semester-long program, which runs from February 7 through June 6, 2026, brings together scholars, activists, and artists from around the world through weekly online seminars. The program centers feminist and decolonial perspectives, with sessions led by Indonesian academics teaching in universities across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia, as well as activists and artists based in Indonesia and throughout the global diaspora.

SPP focuses on challenging knowledge systems that have historically marginalized or excluded women’s contributions. Using a decolonial approach, the initiative encourages participants to explore feminist scholarship while highlighting the intellectual traditions and perspectives of Indonesian women.

The seminar series is divided into two modules. The first explores topics such as women of color feminism, intersectional feminism, transnational feminism, and decolonial feminist theory. The second module focuses specifically on Indonesian women’s thought, bringing attention to intellectual traditions and perspectives that are often underrepresented in global academic discourse.

In addition to attending the seminars, Frischa is collaborating with a small group of participants to create a final project highlighting the work and ideas of an Indonesian woman thinker. These projects may take the form of written work, audio, video, or visual storytelling and will be published on the organization’s website as part of its broader effort to expand access to learning materials about women’s thought in the Indonesian language.

Frischa’s participation in the program connects closely to her doctoral research at 51ÁÔĆć. Her work focuses on the environmental history of Indonesia, and she is particularly interested in exploring how Indonesian women’s perspectives and activism intersect with environmental issues and social change.

“I’m excited to learn more about Indonesian women’s thoughts and works, especially those connected to environmental issues,” Frischa said. “This opportunity feels especially meaningful as I continue my research on the environmental history of Indonesia.”

Following the completion of the seminar program, SPP plans to host a festival in Indonesia this summer that will showcase the work and ideas of Indonesian women through panel discussions, keynote talks, artistic performances, and collaborative events.

The Department of History congratulates Frischa on this achievement and looks forward to seeing how her participation in the program contributes to her research and to broader conversations about feminist thought and global knowledge production.

The post Student Spotlight: Frischa Aswarini Selected for International Feminist Learning Program appeared first on History.

A respected scholar of modern Chinese history, Buck dedicated more than three decades to teaching and research at 51ÁÔĆć. Joining the university in 1972, he spent 32 years as a faculty member in the Department of History, where he taught courses on Chinese history and international affairs and mentored generations of students. He also served as chair of the department for nine years and was widely recognized for his leadership and contributions to the field of Asian history.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on December 31, 1936, Buck developed an early interest in Asian languages and cultures while studying at Stanford University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He went on to receive a master’s degree in Chinese history from Harvard University before serving as an officer in the United States Navy, stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

During his time in Okinawa, Buck met his future wife, Diane Ratty, who was teaching there with the American Dependents Schools. After completing his military service, he returned to Stanford to earn his Ph.D. in modern Chinese history.

Throughout his academic career, Buck was known for his wide-ranging scholarship and international engagement. He published numerous articles on Asian history and culture, including the book Urban Change in China: Politics and Development in Tsinan, Shantung, 1890–1949. From 1990 to 1995, he served as editor of the Journal of Asian Studies, the flagship publication of the Association for Asain Studies. He also taught abroad at universities in Taiwan, China, Japan and England.

Buck’s passion for sharing global perspectives extended beyond the classroom. Over the years, he led more than 20 trips to China for American travelers, including tours organized by the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, helping participants gain a deeper cultural and historical understanding.

After retiring from 51ÁÔĆć in 2002, Buck continued his commitment to community service through the Buck Foundation, supporting initiatives focused on revitalizing urban green spaces and expanding housing opportunities for underserved communities.

Buck remained deeply connected to 51ÁÔĆć throughout his life. Together with his wife Diane, he supported many areas of the university, including the establishment of the David D. Buck Professorship in Chinese History, which continues to advance scholarship and teaching in Chinese history.

Buck is survived by his wife of 62 years, Diane Buck; his sons Douglas and Andrew; his grandchildren Jane, Charlotte and Arthur; and his sister Carol Dettmann.

Through his scholarship, mentorship and generosity, Buck leaves a lasting legacy at 51ÁÔĆć and within the broader community of scholars dedicated to the study of Asian history.

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CRT 866

Practice spoken Latin! Everyone is welcome!

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The place now called Glendale, Wisconsin, has had many incarnations. It was once the home of ancient mound builders and, later, a Menomini village. It became the Town of Milwaukee and, eventually, the City of Glendale. Now it is both a suburb of Milwaukee and a cooperative neighbor to other North Shore municipalities, and UW-Milwaukee’s History Department’s own Amanda Seligman and Kimberly Hernandez, along with Martha Bergland and Nancy A. Herrick, are writing all about it!

Its land has been agricultural and industrial, commercial, and residential. And, always, running through its center, is the Milwaukee River, whose waters shaped life, powered Glendale’s growth, and continue to attract admirers daily.

Written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the creation of this diverse city, this book explores what came before and after that turning point in 1950. Four Glendale residents – historians, writers, editors, and teachers – explain how the city operates, where its residents play, work, dine, and shop, and why people choose to live here. Leaders of Glendale’s schools, congregations, civic organizations, and city government share their perspectives. Dozens of photographs, maps, paintings, drawings, and artifacts illustrate the book, illuminating Glendale’s many layers.

Deeply researched, enriched by surprising detail, and representing many voices, Village, Town, City, Suburb provides a bridge to Glendale’s past, documents the city now, and offers a hopeful peek at its future.

Available for purchase at

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Students explore vintage computers in UW-Milwaukee’s specialized Retrolab. .

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